GOD AND FAITH IN THE SHADOW OF THE HOLOCAUST TO BE SUBJECT OF WORKSHOP AT ST. AUGUSTINE PREP IN RICHLAND ON SEPTEMBER 19
Presented by South Jersey Holocaust Coalition Free Presentation, Live and Open to the Public; Reservation Deadline September 15
Where was God during the Holocaust and where has God been since after the war? How could God have let such a tragedy happen? How can we account for it today? How did faith and the will to survive play a role in this? These issues and others, which Christian and Jewish theologists and laypersons have been trying valiantly to address, will be explored at a workshop, free, live, and open to the public, on Monday, September 19, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., at St. Augustine Preparatory School, 611 Cedar Ave., Richland, NJ.
This workshop, entitled “God and Faith in the Shadow of the Holocaust,” will be presented by South Jersey Holocaust Coalition, New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, and St. Augustine Preparatory School, with funding from the Annual Campaign of One Jewish Community—Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Counties. The facilitators will be Anthony Iaconelli, a teacher and administrator at St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland since 1985 and currently the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as well as Holocaust Coalition Chairperson Harry Furman.
To attend either in-person or virtually, please register no later than Thursday September 15 by going to www.HolocaustCoalition.com and, on the “Coming Events” page, clicking on “Register Here” and completing the registration form. Educators desiring Professional Development credits should kindly provide their name, contact information, and school. Though virtual attendance is available, live attendance is stressed and highly recommended.
No registration fee or cost is required to attend this workshop, but donations of any size are greatly appreciated. Refreshments will be provided. This workshop will focus on the explosive theme of where was God and religious institutions during the Holocaust? Since the end of World War II in 1945, Christian and Jewish theologians, writers, artists, and laypersons have grappled with the role of God and religion in the shadow of the Holocaust.
Neither of the presenters is a rabbi or a priest or a pastor. Each is a lay person who has spent their intellectual and spiritual lives troubled by these questions. Both presenters believe that no student approaches the subject of Holocaust without thinking about such dilemmas. Through the use of PowerPoint, film, and other media, participants should expect a lively interchange of ideas and debate as we explore the very different ways persons have approached the subject of faith and God, as one writer put it, “after Auschwitz.” This workshop is for students, teachers, and members of the public ready to listen and to engage in this seminal subject.
Anthony Iaconelli is an Alfred Lerner Fellow in Holocaust Studies from The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at St. Augustine Preparatory. He is also one of only 500 Master Educators from the United States and Eastern Europe committed to teaching and preserving the Legacy of Righteous Gentiles, non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Harry Furman, Esq. is an attorney and lecturer at Rutgers University.
He served as a member of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education and was responsible for developing the first high school course on the Holocaust and Genocide in New Jersey. Furman is co-editor of The Hitler Legacy, an exploration of hate and makes numerous presentations on the topic of the Shoah.
For more information on this and all South Jersey Holocaust Coalition events and activities, please visit the Coalition’s website at www.holocaustcoalition.com Please see their Facebook page at “South Jersey Holocaust Coalition” for interesting articles and information about the Holocaust and related subjects. You may also email holocaustcoalition@gmail.com
