New York, NY – Young Friends of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will light up Hanukkah with a latke-making lesson, a cocktail-making demonstration, and a Menorah-lighting ceremony this December.

Pivoting amid the pandemic, Young Friends of the Museum have transitioned the annual Light Up The Night event, previously an annual in-person holiday celebration, into a social media event series in light of health and safety concerns. The virtual events will be showcased exclusively on the Museum’s Instagram@museumofjewishheritage – throughout the holiday.

“Hanukkah is a time for giving and receiving presents, and so our Young Friends, who have been incredibly supportive of the Museum, are presenting these wonderful virtual gifts to brighten up this most festival of holidays,” said Jack Kliger, President & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. “Even though we all remain apart physically, these events will bring us together and fill us with joy, celebration, and community.”

Young Friends is a group of young, Jewish professionals (ages 21-39) who are involved in an array of dynamic programming that celebrates Jewish heritage and preserves Holocaust memory. The Event Chair is Marc Schlesinger and Host Committee Members are: Sonja Cabasso, Spencer Gordon, Ryan Greene, Alyssa Greengrass Sommer, Michael Handman, Cali Hersch, Matthew Rubin and Jaclyn Steinbach.

The Light Up the Night Series: A Young Friends Instagram Takeover will be held virtually on IGTV to support the Museum. Audiences can contribute at https://mjhnyc.org/LUTN2020.

The celebration will unfold at 7:00 PM (ET) over three of the holiday’s eight nights, and feature three virtual events:

  • A latke-making demonstration led by Madison and Park Hospitality Group’s David Teyf, who is the executive chef and operates Lox at Cafe Bergson at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust on Thursday, December 10.
  • A cocktail-making class with Evan Hawkins, Co-Founder of Big Fun Booze Club, on Monday, December 14.
  • A Menorah-lighting ceremony outside of the Museum, located in Battery Park City, with a few members of the Young Friends board on Thursday, December 17.

Organizers are encouraging supporters of the Museum, or anyone planning to watch the events, to contribute to the Museum at this time. Amid the pandemic, the Museum had to shutter its doors for six months to comply with health and safety guidance from City and State leaders. The Museum reopened in mid-September, but has since only open three days a week and only been able to permit a quarter of its normal attendance.

Although things may seem dark, this community can help the Museum usher in a brighter future. Museum Trustees Marian Klein Feldt, Matthew Goldstein, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer have agreed to match any contribution to this event of $108 or higher. Double your impact today by supporting the Young Friends of the Museum.

Anyone wishing to become a Young Friends member of the Museum should visit mjhnyc.org/membership/young-friends. For more information about how you can get involved, email youngfriends@mjhnyc.org or call 646.437.4225.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE – A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to never forget. The Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust. The third largest Holocaust museum in the world and the second largest in North America, the Museum of Jewish Heritage anchors the southernmost tip of Manhattan, completing the cultural and educational landscape it shares with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage maintains a collection of more than 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies and contains classrooms, a 375-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, a resource center for educators, and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The Museum is the home of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

Currently on view is the acclaimed exhibition Auschwitz.Not long ago. Not far away. This is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz and its role in the Holocaust ever presented in North America, bringing together more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs from over 20 institutions and museums around the world. Also on view are Ordinary Treasures: Highlights from the Museum of Jewish Heritage Collection and Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony.

The Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit mjhnyc.org.