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History of the Ride
to Remember (R2R)
The Hillel’s
Angels and the Jewish Motorcycle Alliance are
committed to the promise that we think every Jew
should make to our past, current, and future
generations. It is the promise made to the
totality of mankind. It is the promise to never
forget the events of The Holocaust and try our
best to educate those who are uninformed.
Holocaust
remembrance can only occur through continuous
and widespread and continuing Holocaust
education. The Hillel’s Angels together with the
Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance’s (JMA) support
the annual Ride to Remember (R2R). The R2R is
our effort to provide a curriculum of Holocaust
Education to young men and women in order to
insure that the knowledge of what has, and what
can happen to the Jewish people transcends the
generations. Our annual R2R effort helps to
insure that tomorrow’s leaders understand the
horrors of genocide and the terrible
consequences of indifference. Holocaust
education, in today’s world, may be more
relevant than ever before. We must not only
remember the horrors of our past, but do what we
can to stop the genocides of tomorrow.
The first R2R
in May of 2005, proved that
the JMA, as an organizing body, could bring
Jewish Motorcycle clubs together to honor the
memory of those lost. The visit to the National
Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC was a
remarkable event which, for the first time,
brought Jewish riders from across the entire
East Coast and Canada together to commemorate
Yom Hashoa.
In 2006,
the Paper Clips Ride brought Jewish bikers from
around the world to the sleepy town of Whitwell,
TN. This R2R, the second annual Ride to
Remember, has provided the children of the
Whitwell School with much needed aid and the
educational tools to continue their Holocaust
studies. Whitwell, made famous by the movie “Paper
Clips”, has developed into a center of
Holocaust Education and Tolerance for the entire
state of Tennessee.
In 2007,
the R2R served to showcase the incredible
strength of the Jewish Motorcycling Community.
With bikers from across the country and around
the world, our participation in the Salute To
Israel Day Parade in New York City, NY made it
clear that together, we could not be ignored.
Together, the strength of our community could
accomplish great things and show proof that
“Never Again” were not just words softly spoken
in synagogues and schools but ROARED out loud
for the world to hear.
In
2008, the R2R continued the trend of
setting an ever higher standard of excellence in
organization and execution. The amazing welcome
from the Jewish community of Omaha, NE, allowed
the JMA to further focus its efforts on
Holocaust Remembrance through Education. The
2008 “Illuminations Ride” raised essential funds
to secure Holocaust education for schools and
universities that would otherwise not have a
Holocaust curriculum. In doing so the importance
of education as a component of Holocaust
Remembrance was more firmly established as a key
element of all R2Rs to come.
In
2009, the R2R visited historic
Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC, to continuing
our struggle against anti–Semitism and ethnic
hatred while promoting tolerance through
Holocaust education. Funds were raised for
educational endeavors sponsored by the Jewish
communities in Savannah and Charleston. The two
initiatives supported were The Remember Project
– a Holocaust education project based in
Charleston and the Holocaust Research and
Lending Library in Savannah. The sincerity of
our participant’s desire to “Ride to Remember”
cannot be denied and you only needed to be on
that wild journey, from Savannah to Charleston
to see it. With severe storm warnings blaring
from the weather band radios while the roar of
thunder and the cascades of rain falling with
biblical force, the elements were readily
overpowered by the scream of motorcycle engines.
The Jewish community waiting for us in
Charleston was not to be disappointed and the
welcome we received was that much sweeter for
everyone’s knowledge of the challenging ride.
Remember that
beyond the charitable contributions made by
participating clubs in the annual R2R, “getting
there” is always an amazing experience. While a
normal club ride may cover anywhere from 100 –
300 miles, the R2R for some of us means a
commitment of several thousands of miles, riding
for several days, sometimes through difficult
and challenging conditions. While Jewish Bikers
may not feel all that connected to Biketoberfest
or Sturgis, the R2R is OUR event and hardcore
riders have ridden through torrential rain, fog,
and even snow to get there.
The 2010
R2R was held in Skokie, Illinois to support the
new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education
Center. The idea for this museum had been born
30 years prior to our visit, when a group of
neo-Nazi’s decided to March through the town.
For more about this moment in history and the
Illinois Holocaust Museum, please visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-r-stone/remembering-the-nazis-in_b_188739.html
and http://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/
In 2011,
the Jewish Motorcycle Alliance converged on a
more typical "biker" destination, Virginia Beach
Virginia. As always, while the riding and
camaraderie was great, it was all about purpose.
The JMA, hosted by the Lost Tribe Motorcycle
Club, raised $27,000 for the Tidewater Holocaust
Commission in Virginia Beach for their Holocaust
Education Program.
In 2012,
Ride to Remember had the Alliance head North to
Toronto Canada. Rain could not stop the JMA from
seeing to the cause of Holocaust Remberance and
the member clubs succeeding in raising $32,923
for the Holocaust Educators Tour in Toronto.
In 2013,
R2R, in California, created previously unknown
challenges for the core constituents of the JMA.
With a concentration of members located on the
East Coast, it was difficult to amass the kind
of presence previous R2Rs had been able to
muster. That said, the organization’s goal was
to let Jewish Motorcyclists that may not
otherwise have been aware of our community know
that they had friends across the country. In the
process, the member clubs of the JMA collected
for a great cause, The Central Valley Holocaust
Educators Network.
In 2014,
the R2R will be hosted by us, The Hillel’s
Angels. The Hillel’s Angels and our sister clubs
in the JMA will ride to support the efforts of
the Oswego Museum and Education Center. The
Center is dedicated to keeping alive the stories
of the 982 refugees from World War II who were
allowed into the United States and placed into a
refugee camp at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New
York, from August 1944 until February 1946. You
can find information about the 2014R2R at www.safehavenmuseum.com
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