An extraordinary performance by "Kolit: Voices of the Generations" took place on Sunday, February 22, 2004 in the Jewish Community Center's Theatre at 333 South 132nd Street at 7:00 PM. Open and free seating will begin at 6:30 PM. "Kolit," the Hebrew term for "voices" is an Israeli musical group from the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz of the Western Galilee.

The group comes to the Omaha community as part of the Jewish Federation of Omaha's participation in the Partnership 2000 Project and in conjunction with the Institute for Holocaust Education, a division of the Plains States Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League. Partnership 2000 is a program of United Jewish Communities and the Jewish Federation of Omaha that pairs up Jewish communities in the United States with similar communities in Israel for the purpose of enhancing the social, educational and business relationships between American and Israeli Jews. Omaha's Partnership 2000 area is in Israel's Western Galilee.

The Omaha Jewish community has had a long relationship with the communities in the Western Galilee and members of the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz through its museum "The Ghetto Fighters' Holocaust and Resistance Heritage Museum." Known for innovative and captivating programming on both the history of the Holocaust and life during this time, Kolit will be involved in educational programming at some Millard and Omaha Public Schools during their stay in the community.

"Kolit" grew out of the performers' childhood and youth experiences in the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz. They are the second generation of Holocaust survivors to live at the Kibbutz. The group's pure and harmonious singing connects the Jewish peoples past melodies with the renewal of life in Israel, all of it expressing a love of music.

"Kolit" was founded in 1972, and today includes five singers. Their musical director is Zvika Arbel, who also writes the group's musical arrangements and accompanies them on the guitar. Over the years, Kolit has participated in a variety of musical events in Israel including the Arad Music Festival at the President's Residence in Jerusalem and at the national Holocaust Remembrance Day closing ceremonies at the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz.

Some of the music performed by Kolit is inspired by young poets who wrote from their experiences in the Nazi ghettos. Other songs speak of modern-day Israel and expresses life and creativity despite the pain and the memory of the recent history of the Holocaust.

The group has two CD's: "After All These Years" (1999), a selection of songs for the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz fiftieth anniversary and "Under the Starry Sky - Melodies of Remembrance" (2000). Thousands of copies have been sold to Jewish educational institutions throughout the world.

Members of "Kolit" include Dalya Guy - one of the first children born in the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz, is the founder of Kolit. Guy is a graduate of Oranim College in the field of music, and today works as the head librarian of the Ghetto Fighters' Museum library. She has five children and two grandchildren.

Hanna Bartonowski has a degree in preschool education from Seminar Hakibbutzim Teachers' College. Today she works as a cosmetician in the kibbutz. Hanna is the mother of three children.

Tova Havardi is an art teacher at the Manor-Cabri School of the Arts. She has a degree in art from Haifa University, and is presently working on an MA in art at Tel Aviv University. She is the director of the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz Art Gallery. Tova is married and the mother of two children.

Roni Shner is a social worker with an MA in Clinical Social Work from Haifa University. Today she works in the Welfare Department of Mateh Asher Regional Council. Roni was born in Kvutzat Schiller and is married to a son from the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz. They have three daughters. Roni lost her father in the Six Day War.

Tali Shner has a degree in Jewish Studies from Haifa University. She was formerly the principal of the Korczak Elementary School at the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz, and today is the Director of Yad Layeled Children's Museum at the Ghetto Fighters' Museum. She is presently working on her MA degree at Haifa University. Tali has a daughter and two sons.

Zvika Arbel is the musical director of Kolit, in charge of the musical arrangements and accompanies the singers on the guitar. He was a member of the Nahal Song Troupe in the army and has a degree from the Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. He teaches in the music department at Manor-Cabri School of the Arts. He is a member of Kibbutz Cabri and the father of three sons.

Dan Hirsch was born in Jerusalem and lives with his family in Nahariya. He studied in Nahariya and in the music department at the Manor-Cabri School of the Arts. He is 21 years old and is presently serving in the IDF as a member of a music troupe. Dan accompanies the singers on the piano.

Kolit is not a professional group that earns its living from singing, but is the expression of the authentic experience of a community located in the Western Galilee landscape, and adjacent to a museum that tells the story of the Jewish people. The simple songs come from the heart and invite the audience to participate. In addition to singing, the members of the Kolit invite the audience, both students and adults, to discuss the story of the second generation after the Holocaust, the culture of remembrance and the intergenerational discourse that developed at the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz.

More About Kolit:

The Institute for Holocaust Education has kept staff and volunteers very busy for the past eight months. Schools, teachers and individuals have benefited from a variety of programming focused on raising Holocaust awareness and education on many levels. The message: to understand that Holocaust issues do not exclusively belong to Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), but should be a means to better comprehend this important commemoration. As we search to find a way to pass on the legacy of those tragic years in Jewish history, the Institute strives to find avenues to collaborate with Jewish organizations and with the general population.

Generous grants in 2004 from the Federation Foundation, the Nebraska Humanities Council, the Cooper Foundation of Lincoln and other private sources, have assisted the Institute in bringing a variety of successful educational programs to the area.

A series of lessons at the Friedel Jewish Academy has brought the day school students to the Pennie Z. Davis Gallery for Education. The exhibit "Triumph of Life - Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto" provided the background to talk about Jewish spiritual and physical resistance during the war years. Through an activity using different kinds of boxes, the students wrote letters to each other about what they thought to be the dreams of those people living in the Nazi ghettos. They spoke about freedom and butterflies and imagery beyond the closed walls.

Further discussions with Friedel students and staff about issues of the Holocaust have also resulted in understanding the importance of acceptance and combating prejudice.

The musical group "Kolit: Voices of the Generations," second generation musicians from the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz, came to the Midwest February 19-23, to visit and entertain three mid-western Partnership 2000 consortium communities: Omaha, Des Moines and Dayton. The concept of the visit was to bring the music from the ghettos of Europe and the songs of Eretz Israel to our communities in order to share the history and lessons of their origin with young and old alike. More than a simple performing art program, Kolit's concerts resonated with the message of the land of Israel that is still the root of the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz and those who live there.

A carefully planned itinerary was the ultimate success of the Kolit visit. Each community hosted Kolit concerts during their tour. More than 200 guests attended the concert in Omaha at the JCC theatre. To educate and connect to the far-reaching communities of our Partnership 2000 consortium, professional and lay leaders planned public school and Jewish school visits, sharing prepared curriculum long before Kolit's arrival. This educational piece provided lessons about the lyrics of the songs to teachers who, in turn, prepared their students prior to the visits. During the tour, the group had the opportunity interact with smaller school classes and share information.

In addition to these school visits, Kolit met with members of the host communities who shared common vocations. In Omaha each member of Kolit visited a business or professional setting and enjoyed tours and meetings with directors of organizations including: Jewish Family Services, the Omaha Public Library, Millard West High School Music Department, South High School Art Department, the Omaha Children's Museum and One Drake Place. These meetings helped open a new dialogue for the Partnership with the hope that the connections will grow and develop into greater interest and understanding between Israeli and American communities.

Finally, the most satisfying outcome of the Partnership concept are the friendships that have been forged between our Israeli guests and their community hosts. Host families, the Phillips, the Hoffmans, the Ricks and the Dotans developed strong ties with their guests. These relationships are the basis for long-lasting successes of Partnership 2000.

School outreach has been the stronghold of the Institute for Holocaust Education since it's inception in 2000. Refusing to let snow, ice and school closings deter her, Judith Meisel, Holocaust survivor and civil rights activist from Santa Barbara, braved the Nebraska winter during the last week of January 2004 to speak to nearly 5,000 Omaha and Lincoln high school students, students at Creighton University and the Jewish Community of Lincoln. Meisel's message was clear and understood by the students: "Hate takes up space." Students and community members were enlightened and inspired by Meisel's attitude that, "each of us can make a difference in this world."

The Institute for Holocaust Education is a developing organization whose objective is to teach students, teachers and all people the lessons of the Holocaust, while offering avenues to apply these lessons to life and society, thus making the world a better place.

  Iyyar 5764 - April 2004