November 24, 2008
St. John’s University remembered the horrible events of the
Holocaust with a ceremony on the Queens campus on Thursday,
November 20. Members of the St. John’s and surrounding
communities gathered in Council Hall to pause and reflect on the
tragic time period and discussed the importance of remembering what
happened to ensure it does not happen again.
Photo Gallery
Sponsored by the Office of Community Relations, the ceremony
included a showcase of images, thoughts and reflections surrounding
the Holocaust. Joseph Sciame, Vice President for Community
Relations at St. John's University opened the ceremony by welcoming
the guests in attendance as well as thanking those who assisted in
producing the event.
Following his introduction, Rabbi Manes Kogan of the Hillcrest
Jewish Center, provided the invocation and Rev. Patrick Flanagan,
C.M., Professor of Theology at St. John’s, performed the
benediction.
In speaking to the crowd, Sciame used the words of Elie Wiesel
saying, “To be blind to another’s pain, to be insensitive to the
anguish of our fellow man or woman is immoral, for it is
inhuman.” Sciame went on to describe today’s event saying,
“Today we are not blind to another’s pain, we are taking it on and
sharing and reflecting.”
Cantor Sol Zim of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center
dramatically performed his song “Remember,” which calls upon us to
recall history so as to not let it be repeated. Following his
performance, Community Relations Associate Kevin Ryan presented a
video that showed scenes from the film Schindler’s List and
reflected, “The reason we have this event each year is so that we
do remember how terrible it was so that it never happens again.”
St. John’s Professor Anne Tedesco provided soft piano music during
the video.
Monsignor Guy Massie, Chair, Catholic and Jewish Relations for
the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens addressed the crowd with a talk
titled “Absolute Need to Recall the Past, Know the Present and Move
to the Future.”
Msgr. Massie’s pointed out that, in the post-Vatican II world,
Catholics and Jews must be able to come together and find the value
in each other’s teachings. “Remembering the past helps us to
live in the present so that we can move to the future with hope,”
he said.
Karen Koslowitz, Deputy Borough President of Queens, presented a
Declaration of Honor to St. John's University on behalf of Queens
Borough President Helen Marshall.
“As the host of this memorial, St. John's University has sent a
powerful message in opposition to all forms of hatred and bigotry
and has enhanced the understanding of many, therefore I, Helen M.
Marshall, President of the Borough of Queens in the city of New
York, do hereby declare Thursday November 20, 2008 as Jewish
Heritage at St. John's University Day in Queens,” the statement
read.
In closing, Dr. Arthur Flug, Executive Director, Kupferberg
Holocaust Resource and Archives Center, spoke about the work that
the important work the center does in teaching young people from
the area about the Holocaust The memorial concluded with a
luncheon sponsored by Skyline Commons.