(New York, NY)— The following is a statement issued by Chairman of the Board Bruce Ratner and President and CEO Jack Kliger on behalf of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in response to reports that the Carroll Independent School District in Texas encouraged teaching “opposing perspectives” on the Holocaust:
“The Holocaust is not up for debate. It is one of the most documented atrocities in human history and is, in fact, very recent history. While six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, along with hundreds of thousands of others from targeted groups, there are still today living survivors. To encourage the teachings of Holocaust denial, misinformation, and bigotry in our nation’s classrooms is an offense to all, but it is particularly cruel to those survivors, many of whom have bravely committed to sharing their eyewitness accounts with today’s students. Our Museum is honored to run a survivors’ Speakers Bureau; we share their commitment to ‘never forget.’
Holocaust education is essential, intrinsic to our institution’s mission, and increasingly important in the United States amidst surging white nationalism. Our students deserve a curriculum that is rooted in fact—and that encourages empathy. There is no ethical alternative.”
We invite educators nationwide to review our free, curriculum resources here:
https://mjhnyc.org/education/
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 almost 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.
The Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.