Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta

📣 ANNOUNCEMENT📣

Dear
We're excited to share that our event, "An Evening of Jewish History in Malta," on October 22, 2024, has received amazing interest and is now fully booked!
If you'd like to be added to our waiting list, please email us at [email protected].

Did you know Jewish communities have a long and complex history in the Maltese Archipelago? From the 16th to the 18th century, many Jews on the islands were enslaved, yet they found ways to maintain their religious practices. With the support of the Confraternity for the Redemption of Jewish Slaves of Venice and Leghorn, they observed their traditions in the Slave Prison of Birgu, known as La Prigione degli Schiavi Ebrei.

Join us for an insightful evening on Jewish History in Malta on October 22nd. In a lecture that delves into the fascinating history of Jewish life on the Maltese islands, we will explore this remarkable chapter of Jewish resilience and faith. Learn how Jews persevered under slavery and celebrated their culture in challenging circumstances.

Find out more: https://fb.me/e/2cnLpAh8h

We are thrilled to invite you to a special evening focused on Jewish history in Malta.

🗓 Date: Tuesday, 22nd October
🕕 Time: 6:00 p.m.
📍 Venue: University of Malta, Valletta Campus

This promises to be a captivating event, and we'd love to have you join us!

⚠️ Places are limited, and entry is by invitation only for logistical reasons. Invites can be requested by filling out the form available here: https://qr1.be/JK0K

Feel free to spread the word and share with friends who may be interested! 🌟

Late applications for the Diploma in Maltese History in Context are open 👇🏻

Are you still thinking about joining the Diploma in Maltese History in Context this coming October?

You still can: late applications are open until 16 September 2024 at 14:00: https://www.um.edu.mt/study/admissionsadvice/

Don't miss out on this wonderful learning opportunity.

This part-time evening course is spread over two years, making it ideal for people with busy schedules.

For further information see here:
https://www.um.edu.mt/courses/overview/udmhcpte-2024-5-o/

📣 Applications are open till 24th July.
A study-unit is dedicated to Jewish History in Malta.

“SHOAH (The Holocaust) - How Was It Humanly Possible?” is now set up at the University of Malta Library, Msida Campus. This is your last chance to visit the exhibition.

Yesterday marked Yom Ha-Shoah - The Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel.

While the last witnesses and victims of the atrocity of Na**sm are slowly leaving us, the duty of remembrance lies with all of us. This duty is to remember and honour the victims and also to raise awareness of historical facts!
The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta is not only committed to safeguarding the local Jewish heritage but also to being an active part of this duty of remembrance. The foundation shares the firm conviction that historical events, such as the Holocaust, should never be forgotten, nor historical facts be denied nor distorted.
The foundation is determined to contribute to honour the history and memory of the victims of the N**i regime and to raise awareness by bringing educational resources to the Maltese audience and educators.

We invite the public to visit the latest exhibition organised by the Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta:

Shoah. The Holocaust. How was it humanly possible?
The exhibition will be displayed at the University of Malta, Msida campus Library from 24th April to 4th June; Monday to Friday, 7 am to 8 pm and Saturdays, 9 am to 12 pm.

We are lucky enough to have access to video testimonies of 8 holocaust survivors across 8 countries; these short 3-minute stories give you insight into what it was like, what happened and how what they saw has affected their lives. For more information visit: https://shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org/stories-of-holocaust-survivors/

We are proud to announce that the exhibition: "𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐚𝐡: How was it humanly possible" is now in its second location. Dealing with major historical aspects of the Holocaust, the exhibition is available for viewing in the foyer of the Institute of Applied Science at MCAST Campus in Paola.

The Holocaust was an unprecedented genocide, total and systematic, perpetrated in Europe from 1933 to 1945, by N**i Germany and its collaborators, with the aim of annihilating the Jewish people from the face of the Earth. The panels feature explanatory texts interspersed with quotes from the Jewish victims and survivors, photographs, art documents as well as videos of survivor stories.

We invite you to visit the exhibition "SHOAH - How was it humanly possible" currently hosted at the German-Maltese Circle.
The exhibition has been produced by Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem, with the collaboration of the German Embassy Valletta, Israel in Malta, the German-Maltese Circle, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), CSB Group, Lombard Bank, The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Summit Furniture, Inc., Marks and Spencer Malta.
For more information visit https://shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org/

His Excellency George Vella, President of Malta, visits the exhibition entitled "Shoah - The Holocaust: How was it Humanly possible” currently hosted at the German-Maltese Circle in Valletta. The opening hours can be found here: https://shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org

The exhibition has been produced by Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem, with the collaboration of German Embassy Valletta, Israel in Malta, German Maltese Circle, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), CSB Group, Lombard Bank, The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Summit Furniture, Marks and Spencer Malta.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the German Maltese Circle is proudly hosting the opening of SHOAH exhibition with the attendance of His Excellency the President of Malta Dr. George Vella together with His Excellency the German Ambassador to Malta Walter Haßmann, the Chairperson of Tayar Foundation Mr Julius Nehari and the Chairman of the German Maltese Circle Mr Arthur Ciantar. The exhibition will be open to the public until the 11th of March and is produced by the Traveling Exhibitions Department, Museums Division of Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, organized by Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta (https://jewishheritagemalta.org)

The Holocaust was an unprecedented genocide perpetrated in Europe from 1933 to 1945, by N**i Germany and its collaborators, with the aim of annihilating the Jewish people from the face of the Earth. Today, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day with the launch of the exhibition "SHOAH - How was it Humanly possible?" at the German-Maltese Circle.
For more information visit https://shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org/

The exhibition has been produced by Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem with the collaboration of German Embassy Valletta, Israel in Malta, German-Maltese Circle, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), CSB Group, Lombard Bank, The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Summit Furniture, Inc., Marks and Spencer Malta.

Final preparation underway for this Friday's lauch.
Find out more: shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org

The final preparations for the launch of the exhibition "Shoah - The Holocaust: How was it Humanly possible" are currently underway. The exhibition will be launched on January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Produced by the Traveling Exhibitions Department, Museums Division of Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalemm , the exhibition deals with major historical aspects of the Holocaust, beginning with Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe and ending with the liberation of the N**i concentration and extermination camps across the continent and the remarkable return to life of the survivors. For more information visit https://shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org/

Friday, January 13th at 12:00PM Local Malta time

Anyone interested in learning about Malta's Jewish history up until the present day?

Then I invite you to sign up with Abe Events to hear from Damon Allan (the Tayar Foundation and Exclusively Malta) as well as Irene and Alex Shaland of Global Travel Authors. Irene and Alex will be presenting content from their book titled: Shaland's Travel Guide to Malta and Corsica. The focus of course will be on Malta.

Here is the link to register with Abe Events:
https://abrahampresentations.aweb.page/p/7602dd18-2060-4584-9968-17b75cf978fb

Here is the link to join the meeting/discussion tomorrow:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85157983866?pwd=QjJVZDVmV1FWejI5bjRZNEs5UmovUT09

And a few words from Abe Events:

Welcome to Abraham Events and to our worldwide Jewish community.

We zoom together each Friday at 1100am London time to entertain, educate, and inspire.

Once you are on our mailing list, you will receive 3 emails each week.

• 1st Tuesdays pm - the event invitation for the Friday live presentation.
• 2nd Thursday pm – the link to enter the zoom meeting Friday at 11.am London time ONLY (11:00AM London time, 12:00PM Malta time
THIS IS THE LINK FOR THE LIVE EVENT. NOT THE LINK FOR THE RECORDING .
• 3rd Friday pm- Audio/Visual Recording of the live event FREE OF CHARGE if you can’t attend the live event.
THIS IS THE LINK FOR THE RECORDING only. can BE WATCHED AT ANY TIME TO SUIT YOU.

The recordings are used to watch at your leisure and for those who watch IN different times zones to the UK .

They come to you free of any charge as it is my personal commitment to finance this project so dear to my heart.

Each member of our small team volunteers their services:- Jeremy Hart, and Robert Shields our IT specialists and John Blaskey or Lynne Nathan who host the presentations., Advice also comes freely from Michael Colin and Gita Conn.

Do hope you enjoy all our presentations; please do introduce your friends and family to the sheer pleasure of being together on Friday mornings.

Any suggestions you may have to enhance the events further.

Sincerely Johnny Sueke London
Mobile (44) 07801 662 481
Landline (44) 0207433 1073

Join our FREE Zoom Meetings We cover a variety of topics from politics to current affairs, biographies to history and have had approaching 120 speakers.

We wish you all a happy Hanukkah 🕎 Chag Sameach!

📸 Image: Freepik

We wish you all a happy New Year!

📸 designed by Freepik - Freepik.com

Image by Freepik

“𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐁𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟” 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤

The exhibition has been a great success! After having been displayed in 4 different locations in and over the past 5 months and reaching thousands of Maltese students from State, Church and Independent schools through the online platform and 20 online workshops, it’s time for the to address its sincere gratitude to all those who made this exhibition a reality.

Our thanks go to our sponsors and donors whose support has been central to the success of this project: the Melita Foundation, Marks & Spencer, the Commonwealth Jewish Council, Lombard Bank, Remax Crown, CSB Group, Ms Jane Siebert and Summit Furniture, Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Mr James Brett, Mr Mark Weingard, Shelley Tayar’s son Mr Ariel Deutch and George Tayar’s daughter, Ms Rina Arnold, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Embassy of Israel.

We are also thankful to the volunteers of and Mr Richard Curmi for their support in the logistics and for hosting the exhibition. We also thank \ANG for their great work in promoting the project and organising the launch of the exhibition.
This project wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration of Levien Rouw and the , and the remarkable contribution of Dr Isabelle Sammut who carried out the online exhibition and workshop for the students. Thank you also to for creating a fantastic online experience for our young audience in times of Covid.

Finally, thank you to all the visitors and our followers who spread the word! We look forward to seeing you at our future events.

Stay tuned, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞!

𝟑 𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰

𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤
We’d love to have some extra hands in helping us implement our projects and preserve local Jewish Heritage! Interested? Reach out to us on [email protected]

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐢𝐝
The Foundation is constantly growing, hence more resources are needed to meet the increasing demands, help us by sending a donation - https://bit.ly/3Nfq3zv

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬
Follow us on our Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn) and share them with your friends too.

📍 Location #4: 𝐈𝐥-Ħ𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦, 𝐆𝐨𝐳𝐨

Take the opportunity to experience a highly immersive Anne Frank exhibition designed for the Maltese islands by the Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta, in coordination with Anne Frank House.

The Exhibition will adhere to the current COVID-19 regulations as per the Health Authority.

This project is sponsored by Melita Foundation-NPO, REMAX Crown - Sliema, Commonwealth Jewish Council, Lombard Bank, Summit Furniture, The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Marks and Spencer, Edukazzjoni, Affarijiet Barranin, The Embassy of Israel in Malta and Embassy of the Netherlands in Malta.

Timeline of Jewish History in Malta

📌 4th-5th Century: Jewish tombs within Rabat Catacombs site show that Jews, Christians and Pagans use to live in close vicinities during the Roman and early Byzantine period.

📌 63 CE: the tradition says that Paul of Tarsus shipwrecked in Malta and introduced Christianity

📌 1241: Giliberto Abbate (Governor of Malta to the viceroy of Sicily) mentions 25 Jewish families in Malta and 8 in Gozo compared to 681 Muslim and 1,047 Christian families in Malta, and 155 and 203 respectively in Gozo

📌 1285: Avraham Abulafia, a famous medieval Kabbalist, is said to have spent his last years in Comino where he would have written his Sefer ha-Ot – ‘Book of the Sign’

📌 1492: the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews of Spain will lead to the end of the Jewish Medieval Community in Malta

📌 1530: The arrival of the Knight of St John on Malta will be marked by the presence of a Jewish slaves community in the Archipelago. The community was supported by the Jewish Confraternities for the Ransoming of the slaves of Venice and Leghorn.

📌 1784: The Confraternity for the redemption of the slaves purchased a plot in Kalkara to be used for the burial of the Jewish slaves in Malta. Kalkara Jewish Cemetery is one of the sites the Tayar Foundation is taking care of.

📌 1798: The French troops took Malta and Napoleon abolished slavery

📌 Since 1800: immigration from Gibraltar and North Africa led to the rebirth of a Jewish Community

📌 1846: Rabbi Yosef Tayar settled in Malta and becomes the first Rabbi of the Community

📌 1930’s: Jewish families escaping the N**i and Fascist persecutions find refuge in Malta

📌 1998: Establishment of the Synagogue in Ta’ Xbiex

We are excited to share this teaser video from Jewish Life TV.

https://youtu.be/Nsvm3YdSijQ

Throughout the series, they explore "The Jewish History of Magnificent Malta: Explore the history of one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, Maltese Jewry, which began before the Common Era and continues to blossom into the 21st Century."

Tayar Foundation founders can be seen in each of the episodes. We are proud of this opportunity and we also thank the Malta Tourism Authority for their support in seeing this project through.

We look forward to seeing more visitors to our islands in pursuit of the Maltese Jewish storyline.

https://youtu.be/Nsvm3YdSijQ

We are in Gozo from 19th June till 25th July. S📣 Share the news!

Anne Frank Exhibition at Il-Ħaġar Museum

Il-Ħaġar Museum, Cultural Centre and Community Space is pleased to host the world-famous Anne Frank Exhibition ‘Let Me Be Myself’, curated by the Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta in collaboration with Anne Frank House of Amsterdam.

Set up on Level 2, the exhibition will challenge visitors, particularly young people, to reflect on subjects such as identity, prejudice and discrimination. Besides no fewer than thirty-four detailed panels, Anne Frank’s story further comes to life through artefacts, videos, and a model of the house where she hid. In addition, there’s a facsimile of her diary that culminated in what has become one of the most famous and well-read books ever.

‘Let Me Be Myself’, happening as part of the 25th edition of the Victoria International Arts Festival will be inaugurated this Sunday, 19th June, at 12:30, and can be visited till the 25th July during the museum opening hours of 09:00 to 17:00, seven days a week.

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐀

During wartime, sirens and shelters formed the patterns of everyday life. In 1943, George Tayar (1918-1994) and Dun Karm Psaila, who were close friends, shared some time in a shelter in Żebbuġ. While bombs were falling, Dun Karm asked George what was he longing for at this precise moment. George, who had a sweet tooth answered “Cikkulata”. Dun Karm treated George with everlasting chocolate with his poem “Cikkulata”.

Reference: TAYAR, Shelley. Shalom. An Account of Malta’s Jewish Community since 1800. Alan Keighley (Research and historical section) and Andy Welsh (Ed.), San Gwann, 2009.

Learn more about the Jewish community of Malta during World War II by visiting Let Me Be Myself. The life story of Anne Frank.

This project is sponsored by Melita Foundation, Remax Crown, the Commonwealth Jewish Council, Lombard Bank, Summit Furniture, the Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Marks & Spencers, the Ministry for Education and Sport, the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs, the Embassy of Israel in Malta and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malta.

George Tayar (Courtesy Rina Arnold)

Kindly note that the exhibition "Let me Be Myself. The Life Story of Anne Frank" will be displayed at Fort St Elmo until Tuesday 31th May.
Next stop... Gozo, Il-Ħaġar Museum, from 19th June to 25th July.

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐀

Like other Maltese during the war, some Jewish families left Valletta, which was heavily bombed, to find refuge in the Maltese countryside. So did Fortunato Habib who moved to Birkirkara with his family and commuted to Valletta every day to open his ladies’ fashion shop on Zachary street.

Reference: TAYAR, Shelley. Shalom. An Account of Malta’s Jewish Community since 1800. Alan Keighley (Research and historical section) and Andy Welsh (Ed.), San Gwann, 2009.

Learn more about the Jewish community of Malta during World War II by visiting Let Me Be Myself. The life story of Anne Frank.

This project is sponsored by Melita Foundation, Remax Crown, the Commonwealth Jewish Council, Lombard Bank, Summit Furniture, the Alfred Mizzi Foundation, Marks & Spencers, the Ministry for Education and Sport, the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs, the Embassy of Israel in Malta and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malta.

Credit: Cecil Habib and Malta’s Lost Voices /Filfla records