Iris Bendahan is one of three winners of this year’s Morris Weiss Award for Outstanding Holocaust Education. Gathering most of the materials herself, she has put together an incredible Holocaust museum at Congregation Beth David in Saratoga.
J Weekly
By Rob Gloster
As a child, Iris Bendahan was confused when her grandmother would speak of relatives who were “not here because of Hitler.” It wasn’t until her sixth-grade class in Israel saw an exhibition on the Holocaust that she finally understood.
As an adult, the former religious school principal at Congregation Beth David in Saratoga has made it her mission to ensure Bay Area kids have no such confusion.
Bendahan, 57, personally created a Holocaust museum that has been on display each spring at Beth David since 2009. This year, it will be available for viewing until May 3. The museum is open during synagogue hours and there’s no admission charge.
