Trading Places

With a mother in Gaza

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe,”

- Elie Wiesel said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1986.

My 6th grade teacher Ms. Weinstein was the first person who taught me about the Holocaust. She had sparkly blue eyes, dark curly hair, and she smelled of expensive perfume. Her glasses hung by a gold eyeglass chain, and sometimes the color of the chain changed with the outfit she wore. I loved her as a teacher and she had a profound influence in my literary taste.

She introduced me to middle-grade books, historical fiction, realistic fiction and memoir. Almost 3 decades later, I still…