A ceremony commemorating Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) took place in Manhattan on Sunday, with the participation of thousands of people and attended by Holocaust survivors, the Israeli Consul General in New York Dani Dayan, elected officials, diplomats and school students.
This year, the flag of the war against anti-Semitism was hoisted at the ceremony, a binding step in the wake of the growing wave of anti-Semitism in the US. Speakers included Senator Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage Robert Morgenthau, and Consul Dayan.
In addition, the commemoration featured reconstructed musical performances and an “inter-generational candle lighting” of 36 Holocaust survivors accompanied by their great grandchildren.
"Pogroms against Jews, anti-Semitic caricatures and claims of disloyalty of Jews to their countries - all these preceded the Holocaust. We thought that anti-Semitism would end after the catastrophe that it brought to the world during World War II, but we were wrong," Dayan said.
"The same buds are returning today, but today we are experienced and know where this might lead. The time has come for the entire world to rally to a determined struggle against the anti-Semitic beast. 'Never again' is right now. The State of Israel has no authority outside its borders, but we have a responsibility and we are determined to fulfill it," the consul added.