This remarkable evening was organized by Viviane Bernstein, delegate for KKL French part of Switzerland and president of the Geneva commission.
We are very proud of the success of this remarkable evening, so moving that it left everybody breathless and full of new energy.
The main purpose of the concert was to give life, 70 years later, to two violins that had been found after WWII, and restored many years later by the master of stringed instruments, Amnon Weinstein.
The stories of these violins are unique and powerful.
The Violin of Motelé belonged to a young Jew, who helped the partisans escape from the Nazis, thanks to his talent, bravery and his violin, but died soon after. The violin was found by Misha Gildenman, head of the partisans, and kept for safekeeping all these years.
The other violin, known as the Train Violin, was passed through the window of a cattle car on its way to Auschwitz, to a French station master who kept it hidden, until his daughter found it with an explanation note after he died, many years later.
These violins and their music, brought back to life during our concert, thanks to Benny Boret’s excellent production (Musical Chairs) and the moving interpretation of the orchestra.
Micha Katz, our amazing conductor, directed the young students of Ra’anana and Sergey Ostrovsky, who played magnificently and with brio.
Stéphane Freiss and Guila-Clara Kessous, two famous and highly involved French actors moved us to tears when they recounted the heartbreaking stories of these violins.
All our artists put all their hearts and humanity into this performance.
Emotions run high, and the 600 attendees were all delighted by this unique concert, a beacon of hope despite the sad period that Jews across the world are living through.
The many congratulatory notes we received afterwards serve as the best proof of the power of this evening:
“The concert was exceptional, thanks to the high quality of the orchestra and its conductor, and the remarkable and moving presentation of the violins."
“Everything was there; the emotion, the quality, the program, the warmth and this pride that unites us all against our detractors.”
"It was an outstanding and very special evening"
“Exceptional evening, moving, the texts were beautiful and the orchestra was phenomenal”.
Among the concert guests, Viviane welcomed the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Eviatar Manor; Mr. Guillaume Barrazone, Member of the Swiss National Council; Mr. Philippe Grumbach, President of the CIG (Geneva Jewish community); Mr. Alexander Dembitz, President of the GIL (Geneva Liberal Jewish community); Mr. Avi Dickstein, Executive Director of Resources, Development and PR at KKL-JNF in Israel; Mr. Arthur Plotke, President of KKL Switzerland; Mr. Ishay Haramaty, KKL-JNF Emissary to Switzerland and Austria; Mr. Jacky Benzenou, President of KKL Belgium; Rabbi Itzhak Dayan, Head of our Geneva Jewish community; Rabbi Mendel Pevzner, Head of Chabad in Geneva; and Rabbi François Garaï, Head of the Geneva Liberal Jewish community
The proceeds of this evening will finance the agricultural irrigation project in southern Israel, where coarse-textured water is desalinized, so that every drop of moisture is used. This will enable agriculture to flourish in extreme desert conditions.