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Compelling program for Capital Appeal

THE Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) - established 25 years ago and visited by more than 27,000 students each year - is on a mission to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive for future generations, and it needs your help.

By Shane Desiatnik September 17, 2018, 2:26 pm Edit
Holocaust survivor and Sydney Jewish Museum volunteer guide Eddie Jaku talking with students. He will speak at various 2018 Capital Appeal events in October.
Holocaust survivor and Sydney Jewish Museum volunteer guide Eddie Jaku talking with students. He will speak at various 2018 Capital Appeal events in October.

THE Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) – established 25 years ago and visited by more than 27,000 students each year – is on a mission to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive for future generations, and it needs your help.

A treasured part of the city’s cultural landscape, the museum has announced a series of 15 dynamic and experiential fundraising events in afternoon and evenings from October 3-17 as part of its 2018 Capital Appeal.

Each session will feature up-close and personal presentations by a Holocaust survivor. The series has been designed to enable guests to feel the power of survivors’ voices, to see the exhibitions that bring history to life, and to hear how the museum uses the past to teach young people the values of human rights, democracy and social justice.

There will be several sessions tailored for young adults, and ticket-holders will be offered light refreshments.

Weiss, 94, said the reason she and other Holocaust survivors remain as committed as ever to sharing their experiences in front of audiences at the museum is simple.

“We have to let the young generations know that as humans, we have a choice and the wisdom to decide what is good and what is evil,” Weiss said.

The award-winning SJM has been a hive of activity in recent years, opening its new permanent exhibition on the Holocaust in March 2017, launching its Holocaust and Human Rights exhibition and associated secondary school education program early this year, and a temporary exhibition called Unseen Untold.

It also experienced a 10 per cent increase in visitor attendance last financial year, and established the Susan Wakil Chair of Education.

But like many museums globally, the SJM has a substantial annual operating deficit, and does not receive any government funding for operations.

SJM president Gus Lehrer said funds raised from the 2018 Capital Appeal will help the museum continue to develop temporary exhibitions, record survivor testimonies, conserve precious artefacts, and run programs and tours for school students and visitors.

“As we look to the SJM’s next 25 years, and the imminent loss of our greatest bearers of light – the last of the survivors – we are fully aware of the need to safeguard the museum from financial uncertainty,” Lehrer said.

“I invite you to invest in its future.”

Infoline:
To book event tickets or donate, visit www.sjm.com.au/capitalappeal.

SHANE DESIATNIK

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