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In order to prepare the next generation of Jewish leadership, the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), the Jewish Agency for Israel and
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the Claims Conference have come together to support The Links in the Chain Holocaust seminar series, a year-long program designed explicitly for MASA participants with the purpose of helping “prepare today’s young leaders to confront the challenges facing the future of the Jewish People through an analysis of the Jewish past.”
Unlike traditional Holocaust education, Links in the Chain approaches the scope of the Holocaust from a personalized perspective. “It does not conform to the standard methods of Holocaust education in that it invites the learners to engage in a sociological, psychological and cultural analysis of the humanity of Eastern European Jewry,” says Elana Heideman, program founder and Holocaust scholar. The program is designed to enable a participant to place themselves within the experience and time of the Holocaust, believing that only then can they truly digest forces behind decisions made, actions committed, and roles undertaken by the people trapped within those times. “What does it really mean to choose to fight,” Heideman asks, “or the ethical behavior of resistance?” |
Participants, representing a “myriad of identities, nationalities, educational levels and backgrounds,” come together to study how to balance the past and present in reference to the memory of the Holocaust, and learn how to engage contemporary forces affecting the Jewish people, Israel, and society from a position of leadership. Heideman insists that despite, “Orthodox or Reform, Zionist of varying ideologies, this diversity assists the participants in exploring the range of perspectives present in a reflective study of the Holocaust.”
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Under the guidance of the program educators, participants will be supported and mentored in the development of their own individual or group project, one that is meant to be implemented within their MASA program or within their home communities. “Last year,” Heideman enthusiastically divulges, “a young man from Poland created a start-up guide for Polish Jews who wished to research their family, an issue that is highly politicized in that country. Twins from Denmark embarked upon a group project for their home community that included a statue designed to invoke thought coupled with a curriculum for local schools to approach the Holocaust in reference to the Danish resistance. Another girl from the United States developed a program guide for her fellow camp counselors on how the Holocaust can shape our understanding of leadership.
Entering its second year, Links in the Chain, combines four weekend seminars, four one-day intensive seminars and a series of individual mentoring hours during which participants will engage various themes including but not limited to: The Holocaust and the Self: |
 | Personalizing the Collective, The Lost World: Yiddishkeit and Identity in Eastern European Jewry, Israel: The Land, the State, the Society and the influence of the Holocaust, and Facing the Future: The Legacy of Memory.
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Cost to participants: $180 USD
*The price includes transportation, accomodation, food, entrance to all sites and study materials. Links in the Chain is run in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel and is made possible through the generous support of the Conference for Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Application Deadline: October 15
For applications, questions, or any further information, please contact:
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