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Brooklynites call for interfaith unity and an end to antisemitism on Holocaust Remembrance Day

woman at holocaust remembrance event
Dolly Rabinovich, a 97-year-old Auschwitz survivor shared her story during a Holocaust Remembrance Day event on Jan. 28.
Photo by Paul Frangipane

Dozens of Brooklynites gathered in Coney Island on Tuesday to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in an interfaith ceremony. 

Hosted by Pakistani-American community leader Raja Azad Gul, the ceremony aimed to “underscore the power of interfaith collaboration in addressing today’s challenges” and to inspire mutual respect and understanding among divided communities. 

“This day is not just about remembering the past, but as we’ve heard today it’s a call to action for all of us to ensure that such atrocities never happen again,” said Lisa Katz, Chief Government Affairs Officer at the Combat Antisemitism Movement. “The Holocaust stands as one of the darkest chapters in human history. It’s a time when hatred and prejudice left unchecked grew into unimaginable violence and destruction, yet even amid the horrors there were moments of courage, resilience and humanity.”

After the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, hate crimes against Muslims and Jewish people skyrocketed across the U.S. and in New York City. Hate crimes against Jewish people have remained much higher than normal.

woman talks about antisemitism at podium
Lisa Katz, chief government affairs officer at Combat Antisemitism Movement, said antisemitic incidents skyrocketed after Oct. 7. Photo by Paul Frangipane

From Oct. 7, 2023 to Oct. 7, 2024, Combat Antisemitism Movement recorded 6,588 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., Katz said, a 116% increase from calendar year 2023. In New York City, 276 antisemitic crimes were reported in between Jan.1-Sept. 30, 2024, according to the latest NYPD data. 

Dozens of incidents were reported in Brooklyn alone. On Jan. 26, an Israeli restaurant in Park Slope was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti, which police are investigating as a hate crime. 

“As we reflect on the Holocaust we must also reflect on our responsibility,” Katz said. “To make it really simple, antisemitism is Jew hatred and it did not end with the Holocaust.”

Devorah Halberstam, whose son Ari was killed in a terror attack against Jewish students on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994, serves as Honorary Commissioner of Community Safety at the New York City Police Department.

She helps to review hate crime statistics, she said, and has seen antisemitic incidents go “through the roof.”

“There is only one way to fight it, we have to stand up, we have to not be silent, we have to not be silent there needs to be a chorus of all people together,” Halberstam said.  

woman speaking with photo of child in camp in the background
Halberstam urged Brooklynites to stand together against hate. Photo by Paul Frangipane

Dolly Rabinovich, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor, said she was taken to Auschwitz with her parents and siblings when she was a young child. 

Her parents were both killed and their bodies burned, she said, and when she asked a guard when she would see them again, he pointed to smoke rising from a building and told her, “The smoke coming from that building, that’s where they are.”

“It is very emotional to talk about the horrors, the antisemitism … I keep praying that the good lord should save all of us human beings from the atrocities that I went through as a young girl,” Rabinovich said.

She called for an end to antisemitism on college campuses, and urged New Yorkers to “choose the right thing.” 

Rabinovich felt the pain of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, she said, because she had been through such horrors herself, and urged the U.S., the United Nations, and the Hague not to criticize Israel for “defending their people.”

The Hague last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military chief Mohammad Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu has said those warrants were motivated by antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. 

woman praying at antisemitism event in brooklyn
Leaders said New Yorkers must stand up for each other against hate. Photo by Paul Frangipane

Israel has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the start of its offensive, according to Reuters, and two-thirds of buildings in the territory have been destroyed. About 405 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the war, on top of 1,200 killed and 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7. 

Local leaders urged Brooklynites to stand up for each other, even if they’re part of different communities. 

“We cannot stay silent. We cannot let division or 30 seconds of news clips divide us and our community,” said NYPD inspector Adeel Rana. “We need to talk about this, we need to talk about unity, we need to talk about things that we do together day in and day out. We cannot let people divide us.”