HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut leaders stood in solidarity with the Jewish community Friday for the 42nd annual State of Connecticut Holocaust Commemoration.
It comes as the state's House of Representatives passed a bill this week to combat antisemitism, which the Anti-Defamation League said has reached an historic high amid the on-going Israel-Hamas War.
Memories of walking to school as a seven-year-old Jewish boy in Budapest ghetto continue to haunt Andy Sarkany into his 80's.
“People spit on me, pushed me to the pavement, slapped me around,” Endre (Andy) Sarkany, who lived through the Holocaust, said. “And after a few weeks, I say to my mother, I cannot stand that and she kept me home (from school).”
He recalled the moment his father returned home from a concentration camp in 1945 and the wave of emotions he felt.
“I grabbed the man, I kissed the man, I was crying,” he said. “When I took three steps back, I couldn't believe what I'm going to say. I didn't recognize my own father. He may have weighed at 70 pounds. He was liberated by the American troops in my posture and never talked about how he survived. Holocaust survivors are not talking about the horrors, but they lived through. It took my mother over a year to nourish him back to some life.”
It’s lived experience like this that the Jewish community wants the world to remember.
“Today, we come together, and I've been coming to this ceremony for decades, with a special sense of urgency, we come to remember and vowed never to forget,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “But this moment, makes this ceremony very relevant, very real, very urgent, because of the rising tide of hatred in this country.”
On this Holocaust Commemoration Day, Connecticut leaders are reaffirming their commitment to learn from the sins of the past.
“I want to say, and particularly to the young people up here, that is why we study history. This is why the Holocaust is part of our curriculum here in the state of Connecticut,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “If you don't learn from history, you're bound to repeat those mistakes. And that's why we're here on Holocaust Remembrance Day to make sure that we never forget.”
The message comes as tensions reach a boiling point on campuses nationwide, with reports of many Jewish students feeling threatened and unsafe.
“It’s definitely off-putting especially because they call it a liberation zone,” Jason Deck, third-year dental student at UConn, said. “But there's not much dialogue going on between people who are in my position very pro-Israel and other people who don't share those opinions.”
Deck sees the divided times as an opportunity to improve conversations and learn from different points of view.
“If we focus on love and understanding, across divides, that’s the biggest thing we can do to relate to others, build relationships and make the world a better place,” Deck said.
Lamont declared this coming week, May 5 through May 12, as “Days of Remembrance”, as a tribute to Holocaust victims and survivors.
He said its’s also a pledge to stand up to hate, whenever and wherever it appears.
----
Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
----
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.