Results tagged “holocaust”

Robert Bielski has a good handshake: firm but not vise-like, it's the handshake of a man who has confidence but doesn't feel the need to prove anything. It's a bright, chilly December day, but inside his Manhattan office the heat is almost stifling. "Make yourself comfortable," he says, gesturing toward a black leather sofa. On an end table next to the sofa is a framed family portrait—Bielski's extended family, he proudly says. It's his family that I've come here to talk about, specifically his father Tuvia.

Yesterday's ran a rather long piece called "How Do You Prove You're a Jew?", and while it may seem an unconventional topic for a manners column, I'd like to expound a bit upon it. Have no fear: even if you don't have the time or the inclination to read the original Gershom Gorenberg essay, I'm only using it as a jumping-off point for this column, and I promise not to allude to anything that would only be understood if you did read it.