NY announces commission to establish first state-sponsored Holocaust memorial

Jewish community leaders will head a commission to establish New York state’s first state-sponsored Holocaust memorial, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announces.

The 19-member advisory commission will help guide the memorial’s design and development, Hochul’s office says.

The commission includes Ariel Behrman, vice president of education at the Anti-Defamation League; Tali Farhadian, CEO of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage; Masha Pearl, the head of the Holocaust survivors aid group the Blue Card; and Daniel Rosenthal from the UJA-Federation of New York.

“At a time when antisemitism and intolerance continue to threaten communities across our state, nation and around the world, this memorial will ensure that the stories of victims, survivors and their families remain visible,” Hochul says.

Other commission members are from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the Boro Park Y, the American Jewish Committee and the Center for Jewish History.

Hochul signed legislation to establish the memorial late last year.

The memorial will be built at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, the state capital.

There are Holocaust memorials in New York State, but none are funded and supported by the state government.

Some Jewish researchers have questioned whether Holocaust education is an effective means of fighting antisemitism.