This recognition allows JCCGCI to launch a powerful new initiative: Holocaust Survivors Against Hate, a storytelling project dedicated to preserving survivor testimony, amplifying lived history, and educating the public about the urgent need to confront hate and bias in all its forms.

At its core, this project is about memory, responsibility, and moral courage. It is about ensuring that the voices of Holocaust survivors are not only preserved, but actively shared as a force for education and change in today’s world.

A PROJECT ROOTED IN TRUTH AND RESPONSIBILITY

Holocaust Survivors Against Hate brings together deeply personal testimonies from survivors whose stories carry both historical truth and contemporary relevance. Through filmed interviews & digital storytelling, this project seeks to transform memory into action and reflection into awareness.

In a time when hate and misinformation continue to surface in communities across the city and beyond, these stories remind us what is at stake when silence replaces understanding. JCCGCI has long been committed to supporting Holocaust survivors with dignity and comprehensive services.

JCCGCI’s Holocaust Survivor Support Services is one of the largest in the world, providing critical assistance to over 4,000 Holocaust Survivors annually. Services include Homecare, Transportation, Case Management, Friendly Visiting, Medicaid Appeals, Socialization, and Home Delivered Meals.This project extends that mission beyond direct support by ensuring that their voices continue to educate, inspire, and challenge future generations to stand up against prejudice in all its forms.

WATCH THE STORIES

We invite the public to watch, listen, and share these powerful survivor testimonies. Each story is a window into history and a call to action for the present.

• To view Toby Levy, Sally Muschel, Yaakov Shvartsev, Izabella Blustin, Yelizaveta Vigonskaia, Eugene Halpert, and Hana Rychik’s stories, visit here

These stories are not just historical accounts. They are living reminders of resilience, survival, and the responsibility we all share to prevent hatred from taking root in our communities.

Hate does not begin in isolation. It grows in silence, in misunderstanding, and in the absence of education. This project seeks to interrupt that cycle by bringing truth forward in its most human form: personal testimony.

By sharing these stories widely, JCCGCI aims to foster empathy, deepen understanding, and encourage individuals to become upstanders rather than bystanders. Each video is an invitation to reflect on the consequences of intolerance and to recommit to building a society grounded in respect and dignity.

Holocaust Survivors Against Hate expands this commitment into the public sphere, allowing their voices to serve as educators, storytellers, and moral guides for future generations.

JCCGCI extends its sincere gratitude to the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and the NYC Commission on Human Rights for recognizing the importance of this work and for supporting initiatives that confront hate at the community level. We are deeply thankful for their partnership in advancing this mission and for their continued commitment to building a safer, more inclusive New York City.

We encourage everyone to engage with these survivor stories, share them within your communities, and use them as a starting point for meaningful conversations about hate, history, and responsibility. In sharing these testimonies, we honor not only the past, but our shared responsibility to shape a more compassionate future.

👉 Want to get involved with JCCGCI? Visit https://www.jccgci.org/programs/partner-with-us/