Events

Congregation B’nai Zion 2018-19 Film Series, M3M presents Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story. Q&A will be led by Robert Jacobvitz, longtime activist in the Sousa Mendes cause and the Chair of the Sousa Mendes Foundation’s Advisory Council.  Refreshments will be served.  

The Tucson Jewish Film Festival presents Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  A post-screening discussion will be led by Peter Barrett, whose Austrian-Jewish grandparents received lifesaving visas in 1940 from Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

The University of Miami presents a screening of Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  A post-screening discussion will be led by Robert Jacobvitz, Chair of the Sousa Mendes Foundation’s Advisory Council.  Refreshments will be served.

Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, the leading world authority on the Righteous Diplomats, will speak in an intimate wine-and-cheese gathering to which you are invited!  Dr. Paldiel is the former director of the Righteous Among the Nations department at Yad Vashem and will speak about Chiune Sugihara, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Georg Duckwitz and other heroes.  

Also speaking will be Armand Lerner, a Sousa Mendes visa recipient, and Chaim Jaskoll, whose family was saved by Sugihara. On view during this special event will be the ceramic novel “Journey Maps 1940” by Gaia Starr, depicting her family’s exodus from Nazi-occupied Europe with the help of Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

This is a very special event that you won’t want to miss!  If you plan to come, kindly RSVP to info@sousamendesfoundation.org. Or give us a call at (877) 797-9759.

In recognition of the special relationship between the city of New Bedford, MA and the story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Jewish Federation of New Bedford will present a gift to the Sousa Mendes Foundation on the occasion of the annual Yom Hashoah service of the city of New Bedford at Buttonwood Park.  Representing the Foundation will be Robert Jacobvitz, Chair of the Advisory Council, who played a key role in the early recognitions of Sousa Mendes in New Bedford and elsewhere in the 1980s.  Representing the Jewish Federation will be Amir Cohen, Executive Director.

The Community Church of Durham, NH presents the award-winning film, Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  Post-screening Q&A will be led by Dr. Douglas Wheeler, historian and expert on Portugal during World War II.  The event is free and open to the public.

Stefan Rozenfeld was born in 1934 in Lodz, Poland. His father, Abraham, was a ribbon manufacturer traveling in Belgium when World War II began on September 1, 1939. Separated from his wife Eugenia (Jenny) and Stefan, Abraham organized a daring escape that reunited the family.  However, without the help of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, France, the Rozenfeld family would never had mad it to safety.  Stefan Rozenfeld and his daughter Leah Rozenfeld Sills will tell his, and their family story.

This discussion is part of the Harold A. Gottesman ’50 Lecture Series and is open to the public.

The Westchester Community for Humanistic Judaism presents Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.  Q&A will be led by Miriam Turkel, whose parents received visas from Aristides de Sousa Mendes in June of 1940.  Refreshments will be served.  

Sousa Mendes Foundation advisory João Crisóstomo has organized a series of religious observances in the United States and Portugal in memory of Aristides de Sousa Mendes on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of his “Day of Conscience.” These are listed below:

Cabanas de Viriato and Beijós, Portugal, June 15 and 16. Bishop of Viseu Don Antonio Luciano and Father Carlos Sousa will remember Aristides de Sousa Mendes and his “Act of Conscience” during their sermons.

Algés, Portugal, June 16, 7 p.m. Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon Don Daniel Henrique will remember Sousa Mendes during his sermon.

Porto, Portugal, June 16. Bishop Don Armando Esteves Domingues will remember Sousa Mendes during his sermon. 

Torres Vedras, A-dos-Cunhados, Portugal, June 15 and 16. Father Eduardo will remember Sousa Mendes during the religious services. The Franciscan Community will remember Sousa Mendes in the Convento de Varatojo. Father Melícias will preside.

Five Wounds Portuguese National Church, 1375 E Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA, June 15 and 16.  Father Antonio Silveira will remember Sousa Mendes in his sermons.

Our Lady of Fatima Church, 403 Spring St, Elizabeth, NJ, June 16

Our Lady of Fatima Church, 355 South Broadway, Yonkers, NY, June 16, 10 a.m.
Father Osvaldo Franklin will remember Sousa Mendes in the mass.

Slovenian Community Church, 62 St. Marks Place, New York, NY, July 21, 10:30 a.m.

Mariana Abrantes de Sousa, Treasurer of the Sousa Mendes Foundation, will speak about Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the work of the Sousa Mendes Foundation during the International Council of B’nai B’rith Meeting from June 23-25, 2019.  Mariana’s talk will be held on Sunday, June 23rd at 11:45 a.m. and will be followed by a testimonial of Monica Barzilay, whose family received visas from Aristides de Sousa Mendes.