Hedy Epstein is a remarkable woman who has worked courageously over the years to promote human rights and social justice. She recently spoke out to protest the Israeli attack on Gaza - video link at the bottom of this post.
Since 2003 Ms Epstein has visited the occupied West Bank five times to witness the situation first hand. She has been involved in protests against Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and the demolition of Palestinian homes and olive orchards.
Hedy was 8 years old when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany on January 30, 1933. She remembers her parents and other adults talking about Hitler, saying that they hoped he would not gain power in Germany, and then, after he did, hoping that he would not remain in office very long.
After that January day, things began to get slowly worse for Jews and other minorities in Germany. A boycott of Jewish businesses. Anti-semitism in schools. Revocation of German citizenship for all Jews. Kristallnacht, known today as Reichsprogromnacht in Germany. Burning of synagogues. Jewish males over the age of 16 placed into "Schutzhaft," or "protective custody," in concentration camps throughout Germany. Finally, all Jews deported into labor or concentration camps. The death of 6 million Jews and 5 million others in those camps.
On May 18, 1939, Hedy went to England on a children's transport. Five hundred children were on this transport, part of the almost 10,000 children that England took in between December 1938 and September 1, 1939, the beginning of World War II. Hedy's parents had tried for many years to leave Germany as a family, but were unsuccessful, due to emigration restrictions in various countries around the world. Finally, after consulting with the 14-year-old Hedy, her parents found a way out for her on the children's transport.
In speaking out against the Israeli attack on Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of some 257 children Hedy Epstein is far from a lone voice in the Jewish community. Many Jews are opposed to Israeli actions in Gaza and the appalling civilian death toll.
In 2008 Ms Epstein toured in the UK and Ireland to speak out against Israel's war crimes.
Link here for Hedy Epstein's video message.
