Holocaust Remembrance Day of the Greek Jewry Held on Jan. 22 in New York

NEW YORK: . – The Consulate General of Greece in New York hosted the Holocaust Remembrance Day of the Greek Jewry on January 22 at Hebrew Union College in Manhattan. The moving event featured remarks from the dignitaries, the Remembrance Prayer led by Rabbi Diana S. Gerson, the screening of a short film from the Jewish Museum of Greece titled Hidden Children about the Jewish children who were saved during World War II, and keynote speaker Dr. Spyros Orfanos.

American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece (AFJMG) Secretary of the Board Leon Levy gave the welcoming remarks and served as MC for the event. He thanked the Greek Consulate for sponsoring and co-hosting the event with the AFMJG. Levy also thanked Professor Demetrios Argyriades, “a man who has not stopped contributing to the work of the AFMJG for more than 40 years including tonight where he has graciously sponsored the space for this evening’s ceremony.”

Levy noted that “many of those in the audience tonight are the children or grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, the events of mid-20th century Europe fundamentally rewired the world and we continue to live with those consequences nearly 80 years after the war ended. But for many of those affected, the war never ended, even if you were liberated from Auschwitz, you were never truly liberated from what you experienced at Auschwitz.”

Consul General of Greece in New York Iphigenia Kanara noted that this was her first time in her new capacity as Consul General participating in the event “to honor the memory of millions of Jews who were brutally taken away from us during one of the darkest chapters in human history and also at the same time to pay tribute to the resilience and courage of all those who survived and who continue through their stories to inspire us today to learn from the past.”

She continued: “The Holocaust in my view is a powerful reminder of the depths to which humanity, society, can fall when hate and intolerance prevail, and as we reflect on the lives lost and on the families shattered, I think we must confront some uncomfortable truths about our own society today and ask ourselves how do we respond to the hate? How do we make sure that such atrocities never happen again? The contemporary message of the Holocaust is one of vigilance and commitment to human dignity and it is our shared responsibility to actively combat all forms of intolerance, of discrimination, and at the same time promote equality and freedom for all. In Greece, we are very proud of the achievements of the Jewish community, you know very well that the community has been an integral part of our national tapestry for centuries.”

Kanara noted the education efforts in Greece and the building of the Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki, and the key partners including the AFMJG and other organizations in Greece and the U.S. “to help us build awareness, promote healing, education and tolerance.” She thanked all those for attending in spite of the frigid temperatures.

Consul General of Israel in New York Ambassador Ofir Akunis said: “Tonight’s event is not just honoring the lives of Greek Jews, it is personal for me, for over 400 years… my family lived and built a life in Salonica, Greece, they arrived in Greece after being expelled from Spain, they lived a life full of rich, Jewish tradition while embracing the wonderful Greek culture that surrounded them, actually the end of my family name, Akunis, the -s is from Greece.”

He noted that his grandparents were among the lucky ones. “Two years ago, I had the honor and privilege to represent the State of Israel as the Minister of Science and Technology at the March of the Living in the city center of Salonica, I marched along with the Hellenic President and a lot of members of the government… to the old train station, the same train station where Jews were taken to be sent off to Auschwitz exactly 80 years ago.”

“My friends, we learn from history that when a fascist and racist regime says they want to destroy a people, we better believe them. The Nazis were clear with their messaging and we saw how the language turned into action, in the beginning they burned books, next came the burning of Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues, the Kristallnacht, and then they burned people alive. And just like the Nazis said and did, we are seeing it happen again today… the attack on October 7 was not just an attack on Israel, it was an attack on the Western world and our shared values.”

Ambassador Akunis noted there are those who deny the Holocaust and the October 7 massacre, but added that “gatherings like tonight are a reminder that when we unite around the values our peoples share, tell the stories of survival and speak out, evil cannot win. As the generations pass, the stories of the Holocaust and October 7 need to continue to be shared, may we all continue to be unified and view the past to push us into a brighter and stronger future.”

His Grace Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia also gave remarks, noting that it was “an honor and privilege to stand with you” and on behalf of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and the Archdiocese expressed “unwavering support and solidarity with the Jewish community and all those who cherish the sanctity of human dignity.”

AFMGJ President Solomon Asser said: “Eighty years ago, the Allies liberated Auschwitz, joy mixed with trauma for generations… thank you for being here on this cold night when we remember the Holocaust, especially this time after the liberation of the hostages in Israel again a day mixed with joy and trauma that will be carried for generations. Racism, antisemitism, is still on the rise as if it were a hundred years ago, unfortunately, we are forgetting the past and despite that we are here tonight to remember that hate is destructive and the trauma that carries on will be discussed by Professor Orfanos.”

He noted that the Jewish Museum of Greece “remains a safeguarding institution of the Jewish Greek history and heritage that goes back 2500 years, from art, crafts, books, memorabilia, and clothing from the Greek Jews to teaching the schools and teachers the history of the Holocaust in Greece where 87% of the population perished, the highest percentage of the entire Europe, for example Poland lost 50%. Survivors of that period are disappearing quickly and it becomes crucial to safeguard their history and our history. Greece has honored this day since it was instituted and with the President of the Greek Republic honoring the day every year and also the Consul Generals of Greece in New York have been honoring this day as one of the most important events of their journey here, thank you Consul General. May the day’s to come be brighter, peaceful, without hate, racism, and antisemitism, God bless us all.”

Rabbi Diana S. Gerson, the spiritual leader of the AFJMG, led the traditional service of remembrance, thanking all those for attending and beginning with the Shoah Memorial Prayer by liturgist, poet, and teacher Alden Solovy which concludes: “May the memories of all who faced these horrors/ Be sanctified with joy and love. May their souls be bound up in the bond of life, A living blessing in our midst.”

A short video from the Jewish Museum of Greece in Athens was also screened, highlighting the “Hidden Children” of Greece who survived thanks to being taken in by non-Jewish families during the war.

Dr. Spyros D. Orfanos, Director and Clinical Professor in New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, the keynote speaker, then gave his moving presentation, titled ‘A Holocaust Legacy Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma,’ noting that “this is probably one of the first times that this group has been addressed by a psychologist and psychoanalyst… but I think I have a perspective to offer, I don’t have the perspective, but a perspective, and my perspective is rooted in psychology and contemporary psychoanalysis… I recognize that the Holocaust and its legacies speak in many voices and talking about trauma and its transmission I want to acknowledge that we have massive collective traumas going on as we speak, specifically, the fire disasters in California, the wars between Ukraine and Russia, the war between Israel and Hamas, and the earthquakes and volcanic disasters in Africa, further I want to acknowledge the disturbing rise in antisemitism in this country and abroad, an instance that a psychoanalyst cannot ignore, and I hope you cannot ignore it either, is this past Monday’s gesture by Elon Musk at a celebration, I know that some hate watchdogs are saying not to read too much into it, but right-wing extremists are celebrating his straight-arm gesture as a Nazi salute.”

Dr. Orfanos began with the poem ‘Tanaïs’ by Iossif Ventura, a Greek Jewish child-survivor of the Holocaust born in Chania, Crete, then shared personal examples highlighting moments from his own life, including his family’s experience during World War II saving members of a Jewish family on the island of Erikoussa. He was visibly moved at times including when he spoke of a phone call received by his parents from Rosa, one of the members of the family, many years after the war. Dr. Orfanos also noted the presence of his niece Yvette Manessis Corporon who wrote about the family in her book, ‘Something Beautiful Happened: A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil.’ He concluded his remarks with the poem ‘Healing’ by Yannis Ritsos.
A musical program followed, featuring Dr. Orfanos’ daughter, talented vocalist Lina Orfanos, who sang in Hebrew, Greek, and English, accompanied by Martin Néron on piano.
The event concluded with a reception kindly supported by the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce and the Pan Gregorian of America.

Από την Αγγλόφωνη έκδοση του Εθνικού Κήρυκα της Νέας Υόρκης

Foto: Consul General of Israel in New York Ambassador Ofir Akunis. Photo by Eleni Sakellis