Participating in the April 20 state observance of Yom Hashoa at the Ruth Hyman JCC in Deal are, from left, Howard Gases, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County; Dale Daniels, executive director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Center; and Dr. Paul Winkler, executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.
Photos by Jill Huber
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April 28, 2009
More than 500 attendees paid tribute to Holocaust victims and survivors at the April 20 Yom Hashoa ceremony at the Ruth Hyman JCC in Deal. The event also marked the official state observance of the annual commemoration and its acknowledgement of the 30th anniversary of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Center at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft.
The state’s participation in the Monmouth County gathering is part of its effort to join with Yom Hashoa ceremonies throughout New Jersey. A different location is chosen each year; Monmouth was selected this year in honor of the Brookdale center’s anniversary.
“Going to a different location each year gives us the privilege of sharing in Yom Hashoa observances throughout the state,” Dr. Paul Winkler, executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, told NJ Jewish News. “Survivors want to join their own communities on this special day, and it’s a great honor for the state to join them.”
Brookdale’s Holocaust center has set high standards for statewide Holocaust education, according to commission chair Phil Kirschner.
“It has made New Jersey proud of Holocaust education,” said Kirschner, the son of survivors. “We go beyond statistics and dates and teach students and educators about ethics, tolerance, and taking a stand against injustice. The survivors have inspired us with their dignity and strength.”
Today’s young people are acutely aware of current acts of prejudice and genocide, he said, adding that silence or lack of concern only enhances those in peril.
“Young people see far too much — Sudan, 9/11 — and we have to make sure future generations will not be indifferent to a world that is suffering,” Kirschner said. “This is why the lessons of the Holocaust must be kept alive.”
‘A sacred occasion’
The commission and the Office of the Governor, in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, both county JCCs, the Brookdale center, JWV Post 125 of Asbury Park/Ocean, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Monmouth County, the State Association of Jewish Federations, and 11 area synagogues sponsored the event.
Survivors lit candles in memory of Holocaust victims and in honor of the Righteous Gentiles during the Yom Hashoa ceremony at the Ruth Hyman JCC in Deal. Choir members from Temple Beth Miriam, Congregation B’nai Israel, and Temple Shalom are in the background.
The generosity and courage of the survivor community has added a human dimension to Holocaust facts, and the result has enhanced understanding of the dangers of intolerance, said Dale Daniels, executive director of the Brookdale facility.
“For years, they’ve shared their testimony with dignity, and they’ve become an important part of who we are,” she said. “They’ve taught our kids about the Holocaust and that each of us must remember our responsibility to protest injustice. They feel a tremendous responsibility to those who died and have added their voices so genocide will stop.”
The Holocaust survivors are the honored guests at every Yom Hashoa observance, said Rabbi Gordon Yaffe, religious leader of Temple Beth El in Oakhurst and one of the event planners.
“They are a unique element in our communities,” Yaffe said. “This is a sacred occasion when we honor victims and survivors — all those who looked darkness in the eye and rose above it to create a new life.”
The commission presented the Hela Young Award to Michael Rubell of Morristown, founder of Morris Rubell Holocaust Remembrance Journeys. The group was formed by Rubell in 1995, following the death of Morris Rubell, his father, a Holocaust survivor who spoke about tolerance and the evils of discrimination to students and community groups throughout the state.
The ceremony included prayers, a recitation by local youngsters of the names of children who perished in the Shoa; performances by cellist Amy Garland Goldman, pianist David Schlossberg, and choir members from Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon, Congregation B’nai Israel in Rumson, and Temple Shalom in Aberdeen; and reflections on death and survival read by local clergy.
“It’s important to show this kind of broad-based support of Yom Hashoa,” said Hany Mawla, chair of the NJ Arab-American Heritage Commission in Trenton. “We must underscore the fact that every human life is precious.”
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