NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is located in Battery Park, but for its Annual Gathering of Remembrance pegged to Holocaust Remembrance Day -- or Yom HaShoa, in Hebrew -- the solemn event was held at the Upper East Side's Temple Emanu-El.
At the event, speakers included Holocaust survivors and their descendants, New York lawmakers Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Jerry Nadler, and community leaders. Six Holocaust survivors also lit six candles, each representing one million of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis.
Prayers were also said for the Hamas-held hostages in Gaza, as well as for Israel Defense Force soldiers.
Schumer, speaking to hundreds of attendees gathered in the Reform congregation's main sanctuary, said it was "a very challenging year for the Jewish community."
"Now why is this gathering so important?" Schumer, who is Jewish, said. "Because we have a moral responsibility to make sure the Holocaust’s terrible stain on humanity never fades from memory."
Schumer further explained, "a genocide that's not properly told can lead to another. And we owe it to the survivors, to the families, and indeed to the whole world, to continue bearing witness to the tragic legacy of the Holocaust, and repeating our convictions and prayers."
Nadler spoke about the importance of the Holocaust remembrance and Hamas' mission to kill Jews.
‘With the scourge of antisemitism and prejudice once again on the rise, it is critical that we never forget their memory so that history can never repeat itself," said Nadler, who represents New York's 12th Congressional District, which covers central Manhattan.
Nadler continued, "Nearly 80 years later, we are confronting another stark reminder, that Jews still face threats to our existence. The horrible October 7 attack on Israel marked the single deadliest day for world Jewry since the Shoah.
Citing Hamas, which killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200 during its Oct. 7 terror attack, Nadler said, "The Hamas founding charter perpetuates vicious antisemitic drugs that have persisted for a millennia and explicitly calls for the genocide of the entire Jewish people."
Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson, attempted to strike an uplifting note, saying, "We will emerge from this year of horror even firmer in our commitment to our people."
Israel's Consul General in New York, who assumed the position on May 1, reminded the audience that the Holocaust, "was not a sudden event that happened over night. It was carefully organized and planned by the Third Reich to destroy the Jewish people step-by-step." He explained that it began with boycotts of Jewish-owned businesses and vandalism of such businesses and synagogues -- without anyone doing anything -- before the Nazi's decided on the "Final Solution" of European Jewry's fate.
