Connecting the Holocaust to contemporary culture & the politics of our time. Run by Oliver Sears
@osearsgallery
whose mother Monika is a Holocaust survivor.
Eternal thanks to
@Oprah
Winfrey who described
‘The Objects of Love’ exhibition as “powerful and inspiring” when she previewed it recently
@92ndStreetY
New York. Told through a curated collection of precious family objects, photographs & documents that survived the Holocaust
An important moment today when six Stolpersteine are laid on Donore Ave, Dublin 8 in memory of the six Irish Jews known to have been murdered in the Holocaust. The Talmud declares that a person is only forgotten when their name is forgotten.
The Protocol of the Elders of Zion is a forgery, forerunner to contemporary antisemitic conspiracy theory.Its sole purpose is to demonize Jews & provoke anti-Jewish hatred. Are
@Hodges_Figgis
Dublin selling this document to profit from the explosion in antisemitism since Oct 7th?
The Talmud declares that a person is only forgotten when their name is forgotten. Today on
@RTESunMisc
I’ll be reading my piece about Stolpersteine, six of which were recently laid on Donore Ave, Dublin 8 in memory of the six Irish Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Oliver Sears
Many thanks to Brendan O'Connor
@RadioBrendanRTE
for giving me the opportunity to explain how Jews living in Ireland are heartbroken at the rise of antisemitism & are bewildered by the polarization of rhetoric around the current conflict. Oliver
A lucid,informative & emotionally freighted opED from
@RachelMoiselle
&
@agnekn
from who describe the Jewish experience
@tcddublin
& broadly in Ireland. The hostility & sense of isolation they describe is heartbreaking & shameful.These two young women have shown immense courage.
Politicians like Andrew Bridgen have succeeded in bringing conspiracy theories into the mainstream. They need to be called out, their arguments dismantled and their political influence cast out to the fringes where it belongs.
In 1934 Jews were segregated on trains. By 1942 Jews were deported on trains to death camps. Watch how nobody intervenes. In earshot of Jews & bystanders too afraid to speak out, in NYC? This is how facism succeeds. On Palestine the prog left has lost its mind.
Oliver Sears
"Okay no Zionists, we're good." The crowd cheers.
Jews are 16 percent of the population NYC. Upwards of 90 percent of Jews are Zionists.
You've created a culture in which Jews must hide our identity.
Next time I see your movement booing, I'll remember what you cheer...
I am delighted to partner with the Office of Public Works to present The Objects of Love, an exhibition of personal mementoes, photographs & documents that tell the story of one Jewish family -mine- before, during and after World War II. 13Jan-13Feb Bedford Hall, Dublin Castle.
In the race to alienate Irish Jews,
@UCDSU
students have bested
@tcdsu
by invoking the Nazi policy of making areas Judenfrei. Why have
@gardainfo
not arrested those flying terrorist PFLP flags? If the demos were against Black people instead of Jews there would be uproar.
In the Sunday
@thetimesIE
a few of us talk to
@JulieanneCorr
about how Jews in Ireland feel in a climate where anti-Isreal sentiment and antisemitism are conflated as never before. Those in office should temper their rhetoric, they are responsible for the safety of all citizens.
Today is the 76th anniversary of liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Among the survivors was a nine year old boy called Tomi Reichental. We are honoured to know him and we count on him for his wisdom as an advisor to Holocaust Awareness Ireland.
My mother, a Holocaust survivor, says you can have Auschwitz or you can have god but you can't have both. Really looking forward to reading
@Baddiel
's new book The God Desire & to welcoming him to Dublin 28th March. Please check our website for details.
The Nuremberg trials introduced 2 legal terms: Crimes Against Humanity & Genocide - required to try the unspeakable crimes of the Nazis. These trials formed the basis of Human Rights law. Not a subject to be trivialised. Could Dave Fanning redirect his apology?
@OireachtasNews
I was pleased to join the delegation from the Jewish community who met the Minister for Foreign Affairs last week for 2 hrs.
We discussed the difficulties we have faced as Jews in Ireland since Oct 7.
We all want peace but antisemitism has no place in that pursuit.
Oliver Sears
If the directors of The Abbey Theatre, the national theatre of Ireland are going to make statements about the war in Gaza without mentioning the Hamas atrocities of 7th October and are turning the theatre into a forum for political activism then they have de facto excluded Jews.
Our thanks to Minister Paschal Donohoe for launching this important new book which explores the complexities of Irish Jewry.
Speaking last night at Trinity College Dublin to a packed room, he spoke with great sensitivity & wisdom, acknowledging the issues facing Irish Jews today.
Full house last night for our event
#JewsDontCount
with David
@Baddiel
at Trinity. A masterclass in communicating complex issues of antisemitism & racism with intellectual rigour & pitch perfect humour. My heartfelt thanks to David & to Dr Zuleika Rodgers as host. Oliver Sears.
What exactly is it about this misogynistic, human rights abusing, Holocaust denying, antisemitic, theocratic, terrorist regime that so appeals to the President of Ireland? President of one of the most liberal democracies in the world.
Do you want to know why the regime in Iran decided to execute protesters in relation to the Women, Life, Freedom uprising after two years?
Look at how leaders of the free world, like the Irish president, stand with blood-soaked tyrants and ignore the crimes against humanity
"To honour my family, I needed to forgive them. And here lies the route to loving these lost and damaged souls;."
My recent article in
@IrishTimesOpEd
for Holocaust Memorial Day
#HMD2023
Compelling article by
@RachelMoiselle
explaining how those brutally raped & sexually abused by Hamas on Oct 7 have been abandoned by women’s rights organisations, everywhere.
Feminism has not stood up for Jewish victims, especially in Ireland.
Oliver Sears
We are delighted to welcome
Daniel Mendelsohn
@DAMendelsohnNYC
in conversation with
Oliver Sears
@osearsgallery
for 2nd in series
Why Talk About the Holocaust?
on Thur 13th May 6.00pm (Irish Time)
With The Herzog Centre
@tcddublin
&
@TLRHub
register here:
David
@Baddiel
's 'The God Desire' has made me reflect again on my own Jewish atheism which extends to two religious objects: a mezuzah at work & a menorah.The photo taken in Kiel in 1931 reminds me that I cleave to these objects as an act of defiance. Because I can. Oliver Sears
As a Jew working in the arts in Ireland, these stories are so very familiar. Without a dedicated programme educating the staff & students of cultural institutions about antisemitism, its origins & manifestations, the exclusion of Jewish culture will continue.
Oliver Sears
Holocaust Awareness Ireland & The Herzog Centre
@tcddublin
are delighted to welcome comedian, author & Jewish activist David
@Baddiel
to Dublin for a conversation with HAI founder Oliver Sears,chaired by Dr Zuleika Rodgers. Tix free, booking essential.
A searing exposé by
@RachelMoiselle
of how Trinity College Dub
@tcddublin
management capitulated to a small militant group of students
@tcdsu
who leveraged the latent anti-Zionist & antisemitic atmosphere both in our universities & Irish society at large.
Happy Chanukah from
@Holocaust_Irl
. Thank you to all our friends who have supported us this year.
'The Objects of Love' exhibition which tells my family's Holocaust story continues at Dublin Castle until 29th Jan. Looking forward to seeing you there. Oliver Sears
Thanks Brenda Power in Sunday Times
@ST__Ireland
.
Words that should not be difficult for any journalist to write.
"It is surely just a coincidence that the Middle Eastern country drawing most international condemnation for civilian deaths also happens to be predominantly Jewish."
Great to see our event with David
@Baddiel
& The Herzog Centre
@tcddublin
BEAMED across the Trinity College campus. Jews Don't Count - an In Conversation with HAI founder Oliver Sears, moderated by Dr Zuleika Rodgers, tix are free but booking is essential.
I was sitting next to Bar at this meeting. She spoke with clarity & authenticity, honouring her family & the community. Her statement below is one of the most eloquent I have read on antisemitism in Ireland.
It needs to be read by those who lecture but don't listen.
Oliver Sears
🚨 Members of Ireland’s Jewish community recently met with Tánaiste
@MichealMartinTD
to discuss the issue of antisemitism in Ireland 🇮🇪
Bar Clara Mendez McConnon, who was present at the meeting, has written the following statement:
‘Reflections on Antisemitism in Ireland & Our
Thanks for your apology, acknowledging the gravity of the offence. But, yesterday in
@Hodges_Figgis
Dublin, I asked for the book & was told there was a copy on the system. When it couldn't be located in the shop, I was asked if I wished to order one. I'm sure you'll resolve this.
You can listen here to David
@Baddiel
's riveting interview from this morning with
@RyanTubridyShow
@RTERadio1
. Some of the issues raised will be discussed at our event Jews Don't Count - named after his book & doc - at Trinity College Dublin tomorrow eve.
For
@mattiemcgrathtd
to invoke the Nazi treatment of Jews as a comparison to a proposed vaccine passport dilutes the gravity of the Holocaust and insults all Jews, including my mother, who were forced to wear a yellow star. Retract the statement and apologize. Words matter.
"I will put my breath into you & you shall live again & I will set you upon your own soul"- inscribed at the entrance of
@yadvashem
.Deepest thanks to the
@opwireland
for hosting The Objects of Love & to all who visited & were touched by this story of love, loss & defiance. Oliver
Today is the 79th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where 60,000 Jews were murdered
Today we honour survivor Tomi Reichental. 35 members of his family were killed
We are proud that he serves on the advisory committee to Holocaust Awareness Ireland
"When it comes to pushing old antisemitic tropes, the far left and far right are certainly united."
@HadleyFreeman
describes how the prospect of Jews so close to power in the White House is weaponised by both sides whose ostensible concern is where those Jews stand on Israel.
Wonderful to meet Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's Ark in Dublin Castle on
#HolocaustMemorialDay
. A deeply compassionate man whose book has brought awareness of the Holocaust to millions worldwide. The exhibition about my family's Holocaust story closes 29 Jan Oliver Sears
Israel and Irish political opportunism:
Electoral calculus.
My letter in today's
@IrishTimes
in response to Barry Andrews MEP's shameless letter of yesterday.
My letter in today's
@IrishTimes
in response to Michael McDowells successive articles on the situation in Gaza, all of which have distorted the Holocaust narrative, downplayed the suffering of the Jewish victims and ignored Iran’s role in the conflict.
Today is the anniversary of my grandfather Jakub Wandstein."Kuba' lost his entire family in the Holocaust. He married my grandmother after the war & adopted my mother.He rebuilt their lives & found meaning in his own again. I tell their story in 'The Objects of Love' exhibition.
Deepest thanks to Roddy Doyle, Amanda Bell
@gagebybell
,
@sineadgleeson
, Rosaleen McDonagh, Melatu-Uche Okorie for launching The Objects of Love exhibition at Dublin Castle last night with spoken words of heartfelt compassion for the voiceless millions.
A funny, clever, loving & unusually non-aggressive take on atheism by David
@Baddiel
. I'm not sure that my own Jewish atheism is that magnanimous. Oliver
At The Objects of Love exhibition in Dublin Castle these pre-war photographs of my family are among the hardest to look at. They depict life, love, community in their hometown of Łódź; a time that could not conceive of a plan to erase them all. Oliver Sears
#HolocaustMemorialDay
Came across this open letter by Julianna Marguiles who lovingly expresses the bewilderment she experienced after Oct 7 especially in the silence of her friends.The invisibility & dismissal of her pain as a Jew shocked her the most. Such familiar territory.
Very pleased with a positive outcome as outlined in this article in UK
@Independent
- on how a copy of one of the most dangerously antisemitic texts appeared for sale on the shelves of
@Hodges_Figgis
Dublin. Please see our statement in full below.
Comparing Gaza to the Holocaust is lazy journalism.
It's not hard to name injustice served to the Palestinians without dishonouring victims of the Holocaust. It requires an understanding of history & rigorous impartiality, almost totally absent in Irish discourse.
My letter today
Heartfelt thanks to Sarah Binchy & all
@RTESunMisc
for including my story Catharsis,describing how my mother finds peace from her Holocaust legacy by seeing her whole life displayed in The Objects of Love exhibit in Dublin Castle & how at 82, fights off armed carjackers in Chile!
HAI's Oliver Sears & Maurice Cohen, Chair of the Jewish Representative Council in today's Irish Times.
"Hamas’s charter calls for the elimination of the state of Israel & all Jews. Ireland, recognising a Palestinian state at the moment, is the ultimate in virtue signalling.
Shameful antisemitic trope trotted out by former M.Eastern diplomat Niall Holohan in the
@guardian
claiming that the Irish Govt is freer to support the Palestinians as its Jewish community is not as ‘influential’ as in UK & France. The mask slips easily.
Opening this Weds 13th Sept in New York
@92ndStreetY
- The Objects of Love exhibit by Oliver Sears launches with a conversation about love, loss & remembrance. Oliver will be joined by award-winning author
@DAMendelsohnNYC
at 7pm ET in person & online:
By
@agnekn
of Trinity College Dublin's Jewish Soc to
@tcdsu
"It is fair not to want to be associated with a movement that has been praised by Hamas, the PFLP & the Ayatollah Khamenei, all of whom have expressed approval of the anti-Israel protests sweeping US college campuses"
"To see Israel charged with the crime of genocide by South Africa at the ICJ is profoundly shocking, given the origins of the term. And also because no similar charge is levelled at Hamas, whose 1988 Charter calls for the obliteration of Israel." from my recent
@IrishTimesOpEd
.
@HadleyFreeman
explains among other issues, how the progressive left have adopted the Palestinian cause because they view Israelis & Jews as white, rich & powerful. That the history runs counter to this argument appears to be no obstacle to their view.
'The Objects of Love' returns to Dublin Castle on Sept 29th. I'm delighted to partner again with the Office of Public Works to present this exhibition which tells my family story through precious mementoes, photographs & documents that survived the Holocaust. Oliver Sears
Ahead of our Kristallnacht event,
@RyanTubridyShow
will talk to Alexandra Senfft & Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental. Alexandra's grandfather Hanns Ludin was Hitler’s envoy to Slovakia, responsible for deporting Tomi & his family to Belsen. Tune in to
@RTERadio1
at 9am.
I was greatly honoured to welcome
@PresidentIRL
Michael D Higgins to The Objects of Love exhibition today. As Head of State, his deep empathy & acknowledgment of this history is profoundly important to my family & all who suffered as a result of the Holocaust. Oliver Sears
Thank you so much
@FinnClodagh
for this vivid and insightful article on The Objects of Love exhibition
@dublincastleopw
, the Holocaust & how it reverberates through time & other genocides.
Sarah Carey’s article is essential reading in today’s Irish Independent, the first by an Irish journalist to warn about the rise of antisemitism in Ireland since the 7th Oct attacks by Hamas. As a society, we need to examine this correlation and resist instinctive prejudice.
Łódź was too dangerous for Jews after the war so my grandmother sold her apartment, bought gold & had it made into a powder compact.Her whole world was distilled into one golden square of hope. Photograph by
@SteinAmelia
. 'The Objects of Love' exhibit - 13th Jan, Dublin Castle.
The subtext of their message is, at this starkly divisive time, they ask society not to lecture Jews on the subject of antisemitism nor their relationship to Zionism & the state of Israel. No Politician has publicly acknowledged the discrimination that Irish Jews experience.
I received a gracious email from Stuart Purcell of Mullens Auctioneers. They've withdrawn all nazi memorabilia from their forthcoming auction.He also apologised for any hurt caused.They are to be commended for this decision.Oliver Sears
@drivetimerte
@RMcGreevy1301
@CathalRyanLK
Installing 'The Objects of Love' at Dublin Castle. Oliver Sears looks on as photographs, objects & documents belonging to his family, which survived the Holocaust, will be shown in exhibition form. 13 Jan–13 Feb. Brought to you by
@opwireland
@dublincastleopw
&
@Holocaust_Irl
My heartfelt thanks to Minister
@simoncoveney
for visiting The Objects of Love exhibition about my family on
#HolocaustMemorialDay
. Your empathy for this dark history, the destruction of European Jewry & determination that it never happens again speaks volumes. Oliver Sears
The bombing today of Babyn Yar where almost 34K Jews were murdered over 2 days in 1941 is a further reminder of the bloodshed that Ukraine has witnessed. We all owe it to the citizens of Ukraine to pressurise Putin to cease his murderous campaign.
@babynyarhmc
@ZelenskyyUa
85 years after the national pogrom, Kristallnacht which demonstrated how the Nazis mobilized antisemitism against its Jewish citizens, we remember the victims of that terror and all those murdered in the Holocaust. Jews need no reminder of where hatred towards them can lead.
I was delighted to welcome former Minister for Justice & Foreign Affairs
@CharlieFlanagan
to 'The Objects of Love' exhibition on my family's Holocaust story at Dublin Castle today.His empathy & profound understanding of this traumatic history was greatly appreciated.Oliver Sears.
I’ll be reading my piece about Stolpersteine - ‘stumbling stones’, six of which were recently laid on Donore Ave, Dublin 8 in memory of the six Irish Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The Talmud declares that a person is only forgotten when their name is forgotten. Oliver Sears
We were honoured to welcome Taoiseach
@MichealMartinTD
to The Objects of Love exhibit today,
an act of great respect to the victims of the Holocaust. As an ex teacher, he was especially struck by the value of communicating this vast subject through a personal family story. Oliver
Recent voices comparing vaccine passports to the treatment of Jews by the Nazis are as dangerous as they are insulting. My mother and grandmother were forced to wear a yellow star, they had no choice. My letter in today's Irish Times.
.
@judithmok
's beautifully paced piece on this morning's
@RTESunMisc
describes how her own family's Holocaust trauma manifested mostly in a tortured silence. I so empathise with her own need to break that silence now.
"There was so much unspoken, but everyone knew what had happened. Everyone knew who had betrayed whom. Already as children, we understood that there were shops you didn’t set foot in, families you avoided, people you didn’t speak to..."
@judithmok
is next
#HolocaustMemorialDay
Thank you
@FrankmcnallyIT
for visiting The Objects of Love
@dublincastleopw
.Your article has succinctly connected the drama of inherited memory with the silence that so often accompanies such personal histories. Some of us need to break that silence.Oliver
Delighted to view this corner of Dublin’s Little Museum
@littlemuseumdub
dedicated to the story of Jewish Dublin. An informative and humorous exhibit stylishly curated by Trevor White.
Suella Braverman demonises refugees seeking asylum in the UK by referring to an 'invasion' of migrants.This racist language panders to the nativists & endangers the welfare of ethnic minorities, including her own. Holocaust survivors know where this leads.
Today on
#YomHaShoah
I think of family lost in the Holocaust including my great-uncle Olek, after whom I'm named. Hidden by his friend, a priest, in a church until he was betrayed; when the Gestapo came, his friend held the door long enough for Olek to shoot himself. Oliver Sears
I was delighted to welcome Ambassador
@PJohnstonFCDO
@BritEmbDublin
to The Objects of Love exhibition at Dublin Castle ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day. I was touched by his empathy & engagement. I will never forget that the UK offered my family a safe haven post war. Oliver Sears
Returning soon to the State Apartments, Dublin Castle
- The Objects of Love -
A poignant exhibition of personal mementoes, photographs & documents that tell the story of my Jewish family before, during and after World War II. Oliver Sears.
In memory of Kristallnacht, next Tuesday 9 Nov, Holocaust Awareness Ireland & National Gallery of Ireland are honoured to present Belsen survivor Tomi Reichental in conversation with HAI founder Oliver Sears.The event is free but seats must be booked here:
Listen back to
@judithmok
’s The Betrayal of Anne Frank on
@RTESunMisc
. Post-war, her father’s anger erupts when passing a restaurant owned by those who betrayed his sister -“Informers” he declares. Compelling story telling.
For non-Jews,
@Freedland
's play 'Jews. In their Own Words.' offers a crash course in Antisemitism & all its nuances as faced by British Jews today. It’s not the anger & insult that the audience hears most, but the familiar exhaustion of facing abuse that never ends. Please see.
“I will put my breath into you & you shall live again & I will set you upon your own soul."
'The Objects of Love' exhibtion that tells Oliver Sears' family story before, during & after the Holocaust through precious family objects, photos & documents returns to Dublin Castle.
My reply to the Polish Ambassador's letter in The Irish Times yesterday. As the saying goes, she is entitled to her own opinion but not her own facts. Oliver Sears.
@jgrabows
@mashagessen
@edvulliamy
@EZuroff
There are very few places left for our event Remembering Kristallnacht: A Reckoning; Jews, Germans & The Holocaust.
W/
@AlexandraSenfft
, Tomi Reichental, Oliver Sears & Conor O'Clery.
RSVP essential: contact
@holocaustawarenessireland
.ie
I was honoured to be the key-note speaker at the Antrim & Newtownabbey Holocaust Remembrance last week. I laid a wreath to remember my own murdered family & all the victims of the Holocaust.
Thank you to the Council for inviting me & for hosting a truly moving event.Oliver Sears
"Whatever injustice, historic & current, that successive Israeli governments have served to the Palestinians, there is no resonance with the Holocaust. The worst government in Israeli history it may be, but the Netanyahu regime is not deporting Palestinians and gassing them
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. On this day we launch Holocaust Awareness Ireland - connecting the Holocaust to contemporary culture and the politics of our times.
Delighted that Nancy Pelosi came to The Objects of Love exhibition recently at the 92nd Street Y, New York. It is so important that women with powerful voices have shown solidarity with a story which is primarily about the resilience fortitude & courage of the women in my family.
"My mother Monika is a Holocaust survivor & I am a 2nd-generation survivor. This is my family story, told through my eyes the only way I know how, using fragments of memory I have recorded, together with the collection of objects." Oliver Sears (extract from the exhibition guide)
My letter in response to
@PatrickSmyth1
's recent op-ed in The Irish Times "Characterising criticism of Israel as antisemitism shuts down debate" which was strewn with errors and omissions.
Oliver Sears, Founder, Holocaust Awareness Ireland.
His article:
Today is
#HolocaustMemorialDay
.
In memory of my father, Ronald Sears who died last August, here 2nd right, with his parents & brothers.
His father, Schloyme lost his parents, a brother & 100
more family members, murdered in Treblinka & Auschwitz. I remember them all. Oliver Sears