Heastie: Update for Public Schools Holocaust Curriculum is Budgeted

By Hamodia Staff

As antisemitism continues to rise across New York State and nationwide, the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-25 Budget will invest $500,000 to review and update curriculum on the Holocaust, Speaker Carl Heastie, Education Committee Chair Michael Benedetto and Assemblymember Nily Rozic announced. This funding will ensure New York’s Holocaust curriculum is fully reviewed and updated to adequately prepare our students for the future.

“With antisemitic attacks on the rise across our state, this funding arrives at a critical time for our children,” said Speaker Heastie. “This review will ensure that our students are accurately and completely taught the lessons of the Holocaust so we can ensure history never repeats itself.”

“This money will provide additional support to our public schools across the state as they work to provide students the skills needed to combat misinformation and make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” said Assemblymember Benedetto.

“With the latest wave of antisemitism and disinformation, it’s imperative that New York’s educational system provide students with accurate and comprehensive information and knowledge on how quickly hate can spread,” said Assemblymember Rozic. “We must ensure the next generation understands our collective history and has the tools needed to fight back misinformation and the antisemitism that grows out of it.”

Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein, who represents a large constituency of Jews in his district, said, “Hate does not exist in a vacuum; it is the result of ignorance and misinformation. This vital funding will help ensure that our state curriculum represents a true and accurate account of Holocaust history. Now more than ever, it is essential that we educate our young people about the horrors of the past.

“I thank Speaker Heastie for recognizing the significance of Holocaust education, especially during these troubling times.”

Assemblymember Sam Berger said, “The stories my grandparents shared with me about their experience surviving the Holocaust continue to guide me to this day. It is incumbent upon leaders to never allow humanity’s capacity for evil to be forgotten. Now, more than ever, the next generation must be educated on the horrors of the past so that they learn to distinguish between right and wrong.”