A Jewish exhibition has been held at a West Cumbrian school.
The Jewish Living Experience Exhibition aims to help educate people about Judaism. It was held recently at St Benedict’s School in Whitehaven.
Leading the exhibition was Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet, who introduced students to festivals and holidays within the Jewish calendar, and also explained the diverse groups within the Jewish community.
He said: “Community visits like this are very important. Many of these students will never had met a Jewish person, but they are studying it in their RE lessons. It is a way of bringing something they are studying to life, and helping them to understand more about different cultures.”
The students were privileged to listen to a testimony of Holocaust survival from second-generation survivors; Peter and Moira Hart told students about the experiences of Peter’s mother, Kitty.
St Benedict’s head Emma Jackson said: “Developing an understanding and respect for all cultures within our school, community and beyond is a priority and we were honoured to host this event.
“Over 400 of our students visited the exhibition which offered them the opportunity to learn about Jewish beliefs, customs, and practices.
“Their interest and enthusiasm was evidenced by their engagement and their many questions.”
Abigail Mann, who organised the exhibition, said: “The importance of this exhibition feels more poignant these days than ever before, as we find ourselves in a world where we are increasingly seeing the lessons of the past being forgotten, in an environment where hate, intolerance and mistrust are once again on the rise.
“It has never been more important that as many young people as possible have the opportunity to partake in the Jewish Living Experience Exhibition, which shows them that Jewish people, of whom many pupils would never have met before in Cumbria, are ordinary people just like them.
“By taking this exhibition into a school, we are able to provide staff and pupils the opportunity to learn about Judaism from a rabbi and to hear first and second-hand accounts of Holocaust survivors which has a far greater impact on young people than reading about them in a book.”
