The second segment in the Museum’s series about the writing of the second generation will host speakers from two writing groups from Israel and the U.S. Hear from Israeli author, poet, and theater director Michal Govrin, co-editor of But There Was Love There. From the U.S., Dr. Rita Benn, Avishay Hayut, and Ruth Finkel Wade, authors featured in The Ones Who Remember: Second Generation Voices of the Holocaust. Learn about their efforts to capture insights from personal memory into creative forms that evoke a stance of personal responsibility for the “other” in the face of the challenges of a changing world. Moderated by Dr. Irit Felsen.

Michal Govrin is a novelist, poet, and theater director who has published multiple fiction books and books of poetry. She currently lives in Jerusalem and teaches at Tel-Aviv University. Govrin also holds the academic chair of the theatrical department of Emunah College. She often gives lectures abroad, notably in the United States at the Cooper Union School of Architecture. She was also a writer-in-residence at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Rita Benn, PhD, originally from Montreal, received her PhD from the University of Michigan where she was trained as a clinical/school psychologist and served for twenty years on faculty in the School of Medicine. Most recently she established a non-profit to train educators and youth in mindfulness meditation practice. Dr. Benn and her husband have three grown children and four grandchildren, In her spare time, Rita loves to paint, write poetry, and practice yoga and meditation. She also volunteers at the Cancer Support Community to teach mindfulness to their patients and caregivers.
Avishay Hayut was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. After completing his army service, he became a physical therapist and immigrated to New Jersey to further his education. In 1996, he met and married Regina Lambert-Hayut, a cantor who brought him to Ann Arbor for her job at Temple Beth Emeth, They have two college-age sons, Yoav and Alon, who study music,, Avishay loves music, playing the guitar, practicing in choir, and accompanying Regina at Temple services.
Ruth Finkel Wade is the daughter of survivor Sidney Finkel. She spent many years as a training and development executive and retired in 2016. She now spends much of her time as a docent and speaker at the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. Ruth grew up in Chicago, and spent 25 years living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has one son, Ike, named after her father Sidney’s brother Izzy. Ike and his newlywed wife Natalie are data scientists living in Chicago. Ruth has a two-year-old Boston Terrier named Rizzo and spends her free time cycling.

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