Yad Vashem USA Foundation South Florida

09/17/2026

Do you have a memory of your grandparents that still lives with you?

Maybe it’s a recipe.
A smell from their kitchen.
Something they always said.

For Judith Osers Muller those memories carry a much bigger story. A story about her grandparents, what they survived, what they built, and the traditions they quietly passed on.

Maybe you’ll see a little of your own family in these memories.

The Table They Built for Us.
🔗 Read the full story at the link

https://revistazajor.org/?p=329

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem USA Foundation Comite Venezolano Yad Vashem Yad Vashem Argentina

09/16/2026

Yad Vashem mourns the passing of Yehuda Widawski, the oldest Holocaust survivor in Israel and former torchbearer.

Yehuda Widawski was born in 1919 in Turek, Poland, the second of four children in a traditional Zionist family. In 1933, the family moved to Lodz, and Yehuda became an active member of the Hashmonaim youth organization. By 1936, Yehuda was managing a textile business, employing 38 Jewish seamstresses who sewed shirts and underwear for the army; their products were marketed throughout Poland.

In September 1939, Lodz was occupied by the Germans. Yehuda's family managed to buy an apartment in the district to be transformed into the Lodz ghetto. The apartment was shared by 15 family members.

In April 1940, Jews were prohibited from leaving the ghetto. One of the first soup kitchens in the ghetto was established at their home; thanks to the property they had the foresight to take with them, the Widawskis were able to help their friends and acquaintances.

In August 1944, the ghetto was liquidated and the Widawskis were deported to Auschwitz. Yehuda's parents, Abraham and Leah, and his eldest brother, Gabriel, were murdered immediately. Eight days later, Yehuda and his younger brother, Jehoszua, were transferred to the Friedland work camp, where they made airplane wings.

On 8 May 1945, the Germans abandoned the camp, locking in the inmates. The following day, the camp was liberated by the Red Army. Hearing that their sister had died during the liquidation of Stutthof, Yehuda and his brother realized that, together with their uncle, they were the only members of their family to survive.

In 1950, Yehuda immigrated to Israel, where he founded and ran various commercial enterprises.

In 1978, Yehuda traveled to Lodz and, together with a friend, set about restoring the Jewish cemetery. So far, 7,000 graves have been renovated.

Yehuda Widawski lit one of the six torches at the State Opening Ceremony of Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem in 2012.

Yehuda has a son and a daughter, grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.

Watch his 2012 interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TyUBRS6KAM&t=6s

09/04/2026

“My grandmother could explain to me that hatred was taught. What she could not promise me was that understanding would cure it.”

Some words stay with you.

A powerful reflection on memory, responsibility, and the stories we choose to carry forward.

This is why we remember. This is why we teach. This is why we cannot stop telling their stories.

Read “My Grandparents Told Me About Auschwitz at Eight” by Hagit Zadok Fefferman in The Times of Israel.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/my-grandparents-told-me-about-auschwitz-at-eight-i-took-baths-for-a-year/

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem USA Foundation 3GMiami Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach Hagit Zadok Fefferman

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

"In those dark hours, behind locked doors, on the other side of the world, my mother tried to alleviate my loneliness and fear. She became my friend and my teacher."
Nelly Toll

During the Holocaust, many parents were compelled to separate from their children in order to ensure their survival, securing places of refuge for them. Concurrently, those who remained alongside their children in hiding continuously strove to provide them with care and protection, as well as physical and emotional support.

In 1941, 8-year-old Nelly and her parents Zigmund and Rozia Mizes from Lvov were forced to move into the ghetto in the city. Zigmund found a hiding placve for Rozia and Nelly with Christian friends, where they hid for 13 months.

In an effort to establish a modicum of routine and keep her daughter busy, Nellie's mother encouraged her to draw, maintain a diary and write short stories. Nelly's drawings depict figures from her mother's stories, integrated with her own memories of her prewar life.

After the liberation of Lwów, Nelly and her mother discovered that they were the sole survivors of their family.

Explore our new online exhibition, "Motherhood During the Holocaust" https://www.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/motherhood


Artwork Details:
Nelly Toll (1935-2021)
“Mother and Daughter,” illustration #3 for the story "A Lucky Incident", Lvov, 1943
Gouache and pencil on paper
15X21.5 cm
Yad Vashem Art Collection, Moshal Repository
Gift of the artist

08/27/2026

A NEW JOURNEY OF MEMORY, MEANING & JEWISH CONTINUITY

We are proud to share a new collaboration between the Yad Vashem USA Foundation South Florida Committee and Beth Torah, bringing Yad Vashem’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning Program to Beth Torah’s J2M — Journey to Mitzvah program.

The Twinning Program pairs a child celebrating their Bar/Bat Mitzvah with a Jewish child who was murdered during the Holocaust and never had the opportunity to mark their own rite of passage. Through this connection, students will learn about the life of a child who was lost and carry their memory forward as they mark this important milestone in their own Jewish journey.

Together, we hope to strengthen the connection between memory, Jewish identity, and the responsibility to carry these stories forward to future generations.

Yad Vashem BTBRC YOUTH Yad Vashem USA Foundation Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

08/11/2026

07/29/2026

Honored to join fellow community organizations at the 32nd Anniversary Commemoration of the AMIA Jewish Community Center bombing in Argentina: Memory and Accountability.

Thank you to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Latin American Task Force, Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, Event Co-Chairs Alicia Margulis and Jennifer Enslein, and all participating organizations for bringing our community together in remembrance.

We are grateful to the distinguished speakers: Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council IAC - S. Florida IAC Florida Zuri Sisso, Consul General of Israel in Miami Israel in Miami Martin Romero, Deputy Consul General of Argentina in Miami Consulado General y Centro de Promoción Argentino en Miami Dr. Osvaldo Armoza, President of AMIA Argentina AMIA Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Rabbi Mario Rojzman, Senior Rabbi of Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus Rabbi Mario Rojzman Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus and Josh Sayles, Vice President of External Affairs, Greater Miami Jewish Federation Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Yad Vashem USA Foundation Yad Vashem Argentina Yad Vashem

07/28/2026

Last night, we were honored to participate in the 32nd Commemoration of the AMIA Jewish Community Center Bombing in Argentina

As we remembered the 85 innocent lives lost, we reaffirmed our commitment to preserving memory, confronting antisemitism, and ensuring that hatred is never forgotten nor repeated.

May the memory of the victims forever be a blessing.

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem USA Foundation