Perhaps more than most other museums, it is a good idea to get a guide at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem, the world’s primary Holocaust memorial.
International tourists and diplomats criss-cross the busy permanent exhibition alongside Israeli students, soldiers and police, and then outside into a vast site comprising gardens, memorials and research centres.
No matter how well designed the museum, it is hard to comprehend its terrible subject. It is not uncommon to see visitors become visibly emotional, particularly at the Hall of Names, a vast circular room lined with bookshelves filled with volumes containing the names of victims. Empty shelves show that decades after the Holocaust, researchers have still not fully documented the horror.
The National was lucky enough to be taken round Yad Vashem by Yisrael Campbell, who did an excellent job of presenting the topic, while also being very interesting himself.
He dresses much like an ultra-Orthodox Jew, but is frequently in the company of secular people. He says he came to Israel for deeply religious and spiritual reasons, but that his "hard drive" remains "western democratic". He says his early life was full of rebellion, yet today he is clearly guided by a very strong faith.
Perhaps the main clue that his story is different to the typical Israeli's is his surname.
Born into a Catholic-American family, he embarked on a long conversion to Judaism after troubled teenage years, which were followed by drama school and soul-searching stints in New York City and Los Angeles.
The surname Campbell stuck, but after years under the guidance of various synagogues, he changed his first name from Christopher to Yisrael.
Like his name, his two vocations are also a stark contrast. Campbell is a guide at Yad Vashem and a stand-up comedian, a profession he began to pursue when he was still in the US as a way to “get some control over my career and life”.
“People say these two jobs are polar opposites,” Campbell told The National.
“In some ways they are. I mean, I certainly don't seek to make people laugh at Yad Vashem, and I certainly don't seek to make people cry in my comedy.”
But he does see a link between the two.
“And then a friend of mine one day says to me, no, those two roles aren’t as different as it might seem. You just want to affect people with your words.”
It was, after all, powerful words that partly inspired Campbell’s conversion.
“Much of my early attraction to Judaism came from the writing that emerged from the Holocaust – Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi, for example. These stories of survival. Portraits of courage that are just incredible. I remember reading them and thinking back to me trying to survive life in the suburbs, and here these guys were living through Auschwitz.
“My friend was right. I want my speech, my words, to have meaning, whether that's to make people laugh, or to make people aware of the Holocaust, and perhaps to cry. Those are both very powerful things, perhaps the most powerful to do with words.”
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS & THE ECONOMY
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (All UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (11.30pm)
Saturday
Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
FA Augsburg v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Werder Bremen (6.30pm)
SC Paderborn v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Monchengladbach (9.30pm)
Sunday
Cologne v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
Mainz v FC Schalke (9pm)
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
