Pearls of the Torah Portion – Pesach 5785 (2025)

by | | Blog, Dr. Kokkonen Blogs, The Atrocities: Perpetrators, Onlookers, Victims

April 18, 2025 – Dr. Susanna Kokkonen Numbers 9:1-14; 28:19-25 During Pesach, which we know as the Passover Festival, we celebrate the end of slavery. Passover is often connected to the Hebrew word dror, freedom or liberty. As we recall the story of Passover in...

Pearls of the Torah Portion – An Introduction

by | | Blog, Dr. Kokkonen Blogs, The Atrocities: Perpetrators, Onlookers, Victims

April 11,2025, Dr. Susanna Kokkonen Pearls of the Torah Portion – An Introduction The original word for the Hebrew Bible is Tanach, which is an acronym of three different words: Torah (Instruction), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings meaning...

Let These Images Be Your Inspiration – Be an Upstander!

by | | Dr. Kokkonen Blogs, The Atrocities: Perpetrators, Onlookers, Victims

March 26, 2025, Dr. Susanna Kokkonen There is one story, one particular story for each period or each year. Usually, the story is accompanied by an image. And what would be the enduring image we have of the beginning of 2025? Among the many stories and images, there...

The Holocaust Remembrance Association Statement – Antisemitism, A Continuum of Deep Hatred

by | | Dr. Kokkonen Blogs, The Atrocities: Perpetrators, Onlookers, Victims

March 2025, Dr. Susanna Kokkonen Holocaust Remembrance Association strongly condemns all antisemitic incidents taking place daily all over the world. Some may have expected that 2025 would turn out to be better than the two previous years. Sadly, we are witnessing...

Bridges of Compassion – The Untold Stories of Asian Rescuers During the Holocaust: Pt 4, Chiune Sugihara: Saving Thousands with Handwritten Visas

by | | Hao Nguyen Blogs, The Rescuers

March 19, 2025 by Hao Nguyen. The air changes when we honor our dead. Burning incense fills our home during giỗ (death anniversary ceremony), creating an invisible connection to those who came before us. My family arranges offerings with care—xôi...

Bridges of Compassion – The Untold Stories of Asian Rescuers During the Holocaust: Pt3: Lieutenant Colonel Young Oak Kim – Resilience and Dedication Despite Discrimination

by | | Hao Nguyen Blogs

January 10, 2025 by Hao Nguyen Growing up in Vietnam, my grandfather often shared stories with me as we sat together in the middle of his rice field. One afternoon, as the cicadas buzzed and the warm sunlight cast a golden glow over the fields, he told me about a...