Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day

24, 2017 WHEREAS, From 1933 to 1945, 5.8 million Jews were murdered in the Nazi Holocaust as a part of a systematic program of genocide, and millions of other people also perished as victims of Nazism; and WHEREAS, Jews who fell under German control in Eastern and Central Europe were quickly stripped of their rights and property; and WHEREAS, The Jews who perished at Nazi hands comprised two-thirds of all European Jewry, and in countries such as Poland, which before the Second World War included parts of the Ukraine and Belarus, the Jewish death toll surpassed 90 percent; and WHEREAS, The People of the State of New York should always remember the atrocities committed by the Nazis so that such horrors are never repeated; and WHEREAS, Those who survived the killing camps tell us that as many people walked to their deaths, their last words were "Remember Us"; and WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 84th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide of European Jews, the darkest, most murderous moment in history; and WHEREAS, We learn in the aftermath of the Holocaust that indifference to genocide cannot be tolerated; Holocaust remembrance imposes a moral obligation to speak out; and WHEREAS, The Holocaust represents the darkest period in the civilization of mankind and must always be remembered in order to prevent its reoccurrence anywhere else in the world; and WHEREAS, The People of the State of New York should continually rededicate themselves to the principle of equal justice for all people; and WHEREAS, The People of the State of New York should remain eternally vigilant against all tyranny and recognize that bigotry provides a breeding ground for tyranny to flourish; and WHEREAS, Holocaust Remembrance Day, known in Hebrew as Yom Hashoah, is a day set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust and for reminding New Yorkers, all Americans, and people around the world of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred and indifference reign; and WHEREAS, Internationally, Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on the 15th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, which this year falls on Monday, April 24, 2017; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York on April 24, 2017; and be it further RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York; and Yevgeniya Panich, Sofia Kelner, Mikhail Uchitel, Gregory Frenkel, and Grigory Epshteyn, survivors who have volunteered their time in the community for at least a decade.