The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta has been active since it was set up in 2019. I have been following its fortunes in remembrance of a dear friend, Shelley Tayar. This time I received an invitation from its Chairman, Julius Nehorai and the committee to the launch of the travelling exhibition Let Me Be Myself: the Life Story of Anne Frank. This was held at the Aula Magna at the University of Malta Valletta Campus on Thursday 24th February. One can hear the life story of Anne Frank again and again but it is always moving. Man's cruelty to his fellow men can never be understood or accepted, yet it goes on.

Chairman, Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage In Malta delivering his speech

Compere that evening was Dr Isabelle Sammut, a human rights lawyer and Anne Frank House educator. She explained that the exhibition shows the story of Anne Frank from her birth in 1929 to her death in Bergen Belsen concentration camp in 1945. The speaker then went on to give details about the exhibition: "Each exhibition panel contains images and texts about the world around Anne Frank, the rise of Hitler, the persecution of Jews and the Second World War. Apart from this, the exhibition contains a contemporary section dedicated to young people today. Here, visitors to the exhibition are made to reflect on issues relating to prejudice and exclusion, as these young people speak about how they see themselves and how strangers also respond to them."

Let Me Be Myself is one of the various travelling exhibitions which the Anne Frank House has developed. Over the years, they have been visited by over 10 million people in over 80 countries. "It is a privilege to have this exhibition here with us today," Dr Sammut continued.

Dr Sammut thanked various volunteers and helpers working with the Tayar Foundation here in Malta.

Joy Gafà, author and contributor to Meeting Anne Frank. An anthology (ed. Tim Whittome), delivering her speech

Let Me Be Myself is now also an online and interactive exhibition. This version of the exhibition will be shown to multiple schools around Malta over the next seven weeks, making it possible - amidst a pandemic - to reach thousands of students and young people. Also the physical exhibition will be touring four locations around Malta. 

The Anne Frank Huis itself was established to tell the story of Anne Frank, and inspire young people to create a more positive and inclusive future," Dr Sammut told the audience.  After returning to Amsterdam in 1945, Otto found out that his family would not be returning home. However, Anne's words and wisdom as found in her diary, had survived. "This gave Otto Frank a new purpose in life. By sharing Anne's words with the world, he hoped to contribute to the education of young people. His wish was to eradicate and fight intolerance, racism and anti-Semitism. When the Anne Frank House was founded in 1957, it was driven by Otto's determination of bringing Anne's legacy, her Diary and her life story to the attention of as many people as possible.  Today, we can say that Otto's vision and dream have indeed come true."

In his speech which followed, Chairman Julius Nehorai said that while this event commemorates the loss of Anne Frank, we should also remember the many millions more who died in the Holocaust. "Before the war, in 1939, it is estimated there were 16.6 million Jews worldwide. By the end, there were just 11 million. We lost one-third of our population. "Even today, Jews number just 15.2 million, we have still not recovered the numbers lost. But here's a thought  - what if Anne Frank and all the others had not perished? Demographic experts calculate there would now be between 26 and 32 million Jews. What contribution to this world might Anne and all the others have made?

Today, one in 520 people in the world is Jewish. "Statistically speaking, if this gathering was not associated with a Jewish cause, it is unlikely there would be a single Jew in the room. We are a tiny nation, often misunderstood because few know us, and too often maligned."

One of the objectives of The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta is to create better awareness of Judaism and the Jewish race, to the Maltese. "Many of whom may not be familiar with us. Surprisingly, on this small island, we played a more significant role in its history than our numbers would suggest."

Rose Nehorai in front one of the panels of the exhibition

Jews, he continued, have been in Malta from the time of the seafarer tribes. The first Jew in Malta was the Apostle Paul, who introduced Christianity. Carvings at St Paul's catacombs in Rabat show that Jews lived here during the fourth and fifth Centuries." 

Mr Nehorai then spoke of the work the Tayar Foundation is doing. He also spoke of tourism from Israel: "Prior to Covid, thirty-thousand Israelis visited Malta each year. This should resume this summer when Air Malta again begins flying directly to and from Tel Aviv. These Israeli tourists will appreciate the work of our Foundation in promoting Jewish culture and

will be keen to visit the cemeteries which we are restoring."  

He then welcomed His Excellency Eyal Sela, Ambassador of Israel to Malta, to this gathering and to thank him and the Israeli embassy for supporting this exhibition. "I would also like to welcome and express my appreciation to His Excellency, Frank Keurhorst, Ambassador of the Netherlands, for his embassy's kind support."

He then spoke of the Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta. "Of the eight of us, five are Jewish. The other three are in the academic sector in Malta and are involved with Jewish history, archaeology, language and tourism. »

He then gave a brief anecdote about George Tayar, the well-known philanthropist and one of the founders of the Marks & Spencer franchise on the island. His legacy lives on as Marks & Spencer are also generous sponsors of the Foundation and that evening's event.   

Mr Nehorai then thanked his colleagues in the Foundation for their support in bringing this project to fruition. He also thanked the sponsors of the evening.

"In recent times Jews have been treated well in Malta. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon us, whose ancestors suffered so badly in the past, to pay testament to the vital need for tolerance and understanding of all minority groups.

"I hope the Tayar Foundation's endeavours in sponsoring this Anne Frank exhibition, will drive home this message and will be a lesson to Malta's younger generation, of the dreadful consequences that a lack of tolerance can lead to."

Joy Gafà who is a 16-year-old Junior College student, author and contributor to Meeting Anne Frank. An anthology (ed. Tim Whittome), told us about her interest in Anne Frank since she was an 11-year-old and her grandma's sister gave her a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl. This was followed by months and months of research. "I was fascinated by how deep she led us into her life, her thoughts and her feelings... and how similar my thoughts and feelings were to hers."

At the age of 13 Joy was taken to Amsterdam where she visited various sites related to Anne Frank "who I, back then, saw as a best friend I never had a chance to meet. It was a surreal experience, like I had stepped into a new world."  All this finally led to her contributing to the book on Anne Frank mentioned above.  Very smart girl, I thought.

Hon. Minister Evarist Bartolo was abroad and his speech was read by Julius Nehorai. Space will only allow me to quote little of these excellent speeches. Let me just quote this from Minister Bartolo's: "For decades, we have witnessed anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States, with documented attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Anti-Semitic actions are violations of core international human rights and should be deplored not just by Jewish organizations but by human rights advocates everywhere.  These norms were first articulated more than 70 years ago by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A central principle of the Universal Declaration is the right not to be discriminated against, on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, or gender."

The audience at this well-attended and moving event then went on to look at the exhibition and to exchange views with other guests and those who delivered speeches.

A most interesting evening.

Further information can be found at https://jewishheritagemalta.org. Follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Once speeches were over guests were invited to watch a promotional video about it and then led to the exhibition hall to see the actual exhibition.

[email protected]