I cannot remember a time when my high school, the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Riverdale, NY, commemorated Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). Even though the school has a large percentage of minority students, the majority of the students are white and Jewish. Many of these students have grandparents or family members that were either killed in or survived the Holocaust. How could a school that is mostly comprised of Jewish students not commemorate Yom HaShoah? A private school that is mostly funded by parents of students that are Jewish, should have at least one assembly commemorating the Holocaust.
Both of my mother’s parents were Holocaust survivors. During the war, my grandfather was a slave to the Nazis when he was only 16. After the war Communists imprisoned both my grandparents. The fact that my high school never commemorated the Holocaust always bothered my parents and me.
I attended Fieldston for 14 years, from pre-k through twelfth grade. Throughout my years at Fieldston, there were numerous assemblies involving African-Americans, whether it was Black History Month, the Black Panther Movement or Martin Luther King Day. There is no question in my mind that these historical events are important to recognize; however, there were never any assemblies in my fourteen years at Fieldston regarding Jewish accomplishments, holidays, or Yom HaShoah. During my sophomore year of high school, there was a debate scheduled that was rightly cancelled due to the fact that there were two Palestinians debating one another, as opposed to an Israeli debating a Palestinian, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Jews relate to the Holocaust the same way that many African-Americans associate slavery with their painful past. But the mass murder of 6 million Jews is a much more recent event than the abolishment of slavery in the United States. The persecution of African Americans that took place during the Civil Rights Movement is more recent than the Holocaust but the two events are incomparable.
Even though Jews are considered to be white or Caucasian, the fact of the matter is that they are just as much a minority as African Americans. Jews represent roughly 2% of the American population, whereas African Americans represent about 14%. Just because most of the students who attend Fieldston are Jewish does not mean that Jews should be viewed as part of Caucasian society. The fact of the matter is that the Jewish people have been equally persecuted if not more so than many other minority groups. The fact that Fieldston does not recognize Yom HaShoah is not only offensive; in future years, as the survivor population passes away, the lack of commemorative programming will make it seem as if the Holocaust never happened.
