Speak up. We cannot afford to be silent any longer.

The first place winner of the 10th-12th grade category for our First Annual Youth Writing Contest was Loren Miller, a senior from North Shore Hebrew Academy High School in New York.


Loren's essay focuses on the dangers of indifference. "Silence, in fact, is deafening," she says. 

"We cannot hear the soft hum of tattoo machines, quietly stripping people of their identities.  Nor can we hear the longing of a mother’s empty arms for the child she will never see again.  Or the sound of an inmate’s heart, beating furiously as he stands, ghost-like, through interminable roll calls. We cannot hear the hush that came over the gas chambers once the work was done, like a fleeting calm after the storm. Nor can we hear a Nazi’s unspoken acquiescence.  And we cannot hear the world community’s silence--until it was 11 million lives too late."

Using the stories of the Jewish partisan, Eugenio Gentili-Tedeschi, Loren's words conjure shocking and moving imagery. 

"Jewish partisans like Eugenio seized the moment, dropping what was left of their previous lives to be reborn into fighters against tyranny, oppression, discrimination, and prejudice. In Eugenio’s words, 'I want them to be remembered as those who make the right choice at the right time.'"

Not only did this essay meet the contest's guidelines, it exemplified the inspiration between the student and the partisan, which then resonated with the readers and judges.


Congratulations, Loren!

Winning essayist Loren Miller (left) and her educator Julie Farkas (right)