Holocaust center gets first leader

Yeshiva University named the first president for its new center on Holocaust education Friday.

Shay Pilnik, the new president of the Yeshiva center and himself the grandson of Holocaust survivors, said the recent spate of anti-Semitic attacks in New York shows the urgency of coordinated, deep study of the Holocaust.

“The creation of the position was a reaction to the general uptick of anti-Semitic incidents,” Pilnik said. “Regarding New York, the timing cannot be more timely for this type of a program to be launched.”

The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will work with educators, both K-12 and college, who want to teach about the Holocaust. The program hopes to eventually offer a master’s degree and certificate program for educators on the teaching of the Holocaust, in addition to partnering with school districts to lead professional development sessions.

As the number of living survivors of the Holocaust dwindles, educators must consider how to keep memories of the atrocity alive, and convey its horrors to a new generation, Pilnik said.

“The center was created out of the fear that the Holocaust would be forgotten,” he added.

City officials have been grappling in recent months with how to teach about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism after a string of attacks on Orthodox Jews in the city. Schools officials plan to roll out a new curriculum next year and have offered all city students tickets to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Pilnik said the new Yeshiva center, which will draw on the university’s existing staff and resources and organize them under a single umbrella, is eager to work with public school districts including New York City’s.

“Teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to the next generation,” Pilnik said, “is one of the most important educational tasks of our time.”