Synagogue Cancels Holocaust Memorial Event Lest It Offend Muslims

Congregation members would instead be invited to a colloquium with local Muslim leaders to discuss the Palestinian experience of oppression.

New York, April 16 – A metropolitan-area synagogue called off its planned ceremony in memory of the Holocaust to avoid giving offense to adherents of Islam, the synagogue’s president told reporters today.

The Reconstructionist Congregation Sonei Yisrael of Hartford, Connecticut scheduled a performance by a local Jewish school choir singing songs commemorating the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War Two, interspersed with short narratives from the writings and recordings of both survivors and victims. The format, which earned positive feedback in previous years, was geared toward a mix of young and old attendants – but this morning the board of the synagogue voted, in an emergency session, to cancel the event, amid concerns that many in the nearby Muslim communities might feel insulted.

“We recognize the effort and time that went into preparation for this service,” the board said in an announcement posted on the synagogue’s WhatsApp group. “At the same time, part of our synagogue’s mission is to foster tolerance of diverse viewpoints, and we felt that conducting the ceremony as in years past would unduly imply that Jews see only their own people’s suffering, to the exclusion of, for example, that of our neighbors who practice Islam. Adherents of the Religion of Peace face discrimination and Islamophobia, and we feel compelled to undertake an extra level of sensitivity to potential offense to such a valued part of the American religious fabric. As such, Sonei Yisrael will not be holding its traditional Yom Hashoah program.”

Instead, said the message, congregation members would be invited to a colloquium on Friday with local Muslim leaders to discuss the Palestinian experience of oppression and what American Jews can do to help alleviate it.

Congregation reaction was primarily positive. “It’s about time we Jews got over our collective trauma over the Holocaust and focused on things that matter in the here and now,” said Judy N. Rhein, 45, a member since 2007. “There’s suffering going on all the time everywhere, and if we get mired in the suffering of people who lived and died a whole lifetime ago we’ll never be able to feel the desirable empathy for current victims.”

Crystal Nacht, 50, agreed. “As members of a group once marginalized by society, we have a special duty to make others feel welcomed in our midst,” she said. “Even if that sometimes means forgoing a cherished aspect of identity, such as Jewish history and traditions.”

Kent Handler, 42, disapproved. “Our kids spent weeks and weeks practicing for this performance, and now it’s been cancelled,” he lamented. “My son was supposed to have a solo part in Ani Maamin. You know how many prominent people are part of this congregation? This could have been his big break into entertainment.”