The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC), a nonprofit organization that offers education programs in partnership with local schools to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust, has received a Rescued Holocaust Sefer Torah from the Yorktown Jewish Center.
The HHREC will safeguard it at their library and education center in White Plains, New York. The Yorktown Jewish Center recently closed after 68 years in operation serving their congregation in the greater Yorktown Heights, New York area.
”We are incredibly honored and humbled by the generosity of our dear friends at the Yorktown Jewish Center to become caretakers for this Torah.” said Millie Jasper, Executive Director, HHREC. “And while we are saddened to learn of the closing of the synagogue, we will work very hard to help them achieve their mission in sharing this unique artifact with teachers, students, and the public at large, as a living document to help us educate and inform.”
“It’s both gratifying and heartening to know that this precious item, our Torah, will continue to be used as intended, to educate and elevate the spirituality of all who partake of it.“ said Marvin Medow, one of the Co-Presidents of the Yorktown Jewish Center. “Our Torah has found a new home and the gift of its teachings will continue.”
About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center is a not-for-profit organization based in White Plains New York that serves Westchester, Fairfield, and neighboring counties. Their Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. We encourage students to speak up and act against all forms of bigotry and prejudice. Their work with students and teachers helps schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, they have brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights crimes to more than 1,500 teachers, and through them to thousands of middle and high school students. Through their volunteer Educators Program Committee, the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center gives teachers the unique opportunity to develop programs for themselves and others. These programs not only enrich teachers’ knowledge about the Holocaust and related issues, but they also provide the lens through which to view all other human rights violations. For more information call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org
” We are very excited to resume offering our Educators Study Tour in 2022” said Steven Goldberg, Co-Director of Education at HHREC. “And while we have enjoyed offering this unique biennial program to teachers here in Lower Hudson since 2012, is it gratifying to hear from many others around the country who are planning to join us. The is designed to expand teacher comprehension of this monumental event in human history and inspire and motivate them as they prepare to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and promote protection of Human Rights to their students. He added “It is very important to us and our mission to pass on the lessons we have learned for the future.” 
Andrew Greenspan is a native New Yorker who has resided in Westchester for nearly his entire life. He is a graduate of Scarsdale High School, has a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College, and a Master of Science from the Sloan School of Business at MIT. In 1999, he founded GHP Office Realty with James J. Houlihan. As Principal of GHP, he manages the daily operations of the White Plains based company, which began by acquiring and operating individual multi-tenanted suburban New York office buildings. The partners presently own and manage buildings in Westchester, Rockland, Fairfield, and Bergen Counties.
If I had to name my most heart wrenching moments in 18 years of publishing locally, it has been unquestionably reporting or covering the loss of a young life. But they have ironically felt the most meaningful, if only in some tiny, immeasurable way, when sharing the memories of a precious son or daughter provided even the smallest degree of comfort to a grieving parent–and to a community of family, friends, and neighbors in mourning too.
This year’s contest theme was Propaganda, and participating students who competed submitted essays based on research of source materials provided on our website. Winning entries were identified by a panel of judges and honored at a virtual reception, and the sponsoring teacher of each first prize winner were awarded a voucher for use on professional development and/or Holocaust resources. 