Members of the Jewish Motorcycle Alliance’s local chapter—the “Wandering Twos”—arrived at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum on Wednesday morning, July 9, in their quest to raise awareness and support for Holocaust museums in the United States and Canada. The 10 riders depart this weekend for the next stop of Terre Haute, Ind.
The North American Holocaust Museum Tour began in Charlotte, N.C. on June 8 and has stops scheduled at the sites of 21 Holocaust museums. It will conclude in Washington, D.C. at the National Mall on July 30. On each leg of the journey, a local chapter of the alliance rides to the next stop where it passes the baton to a local group. Members of the Wandering Twos wanted the 2025 ride to be a meaningful one, according to one of its founders, Steve Aroesty.
“As Jewish bikers, we love to get together and ride our motorcycles,” Aroesty said. “We love to stop and eat and have a good time together, but we also have a higher purpose. We all agreed on the need to remember, to commemorate, and to honor the Holocaust victims and to educate people about the tragedy of the Holocaust so the lessons are not forgotten.
“We wanted to thank all the Holocaust museums throughout North America that are working day in and day out to promote the ideals of diversity and tolerance and to fight bigotry and antisemitism. Jewish bikers are very independent. We have right-wingers. We have left-wingers. We have Harley guys. We have Honda guys. We have tzitzi-wearing, observant Jews. We have non-Jews that ride with us that we love, that are part of our club as well.”
One non-Jewish rider who will accompany the Wandering Twos to Indiana is Charles Whisenhunt, who doesn’t let a prosthetic leg or dialysis appointments keep him away from his beloved Harley.
“This is my enjoyment, my escape,” said Whisenhunt, who has been riding with the Wandering Twos for 10 years. “It started when a friend of mine down the street said (he was) going to go ride with the Jewish guys today, so I went with them. I’m a Mason and a lot of my Mason brothers are Jewish, so we have a good relationship. And that’s an important factor is really knowing someone, that’s what will stop antisemitism.”
