The Last Korczak Boy
Published on Apr 15, 2015
Itzchak Belfer never really left Yanusz Korczak’s orphanage on Krochmalna Street in Warsaw, Poland. Even though he is now 90 years old, a well-known Israeli artist, he will always be little Itzchakele from Warsaw, and Korczak is always with him in thought and spirit. The Polish doctor and educator lives on in Belfer’s drawings and paintings, and Yanusz Korczak’s spirit dwells in the artist’s soul.
Belfer shares with us his amazingly clear memories from the orphanage on Krochmalna Street in pre-World War II Warsaw. He reveals Korczak’s unique view of children as, first of all, human beings to be treated with the same dignity and consideration as adults.
He warmly describes the work of Korczak and his assistant, Stepha Wilczyńska, at the orphanage, their love for the children and their total dedication to saving them, which led to their tragic end.
Janusz Korczak
(Source: Yad Vashem) http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holoca…
(Pen name of Henryk Goldszmit; 1878/9-1942)
Polish Jewish doctor, author and educator. Born in Warsaw to an assimilated Jewish family, Korczak dedicated his life to caring for children, particularly orphans. He believed that children should always be listened to and respected, and this belief was reflected in his work. He wrote several books for and about children, and broadcast a children’s radio program. In 1912 Korczak became the director of a Jewish orphanage in Warsaw.
When World War II broke out in 1939, Korczak first refused to accept the German occupation and heed their regulations (consequently spending time in jail). However, when the Jews of Warsaw were forced to move into a ghetto, Korczak refocused his efforts on the children in his orphanage. Despite offers from Polish friends to hide him on the «Aryan» side of the city, Korczak refused to abandon the children.
On August 5, 1942, during a 2-month wave of deportations from the ghetto, the Nazis rounded up Korczak and his 200 children. They marched in rows to the Umschlagplatz with Korczak in the lead. He never abandoned his children, even to the very end. Korczak and the children were sent to Treblinka, where they were all murdered.
The Knesset: World’s Greenest Parliament
April 13, 2015
The Israeli parliament, or Knesset, is about to become the “greenest” parliament in the world thanks to the recent installation of a vast solar farm on the roof of the Knesset building in Jerusalem.
The recently unveiled 4,650-square-meter solar field consists of 1,406 photovoltaic panels, which will provide 450 kilowatts of energy. Along with additional energy-saving initiatives that were launched in 2014, the project is expected to reduce the Knesset’s energy consumption by a third by the end of 2015.
SEE ALSO: Meet Seven Israeli Alternative-Energy Companies With Solutions To Fuel The Future
The new solar farm – which will absorb an abundance of sunlight thanks to Israel’s warm climate – is expected to generate most of the building’s electricity, including power for heating and air conditioning. “We are very proud to turn the Knesset into the greenest parliament in the world,” Knesset Director-General Ronen Plot said in a statement. The Knesset’s newest solar panel installation will make the German Bundestag the second-greenest parliament in the world.
The solar panel installation is part of a larger project called “Green Knesset”. The goal of this multi-year project is to convert the Knesset into a legislative branch that is guided in its conduct by the concept of sustainability. It consists of 13 initiatives focusing on saving water and energy. The Knesset will invest $1.75 million in these initiatives, and the average return from saving energy and water is estimated at $500,000 a year within five years.
From their eco-friendly, sustainable house of representatives, the newly elected members of the Israeli parliament can now set an example for the rest of the country. The Green Knesset project includes the digitization of documents, switching to LED lamps, using fewer power-guzzling appliances, and more. “It is a true revolution,” Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said in a statement.
The Knesset joins a host of other organizations that are in part or wholly self-sufficient in terms of energy, such as Walmart and Ikea. These corporations not only enjoy the economic benefits of going “green,” but they also improve their public image. Says Edelstein: “This saving of energy has far-reaching environmental implications, not only in the direct economic sense, but also in the sense that it will dramatically reduce the harm caused to the environment.”
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