HEAR Club Holds Program for International Holocaust Remembrance Day

by Hannah Fineman, SSLI '25

Today, students in the upper school gathered for an assembly commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was this past Saturday. This program was led by Holocaust Education And Remembrance (HEAR) club.

Jorgia Saracino, the club’s president, explained that HEAR “is a club where we discuss different issues related to the Holocaust and antisemitism and plan programs in order to educate students.”

Yael Pedram, an active member of HEAR, shared that this program was held “for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which, unlike Yom HaShoah, which is what we do in school every year, it remembers the liberation of Auschwitz.”

Saracino stated that this program was especially important “because it was our first time commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We usually only have a program for Holocaust Remembrance Day in May. We chose to have a ceremony for this occasion because of the rising antisemitism since October 7.”

Sam Levenson, a freshman who was a learner at the assembly, said, “It’s important to have programs like this to educate people on what’s really going on and how to know what’s real and what’s not. Many people learn false information and believe it, which makes them spread hate and make false accusations that others catch onto and spread themselves.”

Sophomore Josh Jurmann also felt that Holocaust and Israel education are important. He states, “We need to know how to combat antisemitism and how to fight against incorrect claims. We also need to know what the meaning of certain things are so it’s easier to recognize.”

Ms. Nitzan visited as a guest speaker to explain Israel, South Africa, and the International Court of Justice. (S. Chernoff)

Pedram shared that educational programs about Israel and the Holocaust are important because they don’t only stay within the walls of Schechter. People tell their families and friends what they learn at these events, so the information spreads. Overall, these programs have a much larger impact than we think.

For this program, members of HEAR presented about various topics such as “free speech vs. hate speech, gaslighting, and holocaust denial,” said Levenson. He continued, “The students also interviewed Hadassah Nitzan, who works as an international lawyer. She explained important details about the war and legal details about the lawsuit” filed by South Africa claiming that Israel is committing a genocide.

Jurmann explained, “This program was special because instead of simply bringing in a survivor and then sharing their story, we had a presentation where we learned information necessary to be able to combat the antisemitism and the false claims that are spreading.”

In agreement that this program was unlike past events, Levenson added that the program “focused on current events and how people talk about the Holocaust rather than tell stories about what happened. Both are important in remembering the Holocaust and ensuring it never happens again.” 

Hannah Fineman is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since November 2021. Hannah is currently a junior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: hfineman25@schechterli.org