More than 100 people gathered at the Friedberg JCC as the Jewish Community Council of Oceanside hosted its annual Yom HaShoah commemoration, honoring the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust through an evening of remembrance, reflection and a renewed call to action.
This year’s program centered on the theme “Bridging Generations,” highlighting the importance of preserving memory as the number of living survivors continues to decline.
“We commemorate the memory of the six million members of our people who perished at the hands of the Nazis,” said Sam Seifman, president of the Jewish Community Council of Oceanside, during the April 14 program. “Bridging generations means making sure our memory does not end with the survivors, but continues through their children, grandchildren, students and communities.”
Seifman said the theme calls on younger generations to turn remembrance into responsibility by listening to testimony, sharing stories and teaching history in ways that resonate with new audiences.
“This bridge is especially important now as fewer survivors remain to tell these stories firsthand,” he said. “When younger people learn, speak and act against hatred, they help carry the moral lessons of the Holocaust into the future.”
The evening was spearheaded by Glora LeBeaux, senior director of social work services at the JCC, whose efforts helped organize the annual commemoration. Roni Kleinman, executive director of the Friedberg JCC, welcomed attendees and thanked the community partners who helped organize the event.
“Yom HaShoah is not only about remembering the past, it is about accepting our responsibility for the future,” Kleinman said. “Remembrance is not passive. It calls upon us to stand up, speak out and stand together with strength and with pride.”
The evening’s first featured speaker was Mitchell Bickman, director of social studies for the Oceanside School District.
Bickman spoke about how Holocaust education is taught through the district and how it shapes students’ understanding of antisemitism, Israel and human rights.
“Education is the most powerful antidote to hate,” Bickman said.
He explained that Oceanside students begin learning about diversity and prejudice in the early grades before moving into Holocaust literature, survivor testimony and historical study in middle and high school.
“Our mission goes beyond historical facts,” Bickman said. “We aim to help students understand their collective responsibility to uphold human rights and foster a just society. Our goal in Oceanside is to ensure that the memory of the victims is honored not just by remembering itself, but by acting against injustice today.
The second featured speaker, Bernie Furshpan, shared the story of his father, Moshe Furshpan, who escaped the Nazis as a 10-year-old boy and survived in the forests of Poland for four years.
“It’s my obligation to tell my father’s story,” Furshpan said. “It’s an absolute obligation. It’s a moral obligation, too, to educate young people.”
Furshpan, vice chairman of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center in Glen Cove, described how his father fled into the woods after Nazi troops entered his village in 1941.
“I learned from my father not to be afraid, to appreciate the little things in life and to be grateful,” Furshpan said.
Throughout his remarks, Furshpan emphasized both the resilience of survivors and the trauma they carried long after the war ended.
“The survivors suffered greatly their entire lives,” he said. “Even though many of them were upbeat, kind and generous, inside they were hurting.”
He urged audience members, particularly young people to reject hate and choose compassion.
“We are all family, one family,” Furshpan said. “We are all the same, just diversified.”
The program also included a candle-lighting ceremony in memory of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Candles were lit by Bickman; Sarah Diamond, second generation survivor; Ana Levandel, survivor; David Welner, second generation survivor, and his grandson Alex Brand; Furshpan; and Oceanside youth in memory of the children lost in the Holocaust.
“Remembrance is not about assigning guilt to those alive today but assigning responsibility,” Bickman said. “When we remember, we honor the victims by committing ourselves to a more humane future.”
