International Holocaust Remembrance Day: Critical and Compelling Lessons Applicable to Civil Society and the Legal Community Today
January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, has been designated by the UN General Assembly as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and to urge UN member states to take measures to prevent future genocides. The panel analyzes how and why contemporary society has failed to sufficiently internalize the lessons from the Holocaust, which is most evident in the rise of anti-Semitic hate speech and continued persecution of minority communities in various countries around the world. The panel highlights the importance of providing a lasting voice and support to survivors of the Holocaust, which is essential to ensuring this community is continually heard and never forgotten, and will explore the rising trend of anti-Semitism across regions of the globe, especially in Europe and the United States, including the growth of anti-Semitic hate speech in social media that has motivated in-person discrimination and physical violence against Jewish communities.
Welcome:
Sheila S. Boston, President, New York City Bar Association
Opening Remarks:
Sami Steigmann, Holocaust Survivor, Motivational Speaker, and Educator
Moderator:
Clayton Cheney, Co-Chair of the United Nations Committee
Speakers:
Ferit Hoxha, Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations
Jacqueline Murekatete, Genocide Survivor, Activist, and Founder of the Genocide Survivors Foundation
Lauren Krapf, Technology Policy & Advocacy Counsel, Anti-Defamation League
Owen Pell, President, Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
Rabbi Mark Wildes, Founder and Director of the Manhattan Jewish Experience
Sponsoring Committee:
United Nations, Clayton T. Cheney and Catherine E. Van Kampen, Co-Chairs
Co-Sponsoring Committee:
European Affairs, Jonathan Halpern, Chair
Foreign and Comparative Law, Richard H. Langan, Chair
