Senior Emily Lofgren, president of Christians United for Israel, said she has always felt strongly about standing up for the Jewish state, which is why she attended the CUFI student summit in Washington, D.C., last July.
“I’ve always had a heart for Israel and saw it as an amazing opportunity to stand for my religious beliefs in a way that affects foreign policy,” Lofgren said.
It was there that she first heard Holocaust survivor Irving Roth speak about his experience at the Poland death camps, and she knew it was something she wanted to share with Drake University—alas, she was successful.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Bulldog Theater, Roth will speak about those horrific experiences and how he survived the Holocaust. The event is sponsored by CUFI, and it is the organization’s kickoff event, as it was just recently approved as an official Drake organization last December, thanks to the efforts of Lofgren and junior Rachel Cutler.
“I feel like it’s extremely important for students at Drake to understand how tragic the Holocaust actually was,” Lofgren said. “I believe it’s important to respect and treat everyone kindly regardless of their religious affiliation. In the Holocaust, Jews were not treated with respect and were treated horrendously. It’s important that it never happens again.”
According to the CUFI website, the ultimate goal of CUFI is “to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, parachurch organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to Biblical issues.”
Lofgren said she wants to focus on educating students about this cause.
“From my perspective, our goal is to educate the campus about standing for the Jewish state and its right to exist,” she said.
Roth is the director of the Holocaust Resource Center at the Temple Judea in Manhasset, N.Y.
According to his biography on www.AnneFrank.com, Roth “has worked to ensure that an atrocity like the Holocaust never happens again,” and his life’s goal is “to make the world a better place.” For his efforts in promoting world acceptance and diversity, he received the Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
Lofgren said she hopes that students will be able to learn valuable lessons from Roth’s presentation.
“I hope that they’ll understand that we should love people and respect people regardless of their religious views,” Lofgren said.
Bob McKenney • Jan 24, 2012 at 8:17 pm
I also believe it is very important to spread the word about the death camps, and realize we have detention centers here in the U.S. being set up now. The existing government here in the US of A may call it Progress, but is a disguised form of Nazism. We are also moving toward a civilian police state now in this country, being set up fairly covertly, by our government, along with a planned and controlled police/military to include our National Guard, to implement who goes to these camps. Sound familiar? Even Peacekeepers from other countries may appear. . See the rental video, “Iraq For Sale”. These very same contractor companies that were in the video, are now being hired to set up these detention centers authorized by the President. We have 40 plus Czars who have not been vetted by Congress, that establish policy, circumventing Congress. There are 70 plus Democratic Socialists of America who were forced to change their name to “The Progressive Caucus”, after being outed on the internet. try to Google “Democratic Socialists of America, and John Conyers,” the founder of the DSA, who has been a Congressman for decades. Socialist/Marxist/Nazi infiltration.
When I get tired working around my property, I am reminded of the Holocaust Survivors, and what I saw in the DVD Holocaust and Hitler videos. I am encouraged to “tough it out”, as I don’t really know what exhaustion and deprivation is.The Survivors are a shining light to stand up for.