MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – It was a wide turnout on the State House lawn Saturday to commemorate the 79th Holocaust Remembrance Day.
It’s always been important to Leo Moskowitz, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, to honor the liberation of the last concentration camp in 1945. But in 2024, amidst the Israel-Hamas war, Moskowitz says they feel even more compelled to act.
“Having experienced the way that that pain of trauma has been manifested kind of as violence as the Palestinian people, it feels so important for me to speak as a descendant for Palestinian liberation,” Moskowitz said.
Moskowitz, along with several organizers from anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, led a large crowd through speeches, songs and chants. The anniversary took on new meaning, with the crowd mourning Holocaust and Palestinian victims. Organizer Jamie Spector says she believes the Israeli government is weaponizing Jewish safety at the price of Palestinian lives.
“We reject that claim, that our safety is more important than anyone else’s safety and that our safety can only be won by displacing Palestinian people or killing Palestinian people,” Spector said.
Spector says she hopes honoring Jewish and Palestinian realities will bring the community together during a time of deep division.
“The best way that we can honor our ancestors who perished is by joining with a diverse cross section of our community to hold each other and show what community safety looks like today here in Vermont,” Spector said.
Organizers say they hope the gathering pressures state leaders to call for a ceasefire.