The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, in Glen Cove, has taken a bold step into the digital world with the launch of hmTv, a podcast and video platform designed to amplify stories that educate, inspire and transform, headquartered in a state-of-the-art, multimedia studio.
The center’s vice chair, Bernie Furshpan, who also serves as executive producer of hmTv, emphasized the platform’s role in expanding the center’s reach.
“This was something that really made a lot of sense for us to connect to the digital world and expand our reach internationally,” Furshpan said. “We want to become the hub of tolerance education.”
HMTC Board Chairman Alan Mindel reiterated the center’s commitment to innovative programming. “This center has always been committed to honoring the past while reaching new generations with lessons that matter,” Mindel stated.
The inaugural series, “Influential Origins with Alan Mindel,” began with guest Jonny Daniels, a London-born journalist and social media news reporter known for his coverage of the Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“He’s become someone on social media that can tell you what’s going on with the hostages, knows what’s going on from a military and political standpoint in Israel,” Mindel told the Herald. “He has a lot of insights, and he’s been a policy guy for a lot of years … he’s the go-to person.”
Beyond his reporting, Daniels is the founder of From the Depths, an organization dedicated to preserving Holocaust survivors memories and honoring those who protected Jews during World War II. One of its most notable initiatives, the Torah Project, involves restoring a Torah scroll that was hidden during the Holocaust.
“The project now involves Holocaust survivors from around the world who are helping to restore the scroll by rewriting its letters one at a time,” Mindel said.
Furshpan’s experience in television and media spans decades, and his investment in hmTv is both financial and personal.
“I have experience in production for two decades,” he explained. “This (hmTv), which is Humanity Matters TV, was an idea that I had a few months ago, and I said to the board, ‘I’m building it.’”
The platform is designed to host multiple series, each with its own focus.
“There’s going to be at least 10 guests right now,” Furshpan said. “We may have up to 30 hosts doing their own series. Each series will be consistent, in terms of when they’re going to be coming out, like on a Tuesday or a monthly show … But that host will be providing content that is consistent with their particular theme.”
The topics will range widely, all tied to the overarching mission of promoting human rights and tolerance. “The themes can range from protection to Holocaust survivors, to artifacts, to history — whatever it is — but it has to deal with matters of humanity,” Furshpan added.
His experience with television production dates back to 1982. “I made a proposal to Cablevision, and they gave me a monthly show for 12 years,” Furshpan recounted. “I was behind and in front of the camera for a number of years.”
His background also includes work in alternative health care media. “I was the host of a show called ‘To Your Health,’” he said. “At that time, I was a practicing chiropractor, and I had a talk show about innovative procedures, inventions in medicine and alternative health care.”
To accommodate modern viewing habits, each episode will be carefully structured. “They’re each 25 minutes,” Furshpan said. “People’s attention is pretty short, as you know — 25 minutes is pretty good. We can put several commercials or sponsorships in there, and 25 minutes should be fine.” He also addressed longer-form content, saying, “If we have somebody who says, ‘I have an hour-and-a-half show,’ I’ll say, ‘Well, split it in half, and you have two episodes.’”
In addition to historical education, the new studio will also address contemporary issues. “I’m going to do a podcast on immigration laws, so people can feel that they understand the liabilities and rights that they may have,” Mindel said. “That’s not a Jewish issue, but it’s definitely an issue for a minority community. And we’re not a political organization. We’re not advocating for one policy or another regarding immigration. But just so that people would not be struck by fear, that would be something that would be within our purview.”
Furshpan said he believes the medium has limitless possibilities for content and outreach. “The potential is truly unlimited, and we have such a breadth of topics that we’re going to cover,” he said. “I’m not even just going to be talking about it — I’ll have guests regarding these topics. Somebody who’s an activist, somebody who has a website about it — whatever, we’ll figure it out.”
The network will be available on YouTube, Apple, Audacy, Spotify and iHeart, bringing critical conversations to an even wider audience. As Furshpan put it, “We have a platform here that has unlimited potential.”
