Gala Marks Museum’s 13 Years

By Mica Soffer, Publisher of COLlive.com
Photos: Sholem Srugo/COLlive

Friends and supporters joined the 13th-anniversary dinner of the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights celebrating the institution’s positive impact on Thursday night.

Held at the BB King Blues Club in New York City, honorees included Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Deborah Aronow, who received the Lamplighter’s Award, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas and Edy Jablon, who received the Generation to Generation Award, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who received the NY City Leadership award, and former FBI Director Mr. Louis J. Freeh, who received the Ari Halberstam Memorial Award.

Devorah Halberstam, the Museum’s Co-founder and Director of External Affairs, recalled the dark week she spent at her son Ari Halberstam’s side as he lay in a hospital bed after being shot by terrorist Rashid Baz on March 1, 1994.

“During the destructive nor’easters of the past month, that knocked out the power to hundreds of thousands, I listened to the howling of the winds, I walked the rooms of my home looking for a place to hide,” Halberstam described. “That wind triggered my PTSD, instantly bringing me back to the week we lost Ari.

“After he was shot and rushed to the hospital, Ari lingered for five days before his heart gave out. I stayed by his side the entire time, as snowstorms pounded the city. While I lay in the room next door to his, I could hear the wind shrieking as I stared at the ceiling, howling at the fate that had struck my firstborn,” she said.

The evening’s MC, NBC 4 news journalist Melissa Russo, related how she was a young reporter on that day. “I will never forget that day, I was a young reporter at NY 1 News, and I was driving past the foot of the bridge and we got a call on the radio,” she said. Russo saluted Halberstam for “her incredible grace under personal tragedy, and for all she continues to do for our community.”

Russo related how the Jewish Children’s Museum opened its doors for the first time a decade after Ari’s death.

“The 50,000 square foot landmark has now hosted over 2 million visitors, providing exhibitions and programs on the history and culture of the Jewish people, in an educational and entertaining format. Through contemporary technology and a hands on approach to learning, children of all faiths and backgrounds are now able to learn about the Jewish culture,” Russo said.

Halberstam thanked the museum’s supporters who came out to celebrate the institution which “teaches youngsters to be more tolerant and be more caring of others.”

Michael Mukasey, Former Attorney General of the United States, introduced Louis J. Freeh, Former FBI Director and the recipient of the Ari Halberstam Memorial Award.

Mukasey pointed out that during Freeh’s illustrious career, his story crossed with Ari Halberstam’s, who was murdered while Freeh served as FBI Director. “The perpetrator of that attack had clearly hunted this group of students and his anti-Semitic motives were plain,” Mukasey said.

While some authorities refused to recognize it as an act of terrorism, with one FBI official going so far as to call the incident “road rage,” Freeh “believed in calling things by their proper name. He helped see to it that this act was classified as what it was – an act of terrorism,” Mukasey said.

Freeh praised the museum that carries on Ari’s mission and charge of understanding and tolerance, and stated that the museum’s work has never been more important than it is today, citing the rise in global anti-Semitism, including in the United States.

“The work that needs to be done to prevent acts of terrorism like the one that killed Ari Halberstam, and to extend the protections and liberties we cherish to millions of other children, is never more important than today,” he said.

“Children all around the world are suffering because of deliberate, calculated acts of terrorism,” he said. “Remember that even in this great country we have to renew our dedication and remember our passion to protect the children. We have to take the charge of understanding and tolerance, and apply it with passion and moral courage, and don’t compromise when it comes to the safety of all of us, and especially our children.”

“The upcoming holiday of Passover is a time of renewal,” Halberstam said. “It is a call to commit ourselves to a better future. We have to begin to live better: in our politics, in our public discourse, in our communities, in our families – we need to embrace each other,” she said.

“Through this museum that we have built together, Ari has been able to touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, and I know these children will make a difference, they are our hope and our future leaders…and I am certain they will make this world a better place for all of us,” Halberstam concluded.

In attendance were New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, Council Member and Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, Council Member Chaim Deutsch, Council Member Matthieu Eugene, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik/New York Board of Rabbis, United States Marshall Joseph Guccione, Former US Attorney Alan Vinegrad, Former Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, President and CEO of Maimonidies Medical Center Mr. Gene Keilin Chairman of the Board of Maimonidies Medical Center, Former Attorney General of the United States and former Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey, Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan, Chief of Department Terence Monahan, Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison, Chief of MTA Owen Monaghan, Chief of Counterterrorism James Waters, Chief of PBBS, Steve Powers, Chief Charles Scholl, Lt. James Woods PC liaison Unit NYPD, Adam Beirish PC Liaison Unit NYPD, Inspector Frank Giordano/ 71 PCT., Community Affairs Unit Vincent Martinos, Community Affairs Unit Mike Baratt, Community Affairs Unit Taeisha Skyer, Lt. Ira Jablonsky/ PBBS Community Affairs Unit and others.

Video: The incredible impact of the Jewish Children’s Museum