I would like to ask you to help me celebrate my mother’s birthday – what would have been her 109th. Turns out we can trace The Mitzvah Project’s beginnings to one particular day: December 12, 1961. That’s the day Adolf Eichmann was convicted by an Israeli court of crimes against humanity.  So, what did Eichmann’s trial have to do with me, my mom, and the eventual development of The Mitzvah Project?

In this time of rising antisemitism and growing threats to democracy, The Mitzvah Project is making every effort to reach and educate more young people than ever before.

Can a Holocaust education program for high school students in 2024 make a difference when antisemitism and other forms of hate seem to be growing unchecked? Let me tell you why I’m asking.

On Monday April 29, I was honored as the founder of The Mitzvah Project by the Jewish Caucus of the California State Legislature at its annual Yom HaShoah commemoration at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

Testimonials by dozens of other educators who have hosted The Mitzvah Project say it is very meaningful and humbling. But testimonials can’t stop the spread of Holocaust ignorance or denial; antisemitism, racism, islamophobia or any other forms of hate, whether on high school or college campuses or in our communities.

The Mitzvah Project has reached close to 2,000 high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area and Colorado with stirring performances and challenging conversations led by our talented Teaching Artists.

As we celebrate the coming New Year, we invite you to join The Mitzvah Project in our mission to combat ignorance and foster compassion through impactful Holocaust education.

I am so proud to have brought The Mitzvah Project’s 2023 program year to an end with our presentations at Taunton High School, just outside of Boston. In his first two performances as a Mitzvah Project Teaching Artist, Victor Talmadge touched the hearts and minds of 1,000 young people.

In these fraught, frightening and distressing times, The Mitzvah Project is redoubling its efforts to reach — and teach — the critical lessons of the Holocaust to as many young people as possible.

Now that the summer has come and gone and schools are back in session, The Mitzvah Project is busy scheduling its Holocaust-themed, theatrical/educational program at high schools and colleges in the Bay Area and around the country.

2023 has already been full of breakthroughs, and we have great plans to keep growing The Mitzvah Project’s reach and impact. Since January, we have brought our historically accurate and deeply personal Holocaust theatre performance and talkback experience to 2,500 students.  

Since January 25th, The Mitzvah Project Holocaust/social justice program has engaged and challenged 2,500 high school students with its message of inclusion, tolerance and “Never Again for Anyone.”

The Mitzvah Project has set an ambitious goal of reaching and teaching 5,000 young people about the Holocaust this year with our unique combination of theater, history lecture and interactive Q&A.  

As 2022 draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on The Mitzvah Project’s origins, what we’ve accomplished and the critical tasks that lie ahead.

My sincere thanks for your generosity and "mitzvot" this year. Thanks to you, The Mitzvah Project's message of "never again for anyone" is reaching more young people than ever before.