Assembly Resolution No. 978

BY: M. of A. Cymbrowitz

COMMEMORATING the observance of Holocaust
Remembrance Day in the State of New York on April
12, 2018

WHEREAS, From 1933 to 1945, 5.8 million Jews were murdered in the
Nazi Holocaust as a part of a systematic program of genocide, and
millions of other people also perished as victims of Nazism; and

WHEREAS, Jews who fell under German control in Eastern and Central
Europe were quickly stripped of their rights and property; and

WHEREAS, The Jews who perished at Nazi hands comprised two-thirds of
all European Jewry, and in countries such as Poland, which before the
Second World War included parts of the Ukraine and Belarus, the Jewish
death toll surpassed 90 percent; and

WHEREAS, The People of the State of New York should always remember
the atrocities committed by the Nazis so that such horrors are never
repeated; and

WHEREAS, Those who survived the killing camps tell us that as many
people walked to their deaths, their last words were "Remember Us"; and

WHEREAS, The year 2018 marks the 85th anniversary of the beginning
of the genocide of European Jews, the darkest, most murderous moment in
history; and

WHEREAS, We learn in the aftermath of the Holocaust that
indifference to genocide cannot be tolerated; Holocaust remembrance
imposes a moral obligation to speak out; and

WHEREAS, The Holocaust represents the darkest period in the
civilization of mankind and must always be remembered in order to
prevent its reoccurrence anywhere else in the world; and

WHEREAS, The People of the State of New York should continually
rededicate themselves to the principle of equal justice for all people;
and

WHEREAS, The People of the State of New York should remain eternally
vigilant against all tyranny and recognize that bigotry provides a
breeding ground for tyranny to flourish; and

WHEREAS, Holocaust Remembrance Day, known in Hebrew as Yom Hashoah,
is a day set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust and for
reminding New Yorkers, all Americans, and people around the world of
what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred and
indifference reign; and

WHEREAS, Internationally, Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on
the 15th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, which this year falls on
Thursday, April 12, 2018; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of
New York on April 12, 2018; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
New York; and Brooklyn College, Kingsborough Community College, and
Kupferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College.