Since 2013, every June 18, the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society commemorates the largest mass arrest of rabbis in U.S. history by reading a letter written by the rabbis once detained inside the Old County Jail on Lewis Speedway.
This year’s speakers included government officials, historians, residents and guests, including Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, the founder of SAJHS; St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline; and Avi Dresner, documentary filmmaker and son of Rabbi Israel Dresner, one of the 16 rabbis arrested on June 18, 1964.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and Florida’s first Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Mobile Museum of Tolerance were also included in this year’s annual event.
Following the ceremony, guests explored the Mobile Museum of Tolerance.
What is the Mobile Museum of Tolerance?
The museum is a 30-seat, wheelchair-accessible self-contained classroom built on a bus. It offers a field trip experience through its public workshops held at schools, community centers and public forums.
Visits are booked at https://mmot.com/florida.
First launched in Chicago, the MMOT is modeled on the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance, which is the educational arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
According to the MMOT website, the museums “inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to promote human dignity by empowering them to raise their voices to combat antisemitism, bullying, racism, hate, and intolerance.”
What workshops are available?
According to its website, the MMOT can provide six workshops per day. Each workshop is 40 to 45 minutes.
Topics include:
Who delivers the workshops?
Led by a licensed educator, the MMOT uses immersive technology to deliver age-appropriate workshops that decode online hate and antisemitism while teaching the history of the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement.
“MMOT workshops empower participants with knowledge of the dangers of the past in order to create a better future,” the organization said.
Teachers receive additional materials prior to their MMOT visit, and educational virtual workshops are also available.
“MMOT is privileged to connect classrooms with guest speakers who are survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides,” noted the website. “Their powerful testimonies provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity for students to learn about history from those who experienced it first-hand.”
For more information or to book workshops from the MMOT, go to https://mmot.com/florida.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: The Mobile Museum of Tolerance: What is it and how do you book a visit in Florida?
Reporting by Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record / St. Augustine Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
