As announced previously (see the previous blog post announcement here), on May 25, I had the honor of giving a presentation in Toronto to the Toronto Daughters of Survivors and their families. My presentation was entitled “Descendants of Holocaust Survivors: Adapting to Current Challenges“. The presentation started with a review of intergenerational transmission, and moved to a focus on how to process the experiences we have been exposed to since October 7, and how to support resilience and moral clarity among the young Jewish people who are facing a very complicated environment among their non-Jewish peers.
My presentation was organized by Esther Michaels, who established this group that grew from an intimate circle to 800 participants, and Ellen Goldstein, mother of Brooke Goldstein, the civil rights attorney and founder of the Lawfare Project. Esther and Ellen manage this incredible project, the gatherings of Toronto Daughters of Survivors, with immense love, passion and competence, creating multiple intellectually stimulating, emotionally moving, and socially heart-warming, vibrant gatherings for daughters of survivors in Toronto and in Florida. The audience included second generation, their spouses, and most importantly, a large number of 3G and 4G. In total, some 250 participants attended. The enthusiasm of the participants was felt in the air, as they gathered almost an hour before the start time of the program, to meet each other, hug and ‘shmooze’, and share the joy of being together over coffee and exquisite pastries, elegantly displayed for the guests to enjoy.
My presentation was videorecorded, and the link to it has been kindly provided by Esther and Ellen.The videorecording is available for viewing at this link or by clicking on the image below.
Irit Felsen
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