Yom Ha-Shoah 5784

City of Hope – Valley of Tears: The story of the children of Izieu

with Rabbi Michelle Werner

Saturday 4 May 5pm for Havdalah, 5:15pm talk followed by a short reflective service. This will be a zoom only event using the regular Havdalah link.

Rabbi Michelle Werner was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 2006. Prior to ordination she lived in several countries including 15 years in Lyon, France. While in Lyon she was an active member of the Reform Jewish community there and studied the historical events which she describes in her talk: City of Hope – Valley of Tears, a comparison of two small towns in France. Izieu is the French town from which 44 Jewish children were deported to their deaths in 1944 and Rabbi Werner interviewed many living witnesses to the events and attended the annual memorial commemorations. She compares what happened in Izieu with the events of another small town not far away in which 5000 Jews found refuge and were saved during the same time. She speaks about the way in which her students have studied and commemorated these events and she invites us to share in this sacred tradition.