A century ago, as World War I began, many countries were willing (in the beginning, even eager) to expend their blood and treasure in the name of national pride and “glory.” We remember World War I as especially egregious in this regard, as both warring blocs were imperialistic; and considering the autocratic nature of Czarist…
A woman consoles a fellow Rwandan at a genocide commemoration ceremony / Getty Images I am no Shmuley Boteach, God knows. But I have recently learned from the Forward that Boteach and I have one thing in common – we are both rabbis who have visited Rwanda. This February, on the eve of Rwanda’s commemoration…
It was one of the worst mass slaughters since the Holocaust. And two decades later, Israel and the American Jewish community, along with much of the West, are embracing the leader who stopped it as a modern-day hero. A series of memorial events around the world in April will mark the somber 20th anniversary of…
Anne Heyman walks with Rwanda President Paul Kagame at a graduation ceremony at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. / Courtesy of Agahozo-Shalom More than a month after the untimely death of Anne Heyman, friends and supporters say they are dedicated to ensuring the success of her unique Rwanda youth village. “We’re all tremendously saddened but there is…
A groundbreaking Rwandan school for genocide orphans has welcomed the son of founder Anne Heyman with open arms — just three weeks after the Jewish philanthropist was killed in a tragic horse-riding accident in Florida. Jonathan Merrin, 19, arrived at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village this week as part of a month-long service trip with other…
The shiva period of mourning for Anne Heyman has only just ended, but the American philanthropist’s heartbroken family is already taking concrete steps to make sure her legacy of caring for orphans of Rwanda’s genocide never dies. Heyman’s 19-year-old son, Jonathan Merrin, journeyed to Africa for a month-long stint at the unique youth village Heyman…
The first utility-scale solar power field in East Africa will be built on land belonging to a Jewish-sponsored youth village in Rwanda. The nearly $24 million project was announced Monday by Yosef Abramowitz, the president of Gigawatt Global Cooperatief, which arranged for its financing. Construction has already started on the solar field on land belonging…
(JTA) — Anne Heyman’s death during a horse-riding competition in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 31 shocked and devastated many in the Jewish world. But it was Heyman’s work in Rwanda that so many of her admirers will remember most. A former assistant district attorney in Manhattan who made a career shift to philanthropy around…
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