Remembering the Holocaust in Fair Lawn
home page

Remembering the Holocaust in Fair Lawn

February 6, 2025, 10:59 am Edit
From left: CBS/FLJC executive vice president and Holocaust educator Neil Garfinkle; the shul’s rabbi emeritus, event chair Ronald Roth; Holocaust survivor David Libeskind; Fair Lawn Mayor Gail Rottenstrich; Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur, and New Jersey State Assemblywoman Lisa Swain. (Photos courtesy CBS/FLJC)
From left: CBS/FLJC executive vice president and Holocaust educator Neil Garfinkle; the shul’s rabbi emeritus, event chair Ronald Roth; Holocaust survivor David Libeskind; Fair Lawn Mayor Gail Rottenstrich; Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur, and New Jersey State Assemblywoman Lisa Swain. (Photos courtesy CBS/FLJC)

Congregation B’nai Sholom/Fair Lawn Jewish Center commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with a community program.

Sam Rosmarin, the son of two Holocaust survivors and a member of Generations Forward, sponsored by the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center of White Plains, was the keynote speaker. His mother, Marin, was 14 when the Nazis invaded Poland; she survived seven labor camps and lived to be 89. His father, Leo, was 18 when he was taken to a series of slave labor camps, where he was held for five years; he lived into his 80s. Leo and Marin were married for 60 years. They had three children and six grandchildren.

Holocaust survivor David Libeskind is flanked by religious school students.

“Our community was built by many Holocaust survivors and their descendants,” Rabbi Roth said. “We must recall them and honor their memories. We also cannot forget that the Holocaust was perpetrated by a country that was respected for its science and culture. We learn that such a country can descend into horrific depths and guard against it happening anywhere in the world today.”

Brenda Kaplan and Bonnie Platter added music for the commemoration, including the theme from “Schindler’s List” and “Oyfin Pripitchuk.” There was also a Holocaust Torah processional with students from the Community Hebrew School of Bergen County, a shofar blowing, and prayers; memorial candles were lit. Neil Garfinkle was master of ceremonies.

read more:
comments