On a dark day in 1940, Adam Paskow is imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, where the Jews of the city are being held captive by the Nazis to await their uncertain fate.  When he is approached in secret to join a group determined to document the truth of life in the ghetto, a truth they hope will survive even if they do not, he readily agrees.  But as conditions worsen beyond anything he has experienced, he becomes determined to find a way to escape and save those he loves.  But is it even possible?  And if so, at what cost?

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence, will lead the discussion.

HMTC’s MLK Day Commemoration

Featuring Distinguished Speaker Assita Kanko

Join us at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County for a moving and timely MLK Day Commemoration, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring call for justice, moral courage, and shared humanity.

This year’s program features Assita Kanko, internationally recognized human rights advocate, author, and Member of the European Parliament. Known for her fearless voice against extremism, antisemitism, and gender-based violence, Kanko brings a powerful message about standing up for freedom and dignity—especially in moments when silence is easiest.

Assita Kanko today at the European Parliament speaks about israel and woman rights

The program will include:

• A keynote address by Assita Kanko

• Film clips highlighting Dr. King’s impact and today’s urgent civil rights challenges

• Reflections from local elected officials

• Remarks from HMTC leadership on the work of advancing tolerance, education, and community unity

• A communal moment of remembrance and hope

Dr. King taught that “the time is always right to do what is right.” This gathering brings together community members, leaders, and allies to honor that vision—and to recommit ourselves to building a world where hate has no home.

All are welcome.
Suggested donation $10

The Weight of Memory — Film Screening at HMTC

"Powerful!" "Profound!" "Transformative!"

Join us for a powerful screening of The Weight of Memory: I Am Bernie Furshpan, an award-winning documentary that brings history into sharp focus through one family’s story—and challenges us to stand up to hate with courage and empathy. This is essential viewing for students, educators, and community members committed to remembrance and action.

Why attend

• A gripping, human story that turns “Never Again” from a slogan into a responsibility

• Perfect for classrooms, families, and community leaders

• Inspires meaningful conversation about tolerance, activism, and hope

A Q&A will follow the film screening with Bernie and Filmmaker Christiane Arbesu

Reserve Your Seat: Tickets are $10 at the door

“This film is a call to action, not just a reflection of a dark past.” - Kelly Wright, White House National Correspondent

Join Gilad Avrahami and Trevor Stern for a new installment of their series bridging the past with current events and issues, entitled “How We Got Here”.

Conversational, educational, and thought-provoking, these webinars will deepen your understanding of what is going on in today’s messy world and why. Please join us virtually this Thursday at noon as we discuss the power of images to instill fear and promote hate, and its timely lessons for today.

Exhibit Opening: Sonja's Legacy [In-Person]

Please join us for the opening of HMTC's latest temporary exhibition: Sonja's Legacy. 

Sonja's Legacy is an unusual collection of artwork and images from the Holocaust. The colorful paintings and skillful drawings were created by Sonja Fischerova, a young girl from Prague, while imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camp from 1942-1944. She and her mother and sister, and later her Bauhaus-trained art teacher Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, were deported to Auschwitz and killed by the Nazis.

The images in Sonja's Legacy, like the words in Anne Frank's diary, provide a unique humanistic way for children and adults to learn about the Holocaust and tolerance. The colorful exhibit conveys hope and life. Yet it is set against the tragic end of her short life and of the last three generations of her family that had been rooted in Prague for centuries, and the millions who perished in the Holocaust.

Sonja's Legacy Foundation (SLF) was founded by relatives of Sonja to educate and teach about the Holocaust using the art of Sonja Fischerova, her lif,e and the lives of her relatives. This exhibition will be on display at HMTC through spring 2026 with the goal of sharing the deeply personal, moving, and tragic experiences of Sonja Fischerova with thousands of students and adults.

Light refreshments will be provided for the exhibition's opening.

For more information on Sonja's Legacy Foundation, visit them here.

Day of Hope – Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD)

The Day of Hope is a transformative celebration in Jerusalem, where Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and international students come together through the universal language of the arts. Hosted at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, this extraordinary day features dialogue, creativity, performance, and shared humanity — proving that coexistence isn’t theory, it’s lived experience. From student roundtables to a stunning evening concert with world-class guests, the Day of Hope shines a spotlight on healing, unity, and the belief that culture can build the future we desperately need. Dignitaries and artists, including the likes of Kelly Wright, Ghazal Mizrahi, Itay Benda, students, and faculty of JAMD. Hosted by HMTC's Vice Chair, Bernie Furshpan.

And this year, you don’t have to be there to experience it — watch the live stream of the concert event from Jerusalem at 7:00 PM Jerusalem time / 12:00 PM EST. Be inspired, be moved, and witness hope in action. If you can’t watch it at that time, you are able to watch the recording.

Join Gilad Avrahami and Trevor Stern for a new series bridging the past with current events and issues, entitled “How We Got Here”.

Conversational, educational, and thought-provoking, these webinars will deepen your understanding of what is going on in today’s messy world and why. Please join us virtually this Thursday at noon as we break down the tragic and dangerous shooting in Sydney that raised some new questions and also raised many very, very old ones.

Author and owner of Theodore's Books, former Congressman Steve Israel, will be joined in conversation with Dana Arschin, a 3X Emmy Award-Winning journalist and the first-ever Storyteller for the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, to discuss Israel's new novel, The Einstein Conspiracy.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Copies of The Einstein Conspiracy will be available for purchase at the event courtesy of Theodore's Books.

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

New York Harbor, 1933. A passenger liner approaches Lower Manhattan, and America awaits it with excitement.

Renowned physicist Albert Einstein, whose genius and fame are nearly matched by his stubbornness, has fled the Nazi regime to take refuge in the United States. With the past attempts on his life now an ocean away, Einstein will teach America's best and brightest at Princeton while continuing to voice his passionate resistance against Hitler.

FBI Agents James Amos and Harry Weiss are pulled off a mob case to pursue a bizarre lead that Hitler-who is convinced Einstein holds the key to developing an atomic superweapon-is sending a Nazi operative to abduct the scientist. They are soon plunged into an upside-down America that has festered out of sight across the country. In this surreal world of shadows, Nazi rallies fill out the iconic Madison Square Garden, Upper East Side neighborhoods become pro-Hitler enclaves, and quaint Long Island villages are transformed into mini fascist utopias.

Appearances are not only deceiving, but deadly.

Based on actual events, The Einstein Conspiracy is a gripping historical thriller, rich with haunting reminders of a moment in American history when the line between foreign enemy and domestic threat was perilously thin.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Steve Israel is the only U.S. Congressman who ever retired from the House to open an independent bookstore, Theodore's Books in Oyster Bay, NY. He has written two critically acclaimed political satires, The Global War on Morris (2014) and Big Guns (2018). His essays have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic Magazine, among others. Steve Israel (Member of Congress 2001-2017). For more information, visit repsteveisrael.com.

A portion of the proceeds from book sales will go to HMTC

REGISTER BELOW.

An intricate clock may hold the proof of evidence needed to exonerate Roger Dykmans, a wealthy financier accused of World War II crimes, including the betrayal of his brother, a Holocaust hero, and the group of young Jewish children he hoped to save. But the timepiece is nowhere to be found, until a trio of experienced American attorneys agree to trek to Munich to track it down. But within this triangle an old love affair seems ready to revive and a new one to develop, both of them threatening to derail the investigation entirely. 

The discussion will be led by Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence.

In commemoration of December 7, 1941, please join us for a screening of The Vow From Hiroshima, followed by a discussion with producer and writer Mitchie Takeuchi.

The Vow From Hiroshima follows Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, on her 75-year journey to channel her horrific experience as a 13-year-old into banning nuclear weapons globally. Told through the intergenerational lens of her friendship with a second- generation survivor, the film takes us through Setsuko’s extraordinary life up to her present-day fight to abolish nuclear weapons.

Mitchie Takeuchi is originally from Hiroshima and a long-time New York City resident. She has been an entrepreneur, a writer, and a filmmaker. Her grandfather, Dr. Ken Takeuchi, was the director of the Red Cross Hospital in Hiroshima when the city was leveled by the first use of an atomic bomb, and both he and her mother, Takako, survived.

Dr. Takeuchi led the medical professionals until the end of 1948 and took a leadership role in rebuilding the hospital. Wanting to share what really happened under the mushroom cloud, Mitchie produced and co-wrote THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA, interweaving the life story of Hiroshima survivor and activist Setsuko Thurlow, intergenerational activism, and the historic negotiations of The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. After a successful year-long theatrical run in 19 cities in Japan, Mitchie received the 2021 Japan Film Renaissance Conference Peace Film Award.

Suggested donation of $10 upon arrival.

An evening with STAV COHEN
Location: Inn at Great Neck, 30 Cutter Mill Road, Great Neck

(Come early at 6:00 pm for Tree Lighting and Latkes)

FREE Registration Required (See below)

12 YEARS IN THE IDF SPECIAL FORCES

• How does the BATTLEFIELD actually look like?
• What is RADICAL islam and how does it endanger America?
• How does international law clash with the war?
• What mission must Jewish Americans embrace now?

As a commander, fighter, and lawyer, Stav takes you inside the battlefield. Through exclusive, hard-hitting combat stories — he reveals what studios miss and analysts misread.

Stav fuses fieldcraft, strategy, and law into practical tools to decode narratives and challenge misinformation.

TWO WARS.

• Hundreds of deep ops.

• IDF disabled veteran, wounded and rebuilt.

Thursday, November 20, at 6:00 PM
Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation
21 Old Westbury Rd
Old Westbury, NY 11568

30th Annual Tribute Dinner

Pillar of Courage Recipient: Grammy Nominated John Ondrasik - Five for Fighting Singer “100 Years,” “Superman” (It’s Not Easy)”

HMTC Honoree: Samuel Nahmias, Mayor of the Village of Lawrence

Chartan Maier Founder’s Award: HMTC Vice Chair, Jolanta Zamecka

Jonny Daniels: Evening Moderator, Speaker, Author

Aliza Licht: Award-winning marketer, bestselling author, podcaster

Bruce Blakeman: Nassau County Executive

Sam Fried: IDF Paratrooper - First Sergeant, Gaza War Veteran

Abraham Hamra: Partner at Cohen, Tucker & Ades P.C., Syrian-Jewish Refugee

For information or questions, contact Bali Lerner at:
(516) 571-8040 or balilerner@hmtcli.org

While their families were hidden together in the secret annex in Amsterdam, Anne Frank’s young friend Peter confided to her that if he got out alive, he would reinvent himself entirely.  But no historical record has ever revealed his fate.  This book is the story of what might have happened if the boy in hiding had survived to become a man, a story that encompasses the inescapability of the past, the power of Anne Frank’s diary, and the strange world of memory that engulfed Peter when it was published and he found he was in it.

The discussion will be led by Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence.

On November 9th and 10th of 1938, the lives of German and Austrian Jews were indescribably altered as members of the SS, SA, Hitler Youth, alongside everyday citizens, took to the streets to destroy Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. 1,000+ synagogues were burned as thousands of Jewish men were arrested and imprisoned at concentration camps.

 On the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass", we look to commemorate those whose lives were lost or forever changed by the events of November 9th, 1938.

Please join us as we gather for a meaningful and reflective commemorative event, including a candle lighting ceremony. Light refreshment will be provided.

THIS EXHIBIT OPENING IS POSTPONED AND WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE OPENING SOON

Please join us for the opening of HMTC's latest temporary exhibition: Sonja's Legacy. 

Sonja's Legacy is an unusual collection of artwork and images from the Holocaust. The colorful paintings and skillful drawings were created by Sonja Fischerova, a young girl from Prague while imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camp from 1942-1944. She and her mother and sister, and later her Bauhaus-trained art teacher Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, were deported to Auschwitz and killed by the Nazis.

The images in Sonja's Legacy, like the words in Anne Frank's diary, provide a unique humanistic way for children and adults to learn about the Holocaust and tolerance. The colorful exhibit conveys hope and life. Yet it is set against the tragic end of her short life and of the last three generations of her family that had been rooted in Prague for centuries and the millions who perished in the Holocaust.

Sonja's Legacy Foundation (SLF) was founded by relatives of Sonja to educate and teach about the Holocaust using the art of Sonja Fischerova, her life and the lives of her relatives. This exhibition will be on display at HMTC through spring 2026 with the goal of sharing the deeply personal, moving, and tragic experiences of Sonja Fischerova with thousands of students and adults.

Light refreshments will be provided for the exhibition's opening.
For more information on Sonja's Legacy Foundation, visit them here.

PLEASE RSVP BELOW

Thursday, November 6, at 6:30 PM
Suffolk Y JCC
74 Hauppauge Road
Commack, NY 11725

Ten-Time Award-Winning Documentary
2025 • USA • English • 82 min

Director: Christiane Arbesu

The Weight of Memory: I Am Bernie Furshpan is a deeply moving, ten-time award-winning documentary that brings history to life through the personal journey of Dr. Bernie Furshpan, son of Holocaust survivor Moshe Furshpan and Vice Chair of the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County.

As Bernie travels across the United States sharing his father’s extraordinary story of survival, audiences witness how one family’s experience can spark a universal message of courage, compassion, and responsibility. The film weaves powerful testimony with historical truth, challenging viewers to confront intolerance and uphold the timeless call to action: Never forget.

Why You Should Come:

This is more than a screening; it’s an experience that will move you, teach you, and remind you that hope and humanity can prevail even in the darkest times.

Live Q&A with Dr. Bernie Furshpan following the screening.

Ask questions, share your reflections, and join the dialogue on remembrance and moral courage.

Get your tickets today or at the theater.

TATAMI will be rescheduled in January

Please join us for a powerful evening of courage, conviction, and conversation.

This will be a special screening of the award-winning film TATAMI, proudly presented by the Sephardic Heritage Alliance Inc. (SHAI) and the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County (HMTC).

Location: 430 Plandome Rd, Manhasset, NY 11030

This extraordinary film—directed by Zar Amir and starring Arienne Mandi—delivers a gripping portrayal of integrity under pressure, human resilience, and the strength to stand up for what’s right.

Followed by:
A panel discussion featuring Dr. Siamack Shojai, Dean of the Ancell School of Business, and a dessert reception where guests can connect and reflect.

Tickets:
Adults: $30
Students: $10

Don’t miss this must-see event that unites film, dialogue, and community in the spirit of tolerance and understanding.

Like every Parisian during the German occupation, Lucian Bernard, a young Christian architect, was hungry.  So when a wealthy French industrialist offers him a factory to design, he leaps at the opportunity.  But there is a catch: before he is paid, he is to outsmart the Gestapo and risk his life building a foolproof hiding place for a Jew. And thus begins Lucien’s deep descent into the dark reality of the Holocaust, one in which he will be forced to question everything he has ever thought he believed about the world, human nature and, indeed, himself.  

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence, will lead the discussion.

Please join us for a meaningful reception as author and Holocaust survivor Gilda Zirinsky launches her memoir I Went to Kindergarten in Casablanca.

As enemy warplanes roared overhead and bombs fell on the city of Liège, nearly five-year-old Gilda's childhood ended with a suitcase, a train ticket, and a mother's desperate plea to flee. So begins a sweeping true story that spans continents and decades-from a harrowing escape across war-torn Europe to an unexpected new life in sun-drenched Casablanca, and eventually, to the promise of America.

In this rich and moving memoir, Gilda Zirinsky retraces her extraordinary journey as a Jewish child refugee during World War Il. Through vivid memories and family history, she recounts scenes of narrow escapes, lost homelands, and acts of courage and compassion-from a French captain who risked his life to save hundreds to a tenacious mother who refused to give up hope.
Told with warmth, humor, and deep humanity, I Went to Kindergarten in Casablanca is more than a tale of survival—it is a celebration of family, love, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Light refreshments will be provided and autographed books will be available for purchase. 10% of all proceeds from book sales will go to HMTC.

Please join us for a meaningful reception as author and Holocaust survivor Mireille S. Taub launches her memoir The Last Train From Paris: Escape and Refuge 1940.

The Last Train From Paris is a deeply personal and historically rich memoir that weaves together first-hand stories of survival, resistance, and remembrance during one of humanity's darkest times - the Holocaust. Author Mireille Taub shares powerful accounts from her own escape as a toddler on the last train out of Nazi-occupied Paris, alongside the harrowing fates of family members who were not as fortunate. Through vivid storytelling and heartfelt reflection, this collection honors acts of courage and love amidst unthinkable brutality. A moving tribute to memory, resilience, and the enduring human spirit, The Last Train From Paris ensures that the voices of the past will not be forgotten.

Mireille Taub is a Holocaust survivor and volunteer educator for Holocaust and tolerance programs at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center. A retired literacy specialist, Mireille taught at Dodd Junior High School in Freeport for twenty-four years, Leo F. Giblyn Elementary School for ten years, and as an adjunct in the Basic Education Department at Nassau Community College. Since her retirement, she has worked in various Long Island educational communities as a literacy consultant for the Long Island Writing Project and Molloy College Advisory Board. Mireille chairs the David Taub Reel Upstander Film Series at HMTC, honoring her late husband, a hidden child in wartime France.

Autographed copies of the Last Train From Paris will be available for purchase following the event for $15. Light refreshment will be provided.

PLEASE RSVP BELOW IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND

October 7th Commemoration

The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center (HMTC) will hold a special commemoration on Sunday, October 5, 2025, to mark the second anniversary of the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel. This solemn event will honor the memory of the victims, show solidarity with the hostages and their families, and reaffirm our commitment to standing against antisemitism, hatred, and terror in all its forms. As a center dedicated to Holocaust remembrance and the lessons of history, HMTC recognizes the urgent need to confront rising hate with truth, unity, and resilience.

ANNUAL CHECKMATE HATE

A CHARITY “CHESS IN THE PARK” TOURNAMENT EVENT.  TAKING PLACE ON THE GROUNDS OF THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL AND TOLERANCE CENTER OF NASSAU COUNTY IN GLEN COVE, NY. 

CHESSanity, has been teaming up with the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County (HMTC) aimed at putting an end to hate and bigotry and promoting tolerance and respect for all people, regardless of their background or religion, as the way forward for future generations of humanity.  We hope to inspire a new generation of leaders who are committed to creating a more just and equitable world.

As part of this partnership, CHESSanity has scheduled this event that promotes the values of tolerance and inclusivity, while also donating the proceeds to support HMTC's mission to educate the public about the Holocaust and its lessons for today. We believe that through our joint efforts, we can make a real difference in the fight against hate and discrimination, and create a brighter, more tolerant future for all.

ACTIVITIES:
12:00pm-5:00pm
CASUAL Play

12:30pm-3:00pm
Blitz, 5 Rounds, Three Sections
over 1000 | 600-1200 | U600 and Beginners
G/5TimeControl

3:30pm-5:30pm

Bughouse, 5 Rounds, One Section
Open to any two-member teams, G/5 Time Control

PRIZES:
Blitz:
$75, $50 & $25 for the first three places in each section

Bughouse:
$150, $100 & $ and 50 for the first three teams

FLORA BEA NYC: STYLE IT FORWARD

10% of proceeds from Flora Bea NYC sales benefit HMTC

Join 3X Emmy-winning Holocaust Documentarian Dana Arschin for an intimate conversation with activist-stylist Gayle Perry followed by Gayle’s best styling tips. It will be a night of shopping & fashion to help combat antisemitism and all forms of hate.

$40 tickets to enter
if you purchase before September 5th
($50 tickets at the door)

POSTPONED:

Drawing Parallels with Simon Deng

Location: Inn at Great Neck, 30 Cutter Mill Rd, Great Neck, NY

Simon Deng is a South Sudanese-American human rights activist and former child slave who has dedicated his life to fighting modern-day slavery and promoting freedom. Enslaved at age nine during a militia raid, he escaped after three years and later found refuge in the United States, where he became a prominent voice against human rights abuses in Sudan and Darfur. Known for organizing the “Sudan Freedom Walk” from New York to Washington, DC, and similar marches worldwide, Deng uses his personal story to raise awareness and inspire action. In recent years, he has also emerged as a passionate advocate for Israel and the release of hostages held by Hamas, drawing parallels between his own experiences and contemporary struggles for justice and liberation.

Suggested Donation: $18

Location: Manhasset Movie Theater, 430 Plandome Rd, Manhasset, NY

Blind Spot has also been accepted for consideration for a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary.

Blind Spot is the first film to document both the antisemitism that existed on American campuses before October 7 and how it led to the explosion of virulent and often violent campus antisemitism after October 7. In their own words, it tells the story from the perspectives of more than two dozen students at more than a dozen schools who’ve experienced and fought against this hatred.

Panel Discussion To Follow:

• Producer, Leonard Gold & Yuval Donio-Gideon,
  Consul for Public Diplomacy at the Consulate General of Israel in New York

• Legislator Mazi Pilip

• Activist Sabrina Soffer

In this debut novel, the long shadow of the Holocaust casts its darkness over two sisters and an emerald necklace that both connects them and tears them apart, entangling one more young woman, Lucy Rey, in its mystery. Now, eighty years after the necklace was lost, it takes Lucy up and over the majestic Dolomite mountains of northern Italy in a cinematic search to find the jewels and the sister who seems to know where they are – and who they belong to.

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence, will lead the discussion.

As Paris trembles on the brink of the German occupation, a young Frenchwoman discovers a secret from her father’s past that brings her to the doorstep of an elegant, aged courtesan, a powerful but secretive woman whose fabled legacy and devotion to art and beauty help light her way through the Holocaust. 

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence, will lead the discussion.

The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County (HMTC) proudly announces its 16th Annual Golf Outing, honoring Stuart Lubow, President & CEO of Dime Community Bank.

Dime Community Bank is delighted to serve as our Event Sponsor.

Registration is now open for golf packages, foursomes, and sponsorship opportunities.

Join us for a memorable day of friendly competition on the greens and help us in the fight against hate!

All proceeds directly support HMTC's vital education and advocacy efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination in all forms.

For additional details or registration inquiries, please contact Bali Lerner at balilerner@hmtcli.org or 516.652.1636.

Nazi troops are amassing at the Polish border as Alina waits for Tomasz to come home from Warsaw so they can be married.  But as the occupation takes over her village and the people are divided by fear and hate, Alina is forced to enter into dangerous alliances as the only way to save her life.  Two generations later, and thousands of miles away, another Alina – now called Alice – tries to unravel the hidden secrets in her family’s history, woven so closely with her own, secrets born of the devastation that occurs when truth is silenced.

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence, will lead the discussion.

Northern Italy in 1941 is a war zone like all the others spreading their stain across Hitler’s Europe, with Mussolini’s new racial laws twisting loyalties and destroying  families and friendships. But for Lili and Esti, who have been close as sisters, the war only magnifies and deepens their reliance on each other, until one day Esti is torn from her young son and Lili is forced to flee with him, a choice that might very well cost Lili her own life.

Dr. Linda Burghardt, Scholar-in-Residence, will lead the discussion.