NYC Holocaust survivors urge empathy, tolerance amid Israel-Hamas war

The Hamas attack on thousands of Israeli civilians and soldiers on Oct. 7 was one of the most violent days for the Jewish community in a generation.

Few felt the impact of that day more acutely than Holocaust Survivors. Between 16,000 and 20,000 live in the New York area, according to recent data, and most are over 85. Though they’re an aging population, many still vividly remember the bloodshed that shaped their childhoods.

Survivors interviewed by Gothamist described the attack last month as shocking and horrific, and the rise in anti-semitic hate crimes and rhetoric was a grim reminder how such sentiments still lurk under the surface of modern society.

But they also shared a similar outlook on what’s needed now on both sides of the conflict: empathy.

“I shouldn’t say I was shocked, but I was horrified, absolutely,” said Joe Gosler, 81, a survivor originally from the Netherlands who now lives in the East Village. “But I also understood it very clearly, almost right away.”

He cautioned others to avoid easy conclusions.

“Continue keeping your eyes open, be as tolerant as you can be, and understand that it’s never really — and this is hard for younger people — it’s never black and white,” Gosler said. “There are so many other shades of light that you also need to understand and absorb, not necessarily agree with, but at least understand and absorb.”

Sami Steigmann, 83, a survivor who lives in West Harlem and is an Israeli citizen, called the events of October 7th “beyond understanding.”

Subjected to Nazi medical experiments as a baby that left him with intense chronic pain, Steigmann said he “went through the gamut of emotions” when he heard about the attacks.

But he’s dedicated his life to speaking publicly about his Holocaust experiences, and said this situation gives him and other survivors a chance to really make a difference to young people.

“An optimist sees in every problem an opportunity. I look at what’s happening today and I see that there is an opportunity for us, more people like me, to educate the next generation,” he said.

He and other survivors interviewed by Gothamist described a complex range of reactions after Oct. 7 — from fears over a rise in anti-semitism to concerns about the violence being perpetrated on Israelis and Palestinians alike.

“Whether it’s the 1,400 plus who died in Israel or the 10,000 plus who are dying in Gaza, that I find equally upsetting,” said Gosler, who spent his earliest years in hiding with a non-Jewish Dutch family. Israel has since downgraded its estimated death toll to 1,200, while the Gaza Ministry of Health has reported the death toll there to be more than 11,000.

Gosler said he identifies with the experiences of both Israelis and Palestinians in the conflict – “especially the death and dislocation.”

From his apartment, he said it’s been hard to watch the violence unfold on the news, and he feels like some parts of history are repeating themselves.

“We’re in that state actually, the 1930s. Kristallnacht is about to happen. That’s the sad part. Not necessarily to Jews, could be to Muslims, could be to some poor neighborhood of one sort or another,” he said. “Maybe it will happen in the Ukraine, as it has happened in some ways, or maybe it will happen as in some ways it has in the Middle East,” he said.

Midtown resident Doris Schechter, now 85, arrived in New York harbor on the Henry Gibbins in 1944 — a ship chartered to bring a special group of about 1,000 European refugees to the United States under President Roosevelt. She still recalls the swarm of news photographers that encircled her, capturing a widely-distributed picture of her as a six-year-old wearing a “casual baggage” tag around her neck.

Schechter and the others would spend the rest of the war at a refugee camp in Oswego, the only such camp in the United States. She later moved to New York City, seen by many as a haven of tolerance – a place where people from nearly every religion usually lived peacefully, side by side.

But now, Schechter says she’s worried about rising anti-Jewish sentiments in her longtime adopted city.

NYPD data shows that hate crimes against Jews spiked following the Hamas attacks this October, with 69 incidents reported last month compared to 22 incidents reported in Oct. 2022.

“I have five children, all of these grandchildren, and now I have some great grandchildren that are coming into this world. And I said, ‘Look at the world that is coming now for them. How sad is that for them, to face the hatred. I don’t know what the hatred is all about,’” Schechter said.

But she also urged others on all sides of the conflict to work toward understanding each other.

“There is a glimmer of truth in what everyone’s opinion is. And if you are smart enough to really encapsulate that, it could be very helpful,” Schechter said.

As aftershocks of Oct. 7 continue to reverberate across the globe, a national nonprofit called Selfhelp stepped in to provide survivors with additional support.

“We call them almost daily to see how they’re doing. We want them to share their emotions and feelings,” said Hanan Simhon, vice president of the organization’s Holocaust survivor program.

Selfhelp, which offers a wide range of services to elderly New Yorkers, has been working with survivors across the country since 1936 – helping them to find homes, land jobs, and now live independently as they age. Besides individual sessions with therapists the organization has opened additional avenues for more than 4,200 Survivors in their network to express themselves and connect with each other.

Simhon started a virtual class that survivors can tune into if they want to speak in a group setting, where he gives them real-time updates on news from Israel and space to have a discussion.

He said the Hamas attacks have brought back painful memories for many of the survivors about their own experiences. Still, Simhon emphasizes that they are tremendously resilient people.

“These are not people who are under their bed crying. They are strong, and they are able to continue to live their lives despite the tragedies and frightening things that are happening in our society right now.”

Steigmann said the lessons of the Holocaust must be remembered as much for Jews as for anyone else experiencing hate.

“The reason that we have to talk about the Holocaust forever and ever is because the Holocaust is the best example of what hate can do to a person, to a group of people, to a nation, to the world,” he said. “And we are experiencing it today.”