15th September, 2016

Claire had to prepare for this evening when her Institute was hosting the Jerusalem Season of Culture and she was due to give 3 talks on the ethics of images, so Val and I ventured out on our own to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. A short taxi ride got us to the site (after the usual chat about where we are from and the international language of football- so far one Man U and one Liverpool supporter). It is a very impressive building in a serene garden. The main part is dedicated to the history of the Holocaust, followed by the Hall of Names where all those who died are listed. There is also an eternal flame and a very lovely Children’s Memorial where you enter and you are in almost complete darkness lighted by what seem like stars with a voice reciting the names of the children who died in the Holocaust, presumably all 1.5 million of them, one by one and where they came from.

The historical bit was very well displayed with a lot of information starting with the reasons for anti-semitism through the ages, moving on the the liberalisation of views in the second half of the 19th Century which seemed to coincide with a rise in anti-Semitic feelings and the complete concoction of the so-called Jewish plan for global domination (made up by the Russian secret police in about 1904). The problems leading up to and after the 30th January, 1933 when Hitler was appointed Chancellor are well covered with the gradual cutting away of rights, liberty and possessions of Jews up to the war, followed by the ghettos and extermination as the war progressed. All very moving and with many first-hand accounts of incidents and atrocities. I still find it hard to get my head around the numbers and also the inexorable planning that went into it all. It would have been interesting to have had a section at the end that covered other acts of genocide since the Holocaust by way of reminding us that not everyone has learned the lesson of history.

Our evening was very different as we headed for the Van Leer Institute to attend Claire’s very interactive 45 minute talk on the ethics of images. Very interesting and thought-provoking with a good deal of discussion from those who attended (all three of her talks were sold out). To sum it up, images are hugely powerful, often manipulated and need careful thought both when decisions are made as to what to display and by those who are receiving them. Val and I then headed for a nice pizza restaurant and home.

The photos show the Polonsky Academy building where Claire works and a proud Mum and her clever daughter!