Open Letter To Oskar Deutsch : WE ARE OBLIGED NOT TO TURN A BLIND EYE

 

o.deutsch@ikg-wien.at
office@ikg-wien.at

Dear Mr Deutsch,

By way of introduction, I am a female Jewish lawyer and mother from London, and have been following the experience of Beth Alexander (Schlesinger) for some years.

Beth and I were at Cambridge University together around 2004-2006. We lost touch after we no longer studied in the same place once we had finished our studies. However, the lasting impression that Beth leaves - as kind, nurturing and thoughtful - is one which I know is shared by many others who have known or met Beth.

I have been deeply saddened and horrified to learn of Beth’s and her sons’ experiences of being forcibly separated from each other, and the apparent complicity of the Vienna Jewish Community in this horrific miscarriage of justice.

I rarely invoke the memory of my grandfather (z’l) who escaped from Vienna on Kindertransport in the 1930s. He was a man with tremendous compassion and righteousness. He knew the importance of a mother's love, that having been so cruelly snatched from him at such a young age. He would be appalled to know that the community where he was a child could allow and even perpetuate such an unjust and cruel situation robbing two little boys of their mother's care and love.

As Jews, we are obliged not to turn a blind eye to such miscarriages of justice, and even more so when they happen with our own community. It is our ethical and religious duty to seek justice, and where we are in positions of power to ensure that we use those positions wisely, with courage, and with humanity.

I implore you not to continue on this path of dissociation from the case. I implore you to find strength and courage to use your power and influence wisely to seek justice for these poor little boys, who should never have been deprived of their mother. In your hands, you have the ability and duty to do everything within your power change this situation. Please do not squander or close your eyes to your responsibility.

The Jewish community and beyond are watching and waiting...

Regards
Jenni Woolf

#openletterstodeutsch #reunitingbethwithhersons