On Sunday 23 July Ivor’s family and friends as well as fellow members of Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre gathered to mark the publication of the book Chicken Soup Under the Tree. Ivor thanked everyone for their ”love, affection and support,” including Jewish Care to whom Ivor has kindly donated £1 for every book sold.
Jewish Care Life President, Lord Levy spoke at the event, saying, “Ivor is an inspiration to us all. He has been through tragedy and survived. He has made a wonderful life here for his family and has put his history and his life down in this book for them, so that they and many other young people for generations to come, understand and learn what Holocaust survivors and the Jewish people went through in the Holocaust.”
The event was also attended by Lord Pickles, UK Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust issues who addressed guests. Daniel Carmel-Brown, CEO of Jewish Care, Rachel Riley MBE, recently awarded her honour for campaigning against antisemitism and Karen Pollock CBE CEO, Holocaust Education Trust, Michael Newman OBE, CEO AJR and Frances Segelman, who has sculpted Ivor as well as headteachers of schools that Ivor has visited.
At the launch, Ivor thanked everyone for their ‘love and affection’ and one of his granddaughters, Lia Bratt, spoke about her close relationship with Ivor, her Papa, and her role in Holocaust education as part of the third generation.
Lia said, “In 2018 it all changed for me when I visited Auschwitz with my Pappa and my mum, Judy. Standing by the railway tracks where my family once walked, I couldn’t contain my tears, feeling the weight of their history and pain on my shoulders, I’ve never felt such a mixture of emotions. This trip opened my eyes and ignited a fire inside of me to want to carry forward my Pappa’s legacy in Holocaust education and to spread the message to Chicken Soup Under the Tree to the world.
“My pappa is my forever hero and anyone who knows me knows how much I love and adore him. This special bond that we have created will forever hold a very special place in my heart but I know that he won’t always be with me to share his story and it scares me to my core knowing that there are Holocaust deniers today and people who aren’t aware of the Holocaust and antisemitism. I feel it is my duty to ensure that the lessons in history and his story are never forgotten.
“And on behalf of my family, we’d like to thank the publishers Lemon Soul for making this book happen and the amazing team at Jewish Care, Pappa wouldn’t be able to live every day without all that you and your teams do.”
Ivor Perl BEM with four generations of family at the launch of Chicken Soup Under the Tree. Credit Jewish Care.
Ivor Perl BEM with Rachel Riley MBE, granddaughters Lia and Eloise. Credit Jewish Care.
Lord Levy - Jewish Care Life President, Melanie Gotleib - Jewish Care Holocaust Survivors' Centre coordinator, Lord Pickles - UK Special Envoy for Post Holocaust and Ivor Perl BEM. Credit Jewish Care.
Ivor Perl BEM at publication of Chicken Soup Under the Tree. Credit Keren Heller Photography