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Why images of Holocaust survivors were projected onto NYC landmarks on Saturday night
(New York Jewish Week) – Larger-than-life images of Holocaust survivors and their stories were projected on nearly two dozen New York City landmarks on Saturday night in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Gillian Laub, the acclaimed Jewish photographer, took many of the pictures of the survivors at a Nov. 1 event at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, when more than 200 Holocaust survivors gathered to raise awareness for Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza.
In addition to raising awareness for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked on the Jan. 27 anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the campaigns is also the launch of “Live2Tell,” a digital project documenting the world’s remaining Holocaust survivors through photography, video and first-person interviews. The project is being produced by Jewish actress and comedian Amy Schumer and digital storyteller Kira Pollack.
Laub created the project in response to “the recent, dramatic rise in antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world,” as well as in response to the declining number of survivors around the world, according to a press release. Today, there are some 245,000 living survivors, according to a recent demographics report from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The project aims to “elevate consciousness and spark conversation about the parallels between past and present,” the press release added. In addition to the projections, the initiative will share interviews, photos and videos of Holocaust survivors on social media and its website.
“With the painful endurance of antisemitism throughout history, survivor stories need to be shared and passed down from generation to generation,” Laub said. “Hoping to foster connection and understanding, Live2Tell will help preserve survivor stories and amplify their voices through a contemporary lens. I’m extremely grateful to all the survivors for once again bearing witness and to everyone who has contributed to elevating the consciousness about the atrocities faced by the Jewish people, past and present.”
According to a report in The New York Times, the project was designed to minimize the chance of vandalism and did not seek a permit for its projections.
For now, the Live2Tell project has only documented the testimonies and photos of survivors in New York City. But Laub, who lives in New York, intends to release a second phase of the project in Israel, where nearly half of the world’s remaining Holocaust survivors live, later this year.
“I always tell people — especially kids — us survivors won’t be around much longer,” Maritza Shelley, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor, said about participating in the project. “And when we go, all the witnesses will be gone. So I make them my witnesses. I say: ‘The story I’m telling you, you must remember because you are the ones who can carry it on.’”
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The post Why images of Holocaust survivors were projected onto NYC landmarks on Saturday night appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.