Ido Abram

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Ido (Isidoor Bert Hans) Abram was born in Jakarta, Indonesia (at the time Batavia) in 1940. During WWII he was an internee in Japanese Camps. After liberation he went to school and university in the Netherlands. He is presently professor of pedagogy and has published on topics regarding Jewish culture and identity, multucultural education and „Education after Auschwitz“. He has been the first European professor for „Holocaust Education“ since 1990.

He has developed a model to illustrate the different ways of being Jewish. He says there are five aspects that in some way affect the life of every Jew. These are: religion and tradition, the tie with Israel and Zionism, war persecution and survival, personal history and the exchange between Jewish and Dutch cultures. Just how heavily these different aspects weigh on each person individually depends on the place and time in which one lives. During the course of a person’s life the various aspects may alter in importance.

Religion and tradition Religion and tradition are the oldest aspects and were for a long time the only identifying factors of a Jew. They serve as the foundation for Judaism. Today, however, many Jews are not religious or, if they are, they don’t live according to the traditional precepts. Thus a Jew may never go to a synagogue but still feels linked to Judaism through some of the other five aspects.

The tie with Israel and Zionism After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in CE 70, Jews scattered and began living throughout the world. But the tie with the land of Israel remains. Every Jew feels and expresses this in a different way. Some choose to ‘make aliyah' - to emigrate to Israel. Others may voice their criticism of the political situation that has developed in Israel.

War, persecution and survival The holocaust - the organized persecution and extermination of six million Jews that took place during World War II - has left a painful scar. Even for Jews who didn’t experience the war, this aspect of Jewish history can never be forgotten.

Personal history Every human being - and every Jew - has individual talents and qualities. How you develop these makes you the unique person you are.

The exchange between Jewish and Dutch cultures There has always been an interplay between the Jewish minority and the non-Jewish society among whom they lived. It is up to every Jew to find a balance between these two cultures. The degree to which Jews adapt to the majority culture around them and how much they retain an essentially Jewish identity, is a matter of personal choice.

Sources:

[1]Arche - Platform for Intercultural Projects in Austria]

[2]Jewish Historical Museum]