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NYC Street Named in Honor of Yad Vashem’s Commitment to Holocaust Remembrance, Combating Antisemitism
(From left) New York City Council Member Keith Powers, Holocaust survivor and Park East Synagogue Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan, and Consul General of Israel in New York Ofir Akunis holding the sign for Yad Vashem Way. Photo: Nir Arieli/Yad Vashem
New York City honored Yad Vashem on Thursday with the unveiling of a street named after Israel’s national memorial to the Holocaust in Jerusalem, in tribute to its commitment to combating antisemitism and preserving Holocaust remembrance.
The new co-named street Yad Vashem Way is located at East 67th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood, where a large number of Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the US after World War II now reside with their families. It is also in the neighborhood of Rabbi Arthur Schneier’s iconic Park East Synagogue. New York City is home to one of the largest Holocaust survivor communities outside of Israel.
The street co-naming was sponsored by New York City Council Member Keith Powers with support from New York
City Mayor Eric Adams. The unveiling of the new street sign was attended by Adams and Powers, as well as Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and Consul General of Israel in New York Ofir Akunis. It took place the same week as International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
“This street sign is more than a name — it is a powerful symbol of our shared responsibility to preserve Holocaust memory and combat the disturbing rise of hatred and intolerance,” Dayan said at the unveiling ceremony on Thursday. “By bringing the name of Yad Vashem to the heart of Manhattan, we are hopeful that this street will inspire those who pass by it to remember the murdered and the survivors and to carry the story of the Holocaust forward with them.”
The newly co-named street Yad Vashem Way. Photo: Nir Arieli/Yad Vashem
On Wednesday, Yad Vashem, which describes itself as the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, co-sponsored an event in the New York City Council to commemorate 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The event was co-sponsored with New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Jewish Caucus Chair Council Member Eric Dinowitz, and New York City Council Members Keith Powers, Julie Menin, Lynn Schulman, Lincoln Restler, and Inna Vernikov. Dayan gave the keynote speech at the event.
“As we confront the global resurgence of antisemitism, this event and its decision to recognize Yad Vashem’s impact reaffirms New York City’s commitment to ensuring that the Holocaust’s lessons remain a guiding light for humanity,” he said. “Together, we must stand against hatred and ignorance.”
According to data released by the New York City Police Department earlier this month, a majority of the hate crimes that took place in New York City in 2024 targeted Jews. Out of 641 total hate crimes, 345 targeted Jews, amounting to 54 percent of all hate crimes in the city and a 7 percent increase from the previous year.
The post NYC Street Named in Honor of Yad Vashem’s Commitment to Holocaust Remembrance, Combating Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.