Leading members of the Judiciary and prominent lawyers gathered on Friday, Jan 26, at the Supreme Court of Nassau County in New York on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
This annual event was created by the United Nations in 2005 to mark the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Holocaust death camp, was liberated by the Russian army in 1945. The purpose of International Holocaust Remembrance Day is to serve as a date for official commemoration of the victims of the Nazi regime and to promote Holocaust education throughout the world
Opening welcoming remarks were made by the District Administrative Judge the Hon. Vito DeStefano and Hon. Jeffrey Goodstein, Supervising Judge of the Supreme Court of Nassau County.
“It’s important that we take a moment to remember all of the lives lost, the millions of innocent Jewish people and other victims who were persecuted by the Nazi regime. Today and every day we reaffirm our commitment to combat hatred and intolerance in any form and ensure that the lessons of the past are never forgotten as we work to create a more just and compassionate society for future generations.”
Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Chabad Shliach in Mineola, Long Island, presented the Invocation:
“Almighty G-d Who Remembers all Forgotten Things, on this important day we humbly pause to reflect, on does the Holocaust still matter?
“One rule of thumb by which to measure the significance of the Holocaust, is that it clearly matters to the enemies of the Jewish people – so much so, that many would like to blot out its memory entirely.
“They are impatient with us: Forget about it, they say, and move on. What good does it do to keep remembering it? That’s the very same mindset, that was not disturbed while six million were butchered, now resents our remembering those same six million. That’s the same mindset already circulating today of the Oct 7th denial, a close cousin of the holocaust denial, the latest mutation in the DNA of antisemitism.
“Because once the Holocaust is forgotten, their own complicity in it will also be forgotten, and they will feel exonerated. One should never doubt the evil intentions of tyrants. Today, when we hear talk about destroying Israel and driving her people into the sea, it would be folly to discount it.
“History teaches us, that evil triumphs when good people remain silent. But when good people revolt against evil, evil will ultimately perish and the good will prevail.
“From the Holocaust we also learn that evil, hatred, and anti-Semitism are not always the result of ignorance, but that even a highly educated, cultured, and sophisticated society, can fall under the sway of evil. Germany was a leader in science, art, education, literature, philosophy, music – but none of this cultural superiority was a guarantee against the cruelty and bestiality that marked its behavior. The guards at Auschwitz listened to Bach while their victims were gassed to death.
“The Holocaust reminds us of certain truths that, if forgotten, can destroy civilization. Memory is an integral aspect of being alive, the glue of one’s self-identity. We forget at our own peril.
“Help us strive, toil and sacrifice for the coming of that day, when violence and desolation shall be no more anywhere on earth; when at last nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; when all human beings everywhere, may live in peace and security, with none to make them afraid. Amen. G-d Bless America!”
Guest speakers also included Holocaust survivor Leo Ullman, Esq. and Dana Arschin, Emmy Award-Winning Journalist and member of Chabad of Port Washington.
