News

The Mira and Gustav Berger Collection of Judaica

Throughout their lives together, Gustav and Mira Berger collected Jewish ceremonial objects, focusing on silver, glass, copper tin, parchment, and fine art. The collection offers an impressive visual history of mainly European makers of ceremonial Judaica. The Bergers bequeathed their ceremonial Judaica collection to the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in 1993. Mira Berger …

Read More

OJMCHE’s Traveling Exhibition: Upon thy Gates, the Elaine and Norman Winik Collection

by Susan Danielson Upon thy Gates, the Elaine and Norman Winik Collection, the first traveling exhibit of Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, is on view until April 23, 2023, at The Museum at Eldridge Street in New York City. In keeping with the commitment to share the museum’s growing collections with a …

Read More

News From OJMCHE’s Board President: Judy Margles will retire at the end of 2023

Jeff Mazer, OJMCHE Board President, announced that Executive Director Judy Margles will retire at the end of 2023. He added, “Judy’s contribution to our community’s understanding of its past and its commitment to a better future cannot be overstated. For the last 24 years, she has been a guiding force in the evolution of OJMCHE …

Read More

An Oral History of the Jewish Future

Co/Lab: Reimagine Jewish and Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education are working together on an important new project documenting the changes in Jewish life in Portland, called “An Oral History of the Jewish Future.” Rabbi Josh Rose, who started Co/Lab: Reimagine Jewish in 2021, says the project’s name reflects that something remarkable is …

Read More

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” Elie Wiesel International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks 78 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We hold the memory of six million Jewish victims and millions of other victims of the Holocaust in our hearts. Stories help us understand and connect between universal truths and ourselves. …

Read More

Martin Luther King Day 2023

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King Jr.   In 1961 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent a day in Portland speaking at various venues – Portland State University, which at the time was the Portland State College, Civic Auditorium and at the Vancouver Avenue …

Read More

Sarah Cohen-Doherty Human Rights Education Fund

“From Me to We to Action” By Debra Shein A new fund honoring the life of Sarah Cohen-Doherty (1982-2020) has recently been launched at OJMCHE. In her all-too-short life, Sarah strove tirelessly to promote equitable education, particularly for preschoolers, and to teach young people the lessons derived from the Holocaust. Among the social justice initiatives …

Read More

Walter Pick Holocaust & Genocide Book Box Fund

a new opportunity to provide valuable educational resources to Oregon students By Debra Shein Leigh, Bob, and Rick Schwarz, three siblings from New Jersey who all later decided to make their homes in Oregon, have recently launched a new fund at OJMCHE. It will be known as the Walter Pick Holocaust and Genocide Book Box …

Read More

Human Rights After the Holocaust: 
New Core Exhibition Set to Expand Reach of OJMCHE

By Debra Shein The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE) has acquired the Charles Hartman Gallery next door and is now working on transforming the space into a new core exhibition, Human Rights After the Holocaust, and integrating it with the existing museum. Executive Director Judy Margles enthuses that “This will allow …

Read More

Alice Turtledove Meyer (August 23, 1929 – July 19, 2022)

Yesterday our community lost a true woman of valor. Alice Turtledove Meyer was a native Oregonian, born and raised in Portland. She lived a life of community building and fierce activism. Numerous organizations benefited from her tireless and dedicated volunteerism. Perhaps – and unequivocally from our vantage point – Alice’s crowning achievement began in 1989 …

Read More