FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, April 25, 2022

A Virtual  Conference and Commemoration for Yom HaShoah hosted by the Shalom Hartman Institute   

NEW YORK CITY, New York – On April 28, The Shalom Hartman Institute hosts a virtual conference and commemoration on Yom HaShoah, connecting lessons of the Holocaust to the current crisis in Ukraine, home to one of the largest thriving populations of Jewish communal life pre-WWII. 

Leading scholars and luminaries will relate the themes of Yom HaShoah to the Ukraine-Russia war to inspire a Torah of Action. As the world witnesses the ongoing toll of the war in Ukraine and the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe continues, Jews are confronted by memories from World War II that are tragically familiar. 

At the Jewish Memory and This Moral Moment Conference, Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute, along with Mark Hetfield, the President and CEO of HIAS, Roman Shmulenson, Executive Director of COJECO - the central hub for the Russian-speaking Jewish community in New York tri-state area, Dr. Tal Becker, legal adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dara Horn, author and two time winner of Jewish Book Award, legal adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with other leading scholars on Holocaust and Jewish Studies explore the unique moral responsibilities Jewish people have in light of the Shoah.

“With this year’s commemoration of Yom HaShoah, the Jewish community is struggling with big moral questions considering our long, difficult history in Eastern Europe. For over 70 years since the Holocaust, Jews have vowed “never again.”– Dr. Kurtzer    

Dr. Kurtzer will deliver the keynote address, Never Again, Revisited. Later, he will be joined on a panel The Mobilization of Memory - Activating an Emergency Response in Crisis by Mark Hetfield, the President and CEO of HIAS, the global refugee agency of the American Jewish community. Founded in 1881, HIAS is the oldest organization in the world that is dedicated to refugees.  

Roman Shmulenson, the Executive Director of COJECO - the central hub for the Russian-speaking Jewish community in New York tri-state area, will lead a panel Voices of Russian Speaking Jews and at noon, a Yom HaShoah Commemoration will be led by Rabbi Avram Mlotek, co-founder of Base and the rabbi-in-residence at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.

The conference hosted by the Shalom Hartman Institute will look back in remembrance of the Holocaust while addressing the complex moral questions of power and responsibility in today’s world. The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. Our mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century.

For all media inquiries and to arrange interviews please contact: Jan.Greenfield@shalomhartman.org