International Holocaust Remembrance Day shines light on atrocity
Rabbi David Novitsky
Judge Gary Gilman
As the events of World War II and the Holocaust fall ever further into the past, local Jewish leaders offer a reminder to continue to heed the lessons of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.
Friday, Jan. 27, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 78 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The day was designated by the United Nations in 2005.
Israel has its own remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, that will take place this year on April 17 and 18. Many Jewish people worldwide also observe Yom HaShoah.
This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day comes amid a large spike in antisemitic incidents across the United States. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there were 2,717 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. The ADL says this represents a 34% increase over 2020, and the highest number on record since the organization began recording these incidents in 1979. The ADL has not yet published statistics for 2022.
The majority of the incidents are classified as harassment, but also include vandalism and assaults.
For David Novitsky, rabbi of Washington’s Beth Israel congregation, the antisemitism itself is not as worrying as how others respond to it.
“Antisemitism has existed since the time of the Bible. It has existed in every generation in every time. It’s scary,” Novitsky said. “It’s how everyone reacts to the antisemitism. If people remain quiet, and remain silent, that’s how you can have a Holocaust. When good people remain silent and turn their eyes and ears from it. Recognize antisemitism, and call it for what it is.”
In 2021, Beth Israel’s synagogue on North Avenue went up for sale. There are only about three dozen members left.
The dwindling Jewish community in Southwestern Pennsylvania is concerning to Washington County Judge Gary Gilman, who serves as president of Beth Israel.
“If there is not an active, noticeable Jewish community, then it’s certainly more plausible that the history of something like the Holocaust will be forgotten,” Gilman said.
Gilman referenced a survey conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in 2020 on Holocaust knowledge among Americans under 40.
The survey found that 63% of its respondents did not know that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. There were 7% who said they weren’t sure whether it happened or not, and 3% who outright denied that the Holocaust had occurred.
“That’s really unfortunate, and a bit disturbing,” Gilman said.
In recent months, Holocaust denial was given a large platform by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Ye began a weeks long campaign of antisemitism that began with an October tweet announcing his intent to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
What followed was a series of media interviews with increasingly charged rhetoric, culminating with him telling conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, “I like Hitler,” and denying that the Holocaust happened.
Gilman said that it is incumbent on those who match Ye’s celebrity and influence to speak out against him. This includes former President Donald Trump, who dined with Ye after his initial antisemitic remarks.
“It would appear that if Kanye West is able to meet with somebody like our former president, that gives him some credibility,” Gilman said.
He added that when these blatantly false statements go unchallenged, it only makes it more difficult to combat in the future, and that the Holocaust did not begin with concentration camps.
“The camps are just the consequence of all of that. There’s no doubt that those are the physical consequences of the dehumanization,” Gilman said. “That was going on for, at least in Germany actively, for close to 10 years before the war started.”
Gilman recognizes the importance of having a specific day to memorialize those lost to the Holocaust, but said that educating oneself about those events does not have to be relegated to one day.
He recalled visiting the Dachau concentration camp in the 1980s, the first one built by the Germans. Gilman described it as an “amazing experience.”
“I can’t speak for anybody else, but it was very real to me when I say you could smell death,” Gilman said.
Both Novitsky and Gilman said that remembering the history is how to best ensure it does not repeat.
“The best way to prevent something like that from happening in the future is to remember the past,” Novitsky said. “If people realize their actions could lead to something like this, maybe they’ll be more careful and more kind to one another.”