MAMAMIA - As a Jewish person, it is triggering to see this symbol, exploited by those who wish to pedal their own agenda. Have your opinions, sure. But do not appropriate the suffering experienced by marginalised groups who were targeted for nothing more than their existence.

PLUS61J - Gad Ben-Meir was 10 years old when his beloved Baghdad descended into bloodied anarchy. He recounts his experience of the Farhud, as a new project is launched that will ensure the voices of Jews who lived in Islamic lands are preserved forever.

They were the words that took 82 years to receive: “Officially, on behalf of the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, we are sorry that the 1938 consul general in Melbourne would not accept the letter of the Aborigines League nor forward it on to the political leadership here in Berlin as would have been the right and morally correct thing for a consular official to do.”

Rahmat was 14 years old when he arrived in Australia. But his first encounters of this new land were not experienced as he trudged through an airport terminal – rather, he arrived upon the shores in a leaky boat. His first 10 months were spent on Christmas Island, and the next three at Leonora detention facility in Western Australia.

“I was looking to my left and my right, and the terrorist was on my right, five metres from me, and he saw me. He aimed at me, and he shot me again. This time, he hit me in the left groin, right in the main artery, which exploded and I fell down on the road.”

“Indeed, the stories confined to the annals of history say as much about the historical figure or event, as the person who wrote it. The way in which we view the world is inevitably shaped by our personal perspectives, coloured by our experiences and our biases. These factors are inextricably bound not just to how we understand and interpret; but what information we — as individuals, and as a society — deem to be important, and what we do not.”

Eleven Holocaust survivors movingly shared their testimonies at the inaugural Gandel Holocaust Education Conference, which was officially opened by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

On Monday it was 23 years since Dana Pinhasov was the victim of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. She shares her inspirational story of resilience and courage.

When Zara Sarzin had an encounter with the Jewish Abayudaya community of Uganda more than 10 years ago, little did she know that it would be the beginning of a special relationship that would literally save lives.

What do a dinner party in South Yarra, an ant extermination company and an Australian prime minister have in common? Walter Glaser shares his family’s story of survival against the Nazis.

Piles of shoes. It is a distinct memory that stands out for Ben de Winter when reflecting on his visit to Majdanek Concentration Camp on March of the Living (MOTL). He was 16 and it was snowing when he visited, the persistent Polish winter stretching into spring. And there in the darkness of memory and misery and a sea of leather, lay one small, pink shoe.

70 years ago, the Exodus 1947 ploughed across seas. The ship brimmed with more than 4500 Jewish refugees – and their hopes and gritty determination to rise from the ashes of Europe and join the Jewish homeland. It was not without controversy, but it was the ship that launched a nation. Rita Migdal shares her story.

The Joint Australia recently took part in a mission to Cuba, assisting the country’s 1500 Jews with much-needed aid. Learning that the island nation is more than pastel pops of baroque architecture and a cultural gem devoid of 21st century excess, the group discovered a Jewish history – and a Jewish present.

As the South Melbourne Market celebrates 150 years during May, Rebecca Davis explores the Jewish roles in the market’s story – a narrative underpinned by immigrant dreams.