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It is my honour to keep his memory alive

Jacob celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on
28 January 2023 at Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue

As part of my Bar Mitzvah, I am honoured to be twinned with Akiva Shlezinger as part of the Yad Vashem UK Foundation Twinning Project. He was born in Otomani, Transalvania in Romania, which is now in Hungry. He was taken, with is family to the Oradea ghetto before being taken to Auschwitz sometime between 16th May and 27th June 1944 where he sadly died aged 11. His parents were Malka and Benjamin Shelizinger who ran a farm.   Like me, Akiva had two sisters – Leo & Alice.  He was the middle child.  All of the family were murdered at Auschwitz.  Thank you to Akiva’s cousin, Esther Broner for submitting Akiva’s story.

It is my honour to keep his memory alive

Twin Now
See how others have reached their goal as our
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah kids are sharing their stories.

Jordan Pearlman Twinned
with Urichem Ziechnik

Jordan celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on 29 August 2020. He had a zoom with family and friends from London and all around the world on Thursday 27 August 2020. He was lucky enough to lein in Shul on Shabbat morning 29 August 2020.
Read my story

Joshua Newman Twinned
with Josua Boesenach

Joshua twinned with Josua Boesenach who was born in June 1931. He was deported age 12 to Auschwitz and murdered in a gas chamber. He never got to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. “As I celebrate my Bar Mitzvah he will be on my mind."
Read my story

Leora Moher Twinned
with Alice Chana Grunwald

I had my Bat Mitzvah in July 2019. For my Bat Mitzvah, I twinned with Yad Vashem UK Foundation. They twinned me with a girl named Alice Chana Grunwald, a surname that my family also used. Sadly, Alice Chana did not survive to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah, as she perished at Auschwitz.
Read my story

Ella Kaufman Twinned
with Ruth Shafir

I was very happy to meet you at my home and that you wish to commemorate my sister Ruth. For your Bat Mitzvah, you have chosen a project to remember a young girl of about your age who perished in the Holocaust
Read my story

Barney Leboff Twinned
with Carol Smulovici

Barney Leboff, from Shenley wanted to do something more than leyn from the Torah for his Bar mitzvah, so he twinned his Bar Mitzvah with Carol Smulovici, a young Romanian boy who was murdered during the Holocaust.
Read my story