A permanent Holocaust memorial designed to educate future generations, confront antisemitism and preserve the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered during World War II will be built in Andrew J. Parise Park in Cedarhurst, thanks to unanimous support from village leaders and a community-wide fundraising effort.
The memorial, known as the Wall of Tears, will be constructed through a partnership between the Village of Cedarhurst and the Wall of Tears Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to Holocaust remembrance and education. It will serve as a public space for reflection, learning and remembrance.
Cedarhurst Mayor Benjamin Weinstock expressed the village’s support for the project in a letter to the foundation, noting that the memorial will stand as a visible reminder of the consequences of hatred and indifference.
“At a time when antisemitism is tragically on the rise across the globe, this monument will stand as a permanent educational resource for residents, students and visitors alike,” Weinstock wrote. “It will remind us all of the responsibility we share to confront intolerance and preserve the dignity of every human being.”
Unlike traditional Holocaust museums in major cities, the Wall of Tears is designed for a highly visible public space, such as a park of college campus, where people encounter it as part of everyday life. According to Norm Kaish, executive director of the Wall of Tears Foundation, headquartered in West Hempstead, the goal is to ensure that Holocaust education remains visible and accessible, even for those who may not actively seek it out.
“This was started by me as a foundation in 2024,” Kaish said. “We had designed a memorial that teaches about antisemitism using the Holocaust’s historic information.”
The plan is for the Cedarhurst memorial to be completed by the end of the year, depending on fundraising.
“For us it was very important because it goes to a very prominent location in our park, and it will be visible to all members of our community,” Weinstock said. “We’re in an area that has a high Jewish population in general, and there are a fair number of survivors in our community.”
The memorial’s centerpiece will be a large stone wall etched with a map of Europe showing Jewish population centers before and after the Holocaust. Individual plaques will detail the experiences of Jewish communities between 1938 and 1945, drawing from archival materials from Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum, on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in Washington D.C.; and other sources.
An eternal flame will burn atop the monument, symbolizing the victims who have no graves or known dates of death. Water droplets — described by the foundation as “tears” — will cascade behind the plaques.
“It’s a very important teaching tool, because it helps teach the events of the Holocaust to children who have no real connection to it,” Weinstock said. “We’re hoping this is a way of engaging the younger people and for it to have some visceral impact.”
The memorial, Kaish said, is meant to do more than commemorate the past. It is designed to encourage moral reflection and dialogue, particularly as studies show Holocaust knowledge fading among younger generations.
“This importance of the Cedarhurst project is being the first one,” Kaish said. “It gives us an opportunity to bring college presidents to see something in action.”
In addition to Holocaust history, several panels on the memorial will address the broader dangers of antisemitism and discrimination, emphasizing how unchecked hatred can escalate into violence.
The total cost of the structure is estimated at $350,000, of which roughly $50,000 has been pledged. The project will be entirely community-funded, and all donations to the foundation are tax-deductible.
The Village of Cedarhurst will assist with logistical coordination, while the foundation will oversee fundraising, construction and educational integration once the memorial is completed. Organizers expect the site to be used by schools, synagogues and community organizations across the Five Towns.
“We’d like to be able to touch each one of the survivors and the survivors’ children,” Kaish said. “Not only from the standpoint of the memorial, but also for their support. This is going to be supported by the community itself.”
The foundation is working with the Marion & Aaron Gural JCC, in Cedarhurst in collaboration with the various Holocaust survivors programs it offers.
“I was very happy to hear that they’re bringing this to Cedarhurst Park,” Stacey Feldman, executive director of the JCC, said. “Our program participants would love to be at the groundbreaking and opening, and to share their stories.”
Feldman praised that the memorial’s planned modernization of the Holocaust, and its potential impact on fighting antisemitism. “There are so many survivors that come from our community,” she said. “It makes such a beautiful tribute to their memory and honor to have such a fantastic project right here in Cedarhurst.”
For more information about the project or to donate, visit walloftears.org.
