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7 ways NYC is marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day
(New York Jewish Week) – International Holocaust Remembrance Day is on Friday, marking 78 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. In commemoration of this day, there are numerous events across the city to remember victims and honor survivors of the genocide.
The United Nations designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005 and, in contrast with Yom HaShoah, which usually falls in late April, the day draws considerable attention from non-Jewish audiences. Since its founding, the day’s capacity to spread messages of stopping bigotry and antisemitism has grown significantly around the world.
Below are concerts, panels and exhibits happening in New York this week aimed at commemorating the day, honoring victims and preventing hate and antisemitism with education and awareness.
1. Yad Vashem’s Book of Names at the United Nations
To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem is exhibiting its Book of Names — a monumental installation containing the names of 4,800,000 victims of the Shoah — at the United Nations headquarters in New York. (Courtesy of Yad Vashem)
At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Yad Vashem is debuting its Book of Names exhibit, which contains the names of 4.8 million victims of the Holocaust. The names come from Yad Vashem’s central database of victims’ names, which they have been collecting since 1954. The opening of the exhibit will be broadcast on UN Web TV on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and will include remarks from United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan. The exhibit will be open to the public until Feb. 17 at the United Nations (405 East 42nd St.). Free.
2. “Talking About the Holocaust in the 21st Century”
Fordham University will bring historians, authors and scholars together at their Lincoln Center campus for a panel discussion on how governments, media and educators can combat Holocaust denial and antisemitism. The panelists include former PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff, Fordham’s Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies Magda Teter, Professor of Jewish History at University of Virgina James Loeffler, author Linda Kinstler and Holocaust survivor and educator Eva Paddock. In partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Under-Told Stories Project of the University of St. Thomas. Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the McNally Amphitheater at Fordham University (140 West 62nd St.). Free and livestream available. Find more information here.
3. “Unmasking Antisemitism”
The Center for Jewish History will host an in-person and livestreamed panel discussion on past and present antisemitism, in collaboration with the United Nations and its new exhibit “#FakeImages: Unmask the Dangers of Stereotypes.” The exhibit, on view until Feb. 21, “challenges antisemitism, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and racism by explaining mechanisms of disinformation: propaganda, framing, fake news and conspiracy theory,” according to the UN website. The panel features historians Jonathan Brent (YIVO Institute for Jewish Research), Jason Guberman (American Sephardi Federation), Uffa Jensen (Technical University Berlin), Pamela Nadell (American University), Gavriel Rosenfeld (Center for Jewish History and Fairfield University) and Veerle Vanden Daelen (Kazerne Dossin). Thursday at 6:15 p.m at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St.). $20. Find more information here.
4. “We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust”
Harvey Fierstein, Joel Grey, Chita Rivera and Steven Skybell are among the dozens of performers set to appear at the “We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust” concert at Carnegie Hall on January 26, 2022. (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images, Arturo Holmes/Getty Images, Michael Loccisano / Getty Images) (Design by Mollie Suss)
Broadway stars Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera and Steven Skybell and other performers will sing 14 songs written in concentration camps and ghettos during the Holocaust at Carnegie Hall. “What better way to say ‘We Are Here’ than to carry on somebody’s voice from 1940, who was murdered?” co-producer Rabbi Charlie Savenor told the New York Jewish Week. Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Carnegie Hall (881 Seventh Ave.). Tickets starting at $18.
5. “Violins of Hope”
Hear the sounds of resilience, via a collection of violins once played by Jewish victims of the Holocaust that were later restored by Israeli father-son duo Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein. Around two dozen of these violins will be played at a special Friday night Shabbat service at Temple Emanu-El by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s before being displayed in an exhibit at the Upper East Side synagogue until March 28. Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El (1 East 65th St.). Register for the Kabbalat Shabbat service here. Get the livestream here. Free.
6. “Brundibár” performed by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City
The Museum of Jewish Heritage will host the Young People’s Chorus of New York City as they perform “Brundibár” (“Bumblebee”), which was a children’s opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása that was performed by the children of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. The operetta will be performed by YPC choristers ages 8-11. The program, which will be livestreamed, will also feature covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkel and Leonard Bernstein. Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (36 Battery Pl.). Tickets from $5-$36. Register here for the livestream.
7. “The Role of Mass Media in Holocaust Portrayal”
UJA-Federation of New York will host a panel with film producer and director Nancy Spielberg and author and podcaster Mark Oppenheimer about how the Holocaust has been portrayed in the media and the rise in Holocaust denial. The panel is part of the organization’s “Witness Project,” which aims to instill the memory of the Holocaust in the next generation. The virtual event will take place on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Free. Register here.
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US Condemns South Africa’s Expulsion of Israeli Diplomat
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the 20th East Asia Summit (EAS), as part of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain
The United States on Tuesday condemned South Africa’s decision to expel Israel’s top diplomat last week, a State Department spokesperson said, calling the African nation’s step a part of prioritizing “grievance politics.”
“Expelling a diplomat for calling out the African National Congress party’s ties to Hamas and other antisemitic radicals prioritizes grievance politics over the good of South Africa and its citizens,” Tommy Pigott, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson, said on X.
South Africa’s embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.
On Friday, South Africa declared the top diplomat at Israel’s embassy persona non grata and ordered him out within 72 hours.
It accused him of “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice,” including insulting South Africa’s president.
Israel responded by expelling South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative to its country.
Relations between the countries have been strained since South Africa brought a genocide case over Israel’s defensive military campaign against Hamas in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. Israel has rejected the case as baseless, calling it an “obscene exploitation” of the Genocide Convention and noting that the Jewish state is targeting terrorists who use civilians as human shields in its military campaign.
The genocide case has also contributed to US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Pretoria, including verbal scolding, trade sanctions, and an executive order last year cutting all US funding.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the South African government has been one of Israel’s fiercest critics, actively confronting the Jewish state on the international stage.
Beyond its open hostility toward Israel, South Africa has actively supported Hamas, hosting officials from the Palestinian terrorist group and expressing solidarity with their “cause.”
In one instance, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa led a crowd at an election rally in a chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” — a popular slogan among anti-Israel activists that has been widely interpreted as a genocidal call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
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Russia Says Uranium Proposal for Iran Is Still on the Table
Spokeswoman of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova attends the annual press conference held by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 20, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
Russia‘s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a proposal to remove uranium from Iran as part of a deal to ease US concerns was still on the table, but that it was for Tehran to decide whether or not to remove it.
“Russia once offered to export Iran‘s enriched uranium reserves to its territory. This initiative is still on the table,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
“Only Iranians have the right to dispose of them, including deciding whether to export them outside the territory of Iran and, in case of a positive decision, where to export them to or not,” she said.
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US, Iran to Seek De-Escalation in Nuclear Talks in Oman, Regional Official Says
USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
The US and Iran are due to hold talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue to limit negotiations to its nuclear program, a regional official said, with a build-up of US forces in the Middle East raising fears of a confrontation.
Iran wanted the meeting to take place in Oman as a continuation of previous rounds of talks held in the Gulf Arab country on its nuclear program, asking for a change of location from Turkey to avoid any expansion of the discussions to issues such as Tehran’s ballistic missiles, the regional official said.
Iran has said it will not make concessions on its formidable ballistic missile program — one of the biggest in the Middle East — calling that a red line in negotiations.
Tehran, which says it replenished its stockpile of ballistic missiles since coming under attack from Israel last year, has warned that it will unleash its missiles to defend the Islamic Republic if its security is under threat.
The regional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran had since the beginning stressed that it would only discuss its nuclear program, while Washington wanted other issues on the agenda.
Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday after the US shot down an Iranian drone and armed Iranian boats approached a US-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, rekindling fears of an escalation between Washington and Tehran.
IRAN SOUGHT BILATERAL TALKS
Trump has warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic in a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes and stirred fears of a wider war.
On Tuesday, the US military shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday: “We are negotiating with them right now.” He did not elaborate and declined to say where he expected talks to take place.
A source familiar with the situation said Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was due to take part in the talks, along with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Ministers from several other countries in the region including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates had also been expected to attend, but the regional source told Reuters that Tehran wanted only bilateral talks with the US.
In June, the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in at the close of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign.
More recently, the US navy built up forces in the region following Iran‘s violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest since Iran‘s 1979 revolution.
Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene, has since demanded nuclear concessions from Iran, sending a flotilla to its coast.
Iran’s leadership is increasingly worried a US strike could break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back onto the streets, according to six current and former Iranian officials.
The priority of the diplomatic effort is to avoid conflict and de-escalate tension, a regional official told Reuters earlier.
TANKER INCIDENT
Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Trump had demanded three conditions for the resumption of talks: zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran’s ballistic missile program, and an end to its support for regional proxies.
Iran has long said all three demands are unacceptable infringements of its sovereignty, but two Iranian officials told Reuters its clerical rulers saw the ballistic missile program, rather than uranium enrichment, as the bigger obstacle.
Since the US strikes in June, Tehran has said its uranium enrichment work – which it says is for peaceful, not military purposes – has stopped.
In another incident on Tuesday, this one in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command said Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces had approached a US-flagged tanker at speed and threatened to board and seize it.
Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage.