[Nyagdu] No Jews Allowed
cheryl echevarria
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
Mon Jan 18 17:13:47 UTC 2010
I totally understand this, my grandfather brother was killed in a
concentration camp, so I am only 2nd generation since this.
So yes I hope this will help.
Cheryl Echevarria
Independent Contractor
www.Echevarriatravel.com
1-866-580-5574
Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel CST-1018299-10
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>;
"NYAGDU List" <nyagdu at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 12:09 PM
Subject: [Nyagdu] No Jews Allowed
> Dear All,
> I was asked to circulate this message by Marc Dubin, Mr. Dubin is a
> subscriber to the email list of the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users. Marc is a former Senior Trial Attorney with the United States
> department of Justice and currently serves as the Director of Advocacy for
> the Center for Independent Living of South Florida, located in Miami, and
> Chairs the Florida Bar's Disability Law Committee
>
> . I hope everyone will take the time to read his comments, as I believe
> they will help put our work as advoacates into perspective!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> National Association of Guide Dog Users
> National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
> No Jews Allowed
>
> By Marc Dubin, Esq.
>
> mdubin at pobox.com
>
> Imagine that you sought help from the police after being beaten by your
> husband, only to find that you were told that you could not receive their
> services because you are Jewish.
>
> Imagine that you sought the services of the domestic violence program
> but are told that you could not receive their services because you are
> Jewish.
>
> Imagine that you sought the services of the Red Cross during a Hurricane
> but are told that you could not receive their services because you are
> Jewish.
>
> Imagine that you are the victim of rape, and sought the services of the
> rape treatment service but are told that you could not receive their
> services because you are Jewish.
>
> Imagine that you desperately need medical care but are told that you
> could not see the doctor because you are Jewish.
>
> Imagine that you went shopping, and are unable to go into a grocery
> store because you are Jewish.
>
> And imagine that you seek out the services of an attorney, and are
> denied services because you are Jewish.
>
> You would be outraged, and hurt. You would find allies to join you in
> protest. You would seek to have anti-discrimination laws enforced. You
> would consider suing. You would wonder how in this day and age such
> discrimination could occur.
>
> Every day, people with disabilities seek the services of law
> enforcement, domestic violence programs, Red Cross Shelters, rape
> treatment programs, health care providers, businesses, attorneys, and
> others, and are denied services because they have a disability.
> Architectural barriers that should not exist remain. Sign language
> interpreters are not provided. Policies that should be changed are not
> changed, and these policies prevent people with disabilities from using
> the services they need. Written materials are not offered in alternative
> formats. Service animals are excluded.
>
> If you are a person with a disability, these scenarios are all too
> familiar. You recognize these denials for what they are - civil rights
> violations. These denials are as offensive, as hurtful, as harmful as
> signs saying No Jews Allowed.
>
> My family understands this all too well. I am Jewish. When my parents
> were growing up, they were kicked out of school, for being Jewish.. Their
> parents were no longer allowed to work, because they were Jewish. They
> were beaten up by their neighbors, because they were Jewish. They could
> not shop in the neighborhood grocery stores, because they were Jewish.
> And, they were arrested, along with every other member of their family,
> because they were Jewish.
>
> Yes, it was another time and place. It was Poland, and Hitler was coming
> to power. Discrimination was all around them, and grew, and grew.
>
> I believe that I am well aware of the cost of social injustice and of
> the abuse of power, . My parents instilled in me an awareness of the
> importance of public service, the cost of prejudice and abuse of power,
> and of the debt I owe.
>
> Both of my parents came to the United States in 1952, from Lodz, Poland.
> My parents were both survivors of Hitler's concentration camps, and were
> the only members of their respective families to survive.(They each had 7
> brothers and sisters) Before the war, Lodz had the second largest Jewish
> community in Europe. As of 1939, there were 230,000 Jews in Lodz. The
> Germans moved them all into one area of the city, and walled it off.
> Eventually, an additional 25,000 people were brought in (20,000 Jews, and
> 5,000 Gypsies). The Germans then systematically starved and killed them.
>
> Beginning in January of 1942, the Germans began transporting Jews from
> Lodz to the Chelmno death camp, at a rate of approximately 1,000 a day.
> Within 3 weeks, over 10,000 people had been transported. Between February
> and April of 1942, over 34,000 more were taken away and killed. These
> deportations continued month after month. In August 1944, the ghetto was
> closed, and all remaining residents were transported by train to
> Auschwitz. My parents and some members of their families were among this
> group.
>
> As of 1944, of the original 250,000 Jews in Lodz, 30,000 were still
> alive.. Shortly before the end of the war, on January 18, 1945, the
> Germans removed 66,000 Jews from Auschwitz, and in an effort to avoid
> discovery by the Soviet Army, which was advancing toward the camp, marched
> them in the snow for days, and shot them as they marched, trying to
> destroy the evidence of what they had done. My father was on this death
> march, but escaped by leading a group of prisoners into the forest,
> emerging only when the Soviet Army arrived.
>
> By the time they were liberated from Auschwitz at the end of the war, in
> January 1945, only 15,000 of the original 250,000 jews in Lodz had
> survived. An estimated 1, 500,000 Jews were killed at Auschwitz. All of my
> parents' families, including their parents, their grandparents, their
> cousins, their uncles, their aunts, their sisters, and their brothers,
> were killed.
>
> Upon their liberation from Auschwitz, my parents were sent to a
> Displaced Persons camp, where they were kept for seven years. My sister
> was born in and spent the first six years of her life in the Displaced
> Persons Camp. In 1952, my parents emigrated to the United States.
>
> I tell you this because it is essential that we understand that the
> discrimination we address on behalf of people with disabilities is about
> civil rights, and about what we as a nation stand for when it comes to
> ensuring equal opportunity. When someone in a wheelchair is denied access
> to shelter, or access to government services, or access to civic life,
> they are experiencing discrimination. When someone who is deaf or hard of
> hearing is denied access to health care because a doctor refuses to pay
> for a qualified sign language interpreter, they are experiencing
> discrimination. When someone who is blind is denied access to written
> materials in accessible format, they are experiencing discrimination. Let’s
> not be unclear about this. The denial of civil rights is the first step
> toward seeing people with disabilities as inferior, and the first step to
> allowing the kind of thinking that can lead us down a very dangerous path.
> When the Nazis came to power, the first group killed were people with
> disabilities. It is essential that we understand the parallels, and that
> when we see discrimination, we stand up to it, and that we ally ourselves
> with its victims. We need not see signs saying “No People with
> Disabilities Allowed” to understand that discrimination is occurring, and
> that we need to do what we can, what we must, to remove those invisible,
> yet powerful signs. Lack of intent is not the test. The test is whether
> the discrimination occurs, and whether we have the will to overcome the
> discrimination. I believe we do, if we work together, and if we have the
> will to identify the discrimination for what it is.
>
> Reproduction of this article is encouraged.
>
>
>
>
>
> Marc Dubin, Esq.
>
> Director of Advocacy, Center for Independent Living of South Florida
>
> mdubin at pobox.com
>
> Mobile: 305-896-3000
>
> Fax: 877-731-3030
>
> www.victimswithdisabilities.org
>
> Chair, Florida Bar Disability Law Committee
>
> http://disabilitylawcommittee.blogspot.com/
>
> Former Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice 1993-2005
> www.ada.gov
>
> Former Special Counsel, Office on Violence Against Women, USDOJ
>
> www.ovw.usdoj.gov/overview.htm
>
> Founder & Executive Director, CAVNET www.cavnet.org
>
>
>
> ADA Expertise is owned and operated by Marc Dubin, Esq. Opinions posted
> are posted in a private capacity, and are not to be construed to be the
> opinions of the CIL, its employees, Board, or volunteers.
>
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