The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous Inc

The JFR provides financial support to non-Jews who rescued Jews during the Holocaust and preserves their legacy through education.

Mission

During the Holocaust there were thousands of non-Jews who refused to be passive in the face of the evil they witnessed, rescuing Jews, often at risk to their own lives and their families. Today, many of these Righteous Gentiles are aged and needy. Currently, the JFR supports more than 800 aged and needy rescuers in 23 countries and educates generations to come about their extraordinary acts of courage.

Programs

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) provides monthly financial assistance to more than 800 aged and needy Righteous Gentiles in 23 countries. Funds are also provided to meet emergency needs of the rescuers -- food, medicines, heating fuel. The majority of the rescuers receiving financial support live in Eastern Europe. The Foundation seeks to fulfill the traditional Jewish commitment to "hakarat hatov", the searching out and recognition of goodness. The Foundation's education program focuses on educating middle and high school teachers about the history of the Holocaust and within that context, rescue. The JFR education program, "Teaching the Holocaust: History, Perspectives and Choices," includes a three volume set for teachers and their students. The first volume, "Voices & Views: A History of the Holocaust," was published in October 2002 and received excellent reviews. Authored by Professor Deborah Dwork, is a ten-chapter edited and annotated collection designed to educate teachers about the Holocaust and to introduce them to the leading scholarship in the field. "Voices and Views" addresses the specific subject of moral courage and the rescue of Jews within the context of a general history of the Holocaust. The second volume, "A Resource for Teachers," provides additional resources enabling the teacher to integrate the knowledge obtained from "Voices & Views" into the classroom. The third volumne, a "Student Reader", contains high school age appropriate introductions for each theme and primary source documents. The JFR is developing a national program of teacher education workshops and seminars. The JFR also has an extensive Bar/Bat Mitzvah program for students and their families. The program twins a Bar/Bat Mitzvah with a Christian Rescuer. Other programs include a Speakers Bureau and a missions program. Each year the JFR sponsors a trip to Europe to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and to honor those non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews.