Wilfrid Israel, Holocaust Hero

11 AM LOS ANGELES • 2 PM NEW YORK

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Wilfrid Israel, a Berlin department store magnate and art collector, was German Jewry’s “secret ambassador” to England from 1938-43. He worked with the British diplomat/spy Frank Foley, Righteous Among the Nations, to secure life-saving British visas for thousands of German Jews and was the “essential link” in the establishment of the Kindertransport operation. He also was a key benefactor of the Youth Aliyah movement and was a co-founder of Kibbutz Hazorea.  Time and again, he had opportunities to remain safe in England or Palestine, and yet he kept going back to Germany to rescue more Jews. On his last rescue mission, Wilfrid Israel was shot down by the Wehrmacht over the English channel. Albert Einstein said of the businessman, “Never in my life have I come in contact with a being so noble, so strong and as selfless as Wilfrid Israel.”  A fascinating and multilayered life!

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WATCH THE TRAILER

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THE SCHEDULE

⇒ May 19-22, watch Yonatan Nir‘s film The Essential Link: The Story of Wilfrid Israel on your home device. A link will be provided to all who register.

⇒ Sunday, May 21 at 2:00 p.m. US Eastern Time, tune into the program with our distinguished panel of guests.  A link will be provided to all who register.

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MEET THE PANEL

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Award-winning filmmaker Yonatan Nir (right) has been telling stories for over a decade. From epic photojournalist reports to the critically acclaimed Dolphin Boy which was acquired by Disney Pictures and screened in over 130 film festivals, he successfully captures and portrays unique relationships formed between humans and nature. After Dolphin Boy, Nir went on to direct and produce Cutting the Pain, My Hero Brother, The Essential Link: The Story of Wilfrid Israel and Picture of His Life. Nir is also a sought-after speaker and has given many lectures around the world, from the United Nations to TedX.

Dr. Ilan Baer (left) is featured in the film The Essential Link about Wilfrid Israel, together with his brother Ophir Baer. The two brothers were born and raised in Kibbutz Hazorea in Israel, where their father created and managed a museum devoted to the memory of Wilfrid Israel — housing his art collection and documenting his heroic wartime activities. Uri Baer was Wilfrid Israel’s friend, and letters were exchanged between them. Ilan Baer serves on the B’nai B’rith committee that honors Jewish rescuers of Jews. He is a medical doctor.

Author Naomi Shepherd wrote the definitive biography of Wilfrid Israel. Born and educated in the UK (BA Oxford University-Somerville College), she worked initially in journalism and publishing in London, with brief working periods in France and Italy. She was the Israel correspondent of The New Statesman and an occasional contributor to The Guardian, The New York Times, Commentary, and other publications. Among her books are A Price Below Rubies: Jewish Women as Rebels and Radicals, The Zealous Intruders- the Western Rediscovery of Palestine; Ploughing Sand-British Rule in Palestine; The Ordeal of Freedom; the Russians in Israel; The Mayor and the Citadel; Alarms and Excursions and a book of short stories: Ashes.  She is widowed, and the mother of three children (one deceased) and seven grandchildren.

Dr. Jud Newborn (moderator) was the Founding Historian of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, and co-author of the acclaimed Sophie Scholl and the White Rose. A dramatic multimedia lecturer, he has spoken throughout North America, at the UN and worldwide. He was awarded his PhD with Distinction by the Univ. of Chicago following three years of adventurous fieldwork as a Fulbright and Woodrow Wilson National Fellow, including hunting down former SS officers and working undercover during communist martial law in Poland. He was honored with the Anne Frank Center’s prestigious “Spirit of Anne Frank Award” and is the Emmy Award-winning Producer of Special Programs for Long Island’s Cinema Arts Centre.

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Registration for this program is closed.