H eadlines
Concentration Camp Sapling Planted at Museum
NATIONAL SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
A SILVER MAPLE TREE
with a genesis from Czech
ghetto and concentration camp
Theresienstadt found a new
home at New York’s Museum
of Jewish Heritage - A Living
Memorial to the Holocaust,
due in part to the Philadelphia
Jewish community.

Before arriving at the
Museum of Jewish Heritage,
the tree took root outside of
Philadelphia, tended along
with nine other Theresienstadt
saplings by former Jewish
Federation of
Greater Philadelphia President Bud
Newman on what was formerly
his farm in New Hope.

“I look at these trees as
being symbolic of more people
recognizing what Jews have
gone through, and more people
recognizing that Jews are
survivors, and their strengths
and their attitude towards
continuing through survival is
miraculous,” Newman said.

The 15-foot tall sapling’s
dedication at the Museum of
Jewish Heritage took place on
Dec. 2, with more than 150
guests in attendance virtually
Former Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia President Bud Newman
with saplings descended from a tree planted in Theresienstadt in 1943
Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
President and CEO Jack Kliger speaks at the Children’s Tree dedication.

and in person. Ambassador
and U.S. Representative to
the United Nations Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, Czech
Consul General Arnošt Kareš
and museum leadership spoke
at the event; Theresienstadt
survivors Fred Terna and Rene
Slotkin watered the newly-
planted tree.

The tree, dubbed the
“Children’s Tree,” which faces
directly across PS/IS 276 —
Battery Park City School — will
be cared for by the students
there, much like it was in
1943 when the children of
Theresienstadt used their water
rations to feed the tree.

their humanity, even in condi-
tions of enormous oppression.”
Though the
original Theresienstadt tree was
destroyed along with the camp
in a flood after the camp was
liberated in 1945, cuttings
from it were distributed across
the United States and Israel.

Newman received the
saplings from
former Philadelphia
Holocaust Remembrance Foundation
President Steve Kessler. Kessler
told Newman that Longwood
Gardens in Kennett Square was
housing a sapling descended
from a Theresienstadt tree that
belonged to the memorial,
which was then undergoing
construction. That made it
impossible for them to keep it,
as it had grown too large.

Nine other smaller saplings,
originally cuttings from the
larger one, accompanied it.

According to Berenbaum, these
trees were originally brought
to the Philadelphia Holocaust
Remembrance Foundation by
Philadelphia landscape artist
Stuart Appel.

Newman, who had both a
proclivity for farming trees and
a passion for Holocaust remem-
brance, happily accepted the
saplings. Newman
remembered visiting Auschwitz with his
wife many years ago, where he
saw old oak trees still standing
proudly at the camp, with
Courtesy of Bud Newman
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Battery Park City School
students attended the event
as well, having the opportu-
nity to meet the Theresienstadt
survivors. Museum of Jewish Heritage
President and CEO Jack Kliger,
who is the son of two survi-
vors, said the children were
“honored” to have attended.

“I said to a 10-year-old, ‘Well,
now you’ve met a witness; now
you become a witness,’” Kliger
said. “That’s both an honor and
a responsibility.”
Jewish Theresienstadt
teacher Irma Lauscher planted
the original silver maple in
1943 on Tu B’Shevat, after she
bribed a guard to smuggle in
the tree.

Theresienstadt was home
to thousands of prisoners
during the Holocaust, many
of whom were educators and
scholars, who gave the children
there an informal education.

Fifteen thousand children were
imprisoned in Theresienstadt,
and fewer than 200 survived.

Historian and Museum of
Jewish Heritage Consulting
Curator Michael Berenbaum
called the tree a symbol of
“spiritual resistance,” a way
for those imprisoned to find
meaning in times of suffering.

“We make a hero of those
who led us in armed resis-
tance,” Berenbaum said. “We
should also make a hero of
those who refuse to surrender
JEWISH EXPONENT
Photo by John Halpern
acorns scattered across the
ground. “I turned to the guide, who
was Polish, and said to her,
‘Boy oh boy, if these trees could
talk, what a tale they would
tell,’” Newman said. “And then
she turned to me and said,
‘Well, it’s funny you say that
because we refer to them as the
silent witnesses.’”
The sapling was planted
and dedicated to the Museum
of Jewish Heritage in early
December, the ideal time
to plant a tree to ensure its
survival. Newman contacted the
Dallas Holocaust and Human
Rights Museum to be home to
a sapling. He has reached out
to other Holocaust museums
around the country, with the
help of Berenbaum and Kliger,
about future tree dedications,
which they hope will continue
to not only be a symbol of spiri-
tual resilience and renewal but
also an opportunity to engage
with greater audiences about
the impacts of the Holocaust,
past and present.

“The fight against hate and
antisemitism has not gone
away,” Kliger said. “The lessons
of history can only be valuable
if you apply them and learn
from them and teach from
them.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
Cemeteries’ Limited Hours Prompt Complaints
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
the “thousands of families who
have loved ones buried at these
cemeteries,” Manhoff said.

“He doesn’t seem to connect
the dots and doesn’t under-
stand the impact that he’s
having on all of these people,”
she said.

Levy did not respond to
requests for comment.

Manhoff has been in contact
with state Rep. Jared Solomon
about the legal implications of
keeping the cemeteries’ gates
closed to the public.

A 2018 state law by state
Rep. Mark Gillen outlines the
requirement for “reasonable
visitation” opportunities for
loved ones.

“If a cemetery is shuttered,
for instance, that would be in
violation of the law,” Solomon
said. “​​A family ... could
take action in the Court of
Common Pleas to review what
‘reasonable’ means and if the
cemetery owner, whether that’s
a company or individual, is in
violation of the law.”
Solomon did not say
whether Har Nebo and Mount
Carmel’s policy violated the
law, but he did suggest that
action is being taken to address
the cemeteries’ conditions and
hours of operation.

When he’s spoken to Levy,
Levy has said the cemeteries
have fallen into financial trouble.

See Cemeteries, Page 20
M LE
OO LAB
DR AI
BE V
2 TS A
I UN
N M OW
OD L
EL EA
S SIN
OP G
EN !
COMMUNITY FRUSTRATIONS
toward Har Nebo and
Mount Carmel cemeteries in
Philadelphia have grown in
recent weeks, as the cemeteries
have closed their gates to
the public on all days except
Sunday, preventing families
from visiting loved ones.

Others are concerned about
Nebo and Mount Carmel have
shut out visitors almost entirely
in recent weeks, she said.

Manhoff ’s
godmother attempted to visit Har Nebo,
where her husband is buried,
last week. When she arrived,
the gates were closed, and there
was a sign posted saying that
visitations could only be made
by appointment only or on
Sundays. Cemetery owner Rich
Levy recently launched a new
U PPE R DU BL I N
! Volunteers participate in a 2017 Mount Carmel Cemetery cleanup
following the February vandalism
Courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
the ongoing inconsistent
maintenance of the cemeteries’
grounds. Mindy Manhoff, who moved
from the Philadelphia area to
Florida several years ago, flew
back last year to visit the grave
of her son, who died at age 3,
at Mount Carmel. When she
arrived, “the lawn was ridicu-
lously high and unkempt.”
In November, Bala Cynwyd
resident Arthur Scherr visited
Har Nebo to visit family grave
plots, and spent several minutes
looking for the grave markers
to point him in the direction of
his family members.

When Scherr went to the
cemetery’s office to find help,
he found it empty: “I don’t
know if there’s ever anybody in
that office,” he said.

More concerning
to Manhoff, however, is that Har
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM website for the cemetery with a
portal to make appointments,
but neither Manhoff nor Scherr
have used it to know whether
it’s effective.

According to Manhoff,
when she spoke with Levy, he
cited COVID as the reason
for poor upkeep and limited
hours, but when Manhoff or
her godmother have visited,
the cemetery has been nearly
empty. At other times, Levy has
said that the gates are closed
due to potential vandalism.

Mount Carmel graves were
vandalized in February 2017,
with 85 to 100 graves being
overturned. For those who have to
make a significant emotional
and physical effort to visit the
cemetery, Levy keeping the
gates closed is a disservice to
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DECEMBER 9, 2021
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