A large group gathered at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston on May 5 to remember the 6 million Jews who died at the hands of Germany’s Nazi regime before and during World War II.
The observance came as protests continued on American college campuses on behalf of Palestinians and Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and kidnapping hundreds more. In response, Israel has invaded Gaza and is fighting to wipe out Hamas.
Germany’s Consul General to New England, Dr. Sonja Kreibich, called it a “great honor to be allowed to speak here.”
“This year I’m certain our hearts are even heavier than they were in the past years,” she said.
“The events of the past month serve as a stark reminder that the lessons of the Holocaust are not nearly of historical significance, but of a deeply relevant presence of realities.”
The German dignitary—who represents the very country responsible for the Holocaust—underscored how deeply troubled she was that history was repeating itself.
She called on the United States to teach more about the Holocaust and to do a better job of “combating ignorance and prejudice” about the history of Israel.
“Education does not always reach its target audience,” she said.
Boston University (BU) freshman Benjamin Spira, who also spoke at the memorial, also blamed what he called the “frustrating ignorance” of “the smartest students in the world” who, he said, “can’t even do basic research.”
At BU, which reportedly has the largest Jewish student population of any college in the United States, Mr. Spira said he has witnessed students call Hamas “resistance freedom fighters.”
He also noted that LGBTQ student groups support Hamas, an anti-Israel terrorist group who, he said “literally killed their own commander on the suspicion of being gay.”
Pro-Palestinian students tear down the American flag, he said, “not understanding why they even have the right to protest in the first place.”
“All these things combined together show how harmful a lack of education can be,” said Mr. Spira, who is studying biology at BU.
When 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Magda Bader made her way to the podium, there were murmurs and then a heavy silence.
She was just 14, she recalled, when the Nazis murdered her parents and baby sister and took her and her two surviving sisters to Auschwitz, an infamous concentration camp in Poland where Jews were systematically executed.
“We were constantly reminded of how we would be killed,” she said. “We had to dig our own holes and we would be shot and then would fall into the ditches.”
Addressing the rise in antisemitism, Ms. Bader said she wishes people “would behave like human beings should behave to each other” and not worry about “what our skin color is” or “whether we are Jewish or we are Christians or Muslims—we should learn to get along in the United States.”
Later, Ms. Bader told The Epoch Times that she was “proud” to stand before the thousands of names etched into the glass walls that make up the memorial.
The New England Holocaust Memorial is located on Boston’s fabled Freedom Trail near Faneuil Hall, where colonists met on the eve of the American Revolution and later to oppose slavery.
‘Once Again, They Are Refugees’
Meron Reuben, Israel’s consul general to New England, also spoke at the May 5 event.Mr. Reuben told the crowd that “the never again” happened again. An estimated 1,500 Holocaust survivors were forced from their homes during the Hamas attacks, he said. Of those, 86 died and others are still held hostage.
“Once again they are refugees,” he said.
Another speaker was Rabbi Marc Baker, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (CJP). This past week, the group organized a counter-protest at Israel Temple in Boston in response to the pro-Palestinian student protests. At least 1,000 gathered for the peaceful protest.
Like the Holocaust gathering, the counter-protest was in stark contrast to the students who used bullhorns and expletives to call for the death of Jews, blocked Jewish students from entering campuses, and even committed assaults.
At Emerson College, one of at least six Boston universities where encampments were set up, 108 students were arrested by police dressed in riot gear.
There was a heavy police presence at the Holocaust memorial event, but no incidents.
The event was part of the annual Jewish observance called “Yom HaShoah,” an annual remembrance of Holocaust victims and survivors.
It was also marked by a Jewish ballad sung by 19-year-old Israeli college student Leeyah Soen. Translated, the name of the song is “To See The Light.”
