<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2bfFGq_0vl9wNH200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2bfFGq_0vl9wNH200" width="1200" height="630" >Kirsten Engel, a candidate for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, attended an event held at the Tucson Jewish Museum &amp; Holocaust Center (TJMHC) a few months ago. It was her first time visiting the museum. She met Lori Shepherd, the museum’s executive director, who invited her to come back anytime for a private tour.“I really wanted to come back and spend some time looking at exhibits and learn more about Tucson’s Holocaust survivor community, their stories and the role they have played in our society. The museum does an incredible job of that,” Engel told Jewish News.Shepherd’s invitation to Engel is one she makes to all local elected officials and candidates for office.“If there’s a way we can benefit the local electeds with whatever they’re working on — from education legislation to current events — we are eager to do it. We will always reach out and offer a private tour for their benefit,” Shepherd told Jewish News.Since Engel’s visit, Shepherd has given tours to a handful of other political leaders. However, she does not promote those visits on social media or the museum’s website.“I will give a tour to any politician who wants to understand our work. They should feel free to ask questions without worrying about the optics,” Shepherd said.Reed Hirshman, Engel’s Jewish deputy finance director, volunteered to accompany his boss when he heard she had accepted Shepherd’s invitation.“I was not surprised at all that she wanted to go. That’s totally Kirsten,” he told Jewish News. “She wants to be at the forefront of combating antisemitism.”Engel enthusiastically supported Arizona’s Holocaust education mandate that passed when she was a state legislator.“I recall my daughter coming home one day and talking about an incredible afternoon listening to a Holocaust survivor in middle school,” she said. “It’s so important to really know the history of the Holocaust.”Shepherd shared with Engel some insights she’s gleaned from teachers following the mandate since its 2021 implementation and discussed some of the challenges and needs.Shepherd hopes that whichever candidate wins in November, they will be interested in pursuing federal legislation ensuring Holocaust education, thus giving more support and instruction to teachers. Engel was interested in learning more, she said.“She really wanted to know how Holocaust education and our work at the museum support the community as a whole, and how she can be a part of it,” Shepherd said.Engel, who is not Jewish, also met earlier with several Tucson rabbis, leaders of Jewish organizations and community members to talk about combating antisemitism in the community.“The Jewish community in Arizona, and nationally, has been feeling isolated and we’ve seen a rise in antisemitic incidents. I really want the Jewish community to know that their safety, security and inclusion is a top priority for me,” said Engel.She also appreciated how the museum broke down genocide into different stages and noted that “it’s very concerning to see more modern parallels between isolating different communities based on religion, and expressing hate toward them.”The majority of visitors to TJMHC are students, followed by civic organizations, retirement communities, church groups, families, groups of friends, etc. Most, like Engel, aren’t Jewish.The museum’s mission is to teach the dangers of identity-based hate and how to think critically about it, which Shepherd and her colleagues believe will make the community stronger and safer for everyone.“At the end of the day, we want to teach the Holocaust and other genocides. Ours is a distinctly human story, not just a Jewish one,” Shepherd said.Hirshman admitted that he was unaware of the museum’s existence, even though he attended the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is from Scottsdale and is a member of Congregation Beth Israel. He visited the museum with his boss on a rainy Thursday morning, when there were no school tours and they had the place pretty much to themselves, he said.Hirshman was as impressed with the museum as Engel was. As someone who has made a point of visiting many Holocaust museums around the world, he found it very unique, he said.While other large museums start the visitor off in the 1930s and push them through a chronological history, Hirshman appreciated how TJMHC told the story of the Holocaust through Tucson’s local survivors.“Tucson is very much like, let’s look at the why, how and what of it,” he said. “It gave it way more of a grounding in the story they’re trying to imbue.”Seeing the stages of genocide also stood out to him as it had to Engel, as well as the way the museum compares and contrasts the Holocaust with other genocides.“The Holocaust is our (Jews’) history and it’s big, but it’s not unique,” he said.While a focus of the museum is antisemitism and hatred of Jews, its overall perspective is broader.“I’m trying to make southern Arizona safer and stronger. We do that through education and helping people understand we’re stronger because of our differences. That’s the powerful stuff,” Shepherd said. JN</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Politico’s private visit to Tucson’s Holocaust museum

Kirsten Engel, a candidate for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, attended an event held at the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) a few months ago. It was her first time visiting the museum. She met Lori Shepherd, the museum’s executive director, who invited her to come back anytime for a private tour.