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Dov Forman

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Dov Forman
Forman in 2021
Born (2003-12-06) 6 December 2003 (age 20)
London, England
Known for
  • Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live published with Lily Ebert
  • Media appearances and social media videos
RelativesLily Ebert (great-grandmother)

Dov Forman (born 6 December 2003) is an English author, spokesperson and social media creator.[1]

Personal life

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Forman is a religious Jew of Ashkenazi descent. He is the youngest of three children, one of Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert's 38 great-grandchildren, and lives in northwest London.[2]

Forman undertook his undergraduate studies in History and Religious Studies at University College London.[3] He was later employed by Conservative MP Robert Jenrick as a Senior Parliamentary researcher and then as Campaign Coordinator and Head of Digital for his leadership bid.[3]

Activism and social media

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At age 16, during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid a rise of antisemitism, Forman wanted to raise awareness of the Holocaust and anti-Jewish racism. He used Twitter to share his great-grandmother's story of surviving the Holocaust; his Tweets reached over 70 million Twitter users in 2020 and 2021.[4]

Forman has advocated new ways to teach young people about the Holocaust, and worked with the LADbible Group and Twitch.Tv to bring Holocaust survivors to their platforms. Forman was invited to speak about 'Social Media and Holocaust Commemoration' to the CEO of Google, at Oxford University and Cambridge University, and Dov has also spoken to more than 150 news outlets in over 30 countries.[5][6][7]

In November 2020, Forman spoke to a UK Parliamentary committee in favour of a UK Holocaust Memorial.[8] In February 2021, Forman set up a TikTok account to raise awareness among people his own age about the Holocaust and the consequences of hate.[9] Forman posted videos with his great-grandmother answering questions about the Holocaust and Judaism. In June 2021, the pair reached one million TikTok followers.[10]

Forman has worked on educational projects with several UK government departments - including the Foreign Office,[11][12] Department for Education,[13] and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - and international organisations, including the United Nations.[14]

In November 2021, Forman - with Jewish News - set up a private meeting and a tour of Kinloss synagogue with former Yorkshire County Cricket Club player Azeem Rafiq. Rafiq, who testified to Parliament earlier that month about anti-Muslim prejudice in Yorkshire, was later revealed to have used hateful language towards Jews on social media in 2011. Forman set up this meeting as part of Rafiq's reconciliation with the Jewish community.[15]

In March 2022, Forman was announced as a 'young spokesperson' for the USC Shoah Foundation,[16] the archive of Holocaust survivor testimonies initiated by Steven Spielberg in 1994.

Book

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Dov co-authored the memoir Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live,[17][18] published by Pan Macmillan in the UK on 2 September 2021 and by HarperCollins in the US on 10 May 2022.[19][20] Lily's Promise is a five-time Sunday Times bestseller and was the Waterstones and Daily Mail best history book of 2021. In March 2022, Lily's Promise (Lily's Belofte) became a bestseller in Holland.[21]

The United States edition of Lily's Promise is a three-time New York Times bestseller, debuting at number 2 - in its first week, and was chosen as the Costco US buyers' pick for May 2022.[22]

In a foreword to Lily's Promise, King Charles III (known then at publication as Prince Charles of Wales) paid tribute to Forman for his "engaging and effective use of social media". He said Forman had "demonstrated a determination to share his great grandmother’s story with a global audience".[23]

TED Talk

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Forman delivered a TED Talk, titled: ‘Anything is Possible - The Accidental Gamechanger’, in August 2022, at a TEDx event with the theme 'Game Changers and Disruptive Thinkers.'[24]

Awards

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In November 2021, Forman received the Points of Light award from the UK Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, for services to Holocaust education.[25][26]

In March 2022, Forman - alongside his great-grandmother Ebert - was presented with the Jewish Care community award by Andrew Neil at the Jewish Care Topland annual community business lunch, hosted by the Topland Group.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "TEDxBolton Dov Forman". TedXBolton. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  2. ^ Rosa, Joanne (27 January 2022). "Auschwitz survivor and great-grandson teach TikTok about realities of Holocaust "She's a fighter," Dov Forman said of his great-grandmother, Lily Ebert". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b Forman, Dov. "Dov Forman - LinkedIn page". LinkedIn - Dov Forman. LinkedIn. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  4. ^ FORMAN, Dov (27 August 2021). "The forgotten gift that led a Holocaust survivor to the US soldier who helped her 76 years ago When Lily Ebert, 97, was liberated from a work camp, a US soldier wrote a message of hope on a banknote; it restored her faith in humanity". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. ^ Ebert, Forman, Lily, Dov (2 September 2021). Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found The Strength To Live. Pan Macmillan. p. 320.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Oxford, University. "THE HOLOCAUST IN FILM AND LITERATURE: Social Media and Holocaust Commemoration: In Conversation with Dov Forman". University of Oxford - Oxford talks. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  7. ^ Carr, Dr Jilly (9 December 2021). "Lily's Promise: An interview with Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert and her great-grandson Dov Forman". University of Oxford; Institute of Continuing Education (ICE). Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  8. ^ Forman, Dov. "Dov Forman speech in favour of the proposed UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre". Westminster.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  9. ^ Swerling, Hannah (3 October 2021). "Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert, 97, and her great-grandson on how she became a TikTok star The Auschwitz survivor and Dov Forman discuss family, anti-semitism and the power of sharing her story online". The Sunday Times Magazine - Relative Values. The Times and Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  10. ^ Butterworth, Benjamin (27 January 2022). "The Holocaust survivor sharing her amazing story on TikTok, with help from her great-grandson". IPaper. INews. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  11. ^ Miller, Sabrina (27 January 2022). "Liz Truss commits to fighting antisemitism during Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony Foreign Secretary joined by Israel's ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, Holocaust survivors, educators and Jewish leaders". Jewish News UK. Jewish News. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Holocaust-survivor Lily Ebert shares her experience alongside great-grandson @DovForman and reminds us why we must not let history repeat itself". Twitter - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. UK Government; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Lily Ebert and her great-grandson Dov Forman are teaching children the importance of tolerance, using social media to spread a message of hope". Twitter - Department for Education. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  14. ^ Nations, United (13 July 2022). "UNESCO: Half of Holocaust-related content on Telegram denies or distorts the facts". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  15. ^ Mendel, Jack (26 November 2021). "The powerful moment Azeem Rafiq understood where antisemitism leads". Jewish News UK. Jewish News. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  16. ^ Greenbaum Fax, Julie. "New Partnership Brings Survivor Voices to Hearts and Homes". USC Shoah Foundation. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Macmillan 02 September 2021 9781529073409 320 pages Share this book with your friends and family Lily's Promise by Lily Ebert Dov Forman". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  18. ^ Mendel, Jack (28 July 2021). "Prince Charles to write foreword for book by Shoah survivor & her great-grandson Heir to the throne will introduce 'Lily's Promise' by 97-year-old Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert and her 17-year-old great-grandson Dov Forman". Jewish News UK. Jewish News. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  19. ^ Edwards, Jonathan (1 February 2022). "A 98-year-old Holocaust survivor built a massive TikTok following to combat deniers: 'It happened'". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Lily's Promise Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations". HarperCollins. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  21. ^ Van Sadelhoff, Lisanne (27 February 2022). "Lily (98) writes book about Auschwitz 'They even killed babies, babies!'". ad.nl. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  22. ^ Egan, Elisabeth (26 May 2022). "Dov Forman Wants You to Know His Great-Grandmother's Holocaust Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  23. ^ HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles (27 August 2021). "Foreword, Lily's Promise". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Dov Forman". TEDXBolton. TED. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  25. ^ Mendel, Jack (1 December 2021). "Prime Minister honours teen who co-wrote great-grandmother's Auschwitz memoir 'This is the signal for me and Lily to keep going, and to spread Lily's messages and Holocaust testimony even further', said Dov Forman, 17". Jewish News UK. Jewish News. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Lily's Promise 1800. Dov Forman Dov Forman, aged 17, from London, is the great-grandson of Auschwitz survivor, Lily Ebert, who co-authored her written testimony of the Holocaust and has reached millions of young people on social media, educating them about the horrors of the Holocaust". Prime Minister's Office 10 Downing Street. Points of Light. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  27. ^ Frot, Mathilde (10 March 2022). "Record turnout at Jewish Care charity lunch". Jewish Chronicle UK. Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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