Social Studies teacher, Mr. Robert Sandler had Chaim Levin visit his Jewish History class give a presentation on his father Ben Levin, a famous Jewish partisan (resistance fighter) during the Holocaust. Ben normally comes to Mr. Sandler's classroom every fall with his son, but he sadly died from COVID.
Mr. Sandler shares, Chaim wanted to continue the tradition so he delivered his talk on Zoom this past Friday to both Mr. Sandler's classes and even had family from Israel and Europe also attend the talk! The students learned how Ben, as a 12-year-old smuggled food into the Vilna Ghetto, and lost his older brother and parents. Then, as a sixteen-year-old while hiding in the forest, he blew up bridges & railroad tracks and fought alongside Soviet forces against the Nazis. Ben then traveled on the famous refugee ship, the Altalena, to Israel in the midst of the 1948 War of Independence. Ben, a member of the radical Irgun, met his wife in Israel and the family lived there until 1967. The students enjoyed asking questions at the end of the presentation and it was a great way to end the course. Below is a picture from last December when Ben vistied Stuyvesant in person.
See a link to a New York Post piece as well courtesy of Mr. Sandler
