Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, has put its exhibition My Homeland — Holocaust Survivors in Israel  on their Web site.
My Homeland showcases the accomplishments of the remarkable Jews who came to Israel after the Shoah.
In the words of Prof. Hanna Yablonka, historical consultant to the exhibition: “In the history of immigration, there has been no comparable story to that of the survivors who came to live in Israel. Rarely, if at all, has a group of immigrants made so profound an impact on a society, and so fully participated in charting its course….
“Their collective story is one of individual victory and the triumph of the human spirit. ”¨They have left their mark in all spheres: building new towns and cities, the military, industry, the economy, law and culture. Survivors in Israel include painters and graphic designers, poets and authors, athletes and dancers, academics and philosophers – most of whom are perceived by the general public as native-born Israelis.”
Israel is home today to 250,000 Holocaust survivors.
Yehudit Shendar, curator of the Yad Vashem Art Museum, narrates the virtual tour. Shendar is known to many in the Twin Cities Jewish community from the many years she served in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Hebrew Studies.
If you can’t travel to Jerusalem, the virtual tour on the Web will give you a taste of this extraordinary exhibition. — Mordecai Specktor
