Dr Jill Harland, Head of the History Department at Timaru Boys High School, travelled to Israel in February this year to attend a seminar at the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Tel Aviv, Israel. The trip was sponsired by The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre Yad Vashem and Wellington-based Holocaust Museum of New Zealand.
 
Twenty five New Zealand teachers, together with teachers from other parts of the world, gathered to listen to 116 hours of lectures sharing the message of human rights. They learned about Jewish literature, music, art and the Holocaust, with the clear message of “ Safely in , safely out”, when teaching their students  about the difficult issues related to the Holocaust.
 
Dr Harland said they were always aware of the Israeli military presence, but that they never felt vulnerable and that this trip was a life changing experience.  During her time in Israel Dr Harland visited a number of historically-important sites, as well as more traditional tourist destinations.

One of the positive outcomes of visit was the wealth of teaching resources Dr Harland was able to bring back with her, and which she uses to help her students understand issues related to genocide.