Jerusalem Honors Aristides de Sousa Mendes
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OCTOBER 25, 2022. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. A city square in Jerusalem will be dedicated in memory of the Portuguese diplomat and Holocaust rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes, some 80 years after his daring rescue of thousands of Jews, while stationed in Bordeaux, France in 1940. This memorial action is largely thanks to the efforts of the historian Dr. Mordecai Paldiel who serves on the Board of the Sousa Mendes Foundation and who was previously the Director of the Department for the Righteous at Yad Vashem.
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A ceremony marking the inauguration of the street sign is planned for Tuesday, November 8 at 5:00 PM. The street sign is in Hebrew, Arabic and English, and reads: “Aristides de Sousa Mendes Square, Consul General of Portugal in Bordeaux (France), saved thousands of Jews during the years 1939-40.” Speakers will include: Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Lion, Portugal Ambassador to Israel Jorge Cabral, former Israeli Ambassador to Portugal Colette Avital and Yad Vashem representative Dr. Joel Zisenwine.
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“Sousa Mendes is one of a group of diplomats honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for helping Jews avoid deportation by granting them visas to other countries,” Dr. Paldiel says. “However, he stands out from others as the only one who disobeyed direct and clear orders from his superiors not to grant such visas to Jewish refugees, and was consequently severely punished by immediate dismissal from his diplomatic post. He remains an example of what a difference one person can make in the pursuit of goodness.”
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On the following day, Wednesday, November 9, at 4 PM, a symposium will take place at the Vert Hotel in Jerusalem on the subject of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the Families He Saved. Speakers will include Gerald Mendes, a grandson of Aristides de Sousa Mendes; Dr. Avraham Milgram, author of Portugal, Salazar and the Jews; and representatives of various families rescued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes. Refreshments will be served.
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The Sousa Mendes Foundation was established in 2010 to perpetuate the memory of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and to educate the public about refugees and rescue during the Holocaust. The Sousa Mendes Foundation is engaged in a worldwide search for families who escaped the Holocaust through Portugal. The Foundation has a two-fold mission: raising funds for the creation of a Sousa Mendes Museum and Site of Conscience and sponsoring projects that teach the importance of moral courage in a civilized world.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION please contact info@sousamendesfoundation.org or (877) 797-9759.
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Photo credit: Avi Losice
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