2025 ANNUAL REPORT

Fundatia Tarbut Sighet
Cultura si Educatie Iudaica

Celebrating resilience, advancing education, and securing a vibrant Jewish future. Uniting descendants worldwide, advancing programs from Auschwitz study visits to new Judaica resources in the Sighet public library, we honor our past and ensure Jewish continuity with courage and resolve in Sighet Maramureș.

Despite Challenges Our Mission Continues

Tarbut Foundation Sighet extends warm greetings to our community of supporters, partners, and descendants of Sighet Jewish families worldwide. 

This past year has brought significant challenges for the Jewish people, as rising antisemitism has impacted Jewish communities, particularly students on university campuses across the globe. These realities remind us of a timeless Yiddish expression: “S’vere tzu zayn a Yid” (It is difficult to be a Jew). Our work therefore remains essential and urgent.

Despite these hardships, meaningful accomplishments have strengthened our resolve.

We were delighted to see that the film “The Road Between Us” was honored with the People's Choice award at the International Toronto Film Festival—triumphing despite initial reluctance to screen it.

For us, this recognition symbolizes the importance of cultural perseverance and the fight for authentic representation of Jewish narratives.

We translated into Romanian the book The Mothers, written by Mrs. Tibon, who took an active role in rescuing her son on the October 7th attack, as shown in the documentary. Her husband, Noam Tibon—whom I know personally—embodies the courage and resilience that continue to inspire our community.

Our mission is deeply informed by the memory of survivors who endured the Shoah and the struggle for the establishment of the State of Israel. Their courage guides our commitment to ensure that remembrance and education are never diminished.

Art Spiegelman, creator of the Pulitzer prize winning graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale (1980-1991), pioneered the use of the graphic novel format to teach about the Holocaust. Once considered controversial, his work is now recognized as a powerful educational tool that helps students explore emotions, memory, and survivor testimony. Tarbut Foundation Sighet integrates Spiegelman’s approach in student learning sessions alongside local survivor memoirs and historical texts.

Educational Impact, Programs & International Collaborations

Throughout the 2024–2025 academic year, our Foundation delivered a highly successful suite of programs across Sighet, Baia Mare, wider Romania, and international partner communities. Thousands of students engaged with Holocaust education, Jewish history, and cultural identity.

Students consistently share that meeting survivors, learning firsthand testimonies, and participating in educational visits transforms them into ambassadors of memory and truth. This continues to be among the organization’s most valued achievements.

Tarbut Foundation Sighet was selected as a key partner in the European Union project “Empathy”, working alongside institutions from Portugal, Poland, Spain, and Slovakia. Delegations of students participated in workshops and a study visit to Auschwitz, providing a formative experience that will remain impactful throughout their lives.

Commemorative Events, Expanding Cultural Access and Community Resources

The 2025–2026 academic year marks the launch of the European Days of Jewish Culture activities in Sighet. In celebration of this year’s theme, People of the Book, Tarbut Sighet Foundation established a new Judaica Section in the Sighet Public Library. Over one hundred English and Romanian volumes were donated to initiate this important resource.

Additional cultural initiatives include:

• Our major exhibition “We Won” to be inaugurated on Romania’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, October 9

• The forthcoming launch of the Magical Storytelling Carpet project for youth education, also at the Sighet Public Library, by the end of 2025

These efforts emphasize the vitality of Jewish creativity, intellectual contribution, and education.

Family Roots Journeys and Genealogy Services

Tarbut Sighet Foundation continues to serve as a trusted custodian of family history. This year saw a significant rise in Family Roots Journeys and genealogy research requests, particularly from third and fourth-generation descendants eager to reconnect with heritage, ask long-held questions, and restore familial memory. These experiences reinforce the powerful continuity between past and present.

You can find us on social media and learn more about our activities through the following links:

Facebook  | LinkedIn | Sighet Generations Facebook Group 

Looking Ahead