On the left corner of desks in the California Senate and Assembly chambers earlier this week sat framed photos of victims of the Holocaust whose birthdays coincided with those of state representatives.
“In the past, a survivor of the Holocaust would sit at every single desk in both the Senate and the Assembly. But as they have aged and passed, we have been unable to repeat this tradition,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-S.F.), co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, which placed the framed images. The caucus is a group of 19 state-level politicians who advocate for issues of concern to the Jewish community.
Wiener spoke on the Senate floor on Monday as part of the California Legislature’s annual commemoration for Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will begin at sunset on Sunday.
His fellow caucus co-chair, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-San Fernando Valley), did the same in his chamber.
“This year Holocaust Remembrance Day is different — and for many in the Jewish community the most painful in our lifetime. Many of us feel trapped between a generation of Holocaust survivors that are quickly passing away and a generation of young Americans who are unfamiliar with the lessons of genocide against our people,” Gabriel said.
As part of the event, caucus members spoke about the importance of establishing public education and remembrance practices related to the Holocaust, in particular as antisemitism grows nationally following the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel and the subsequent war.
The Senate and Assembly also passed a joint resolution proclaiming May 6, 2024, as California Holocaust Memorial Day. The resolution encourages Californians to spend the day in reflection in memory of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
Yom HaShoah was established as a holiday on the Hebrew calendar by the Israeli government in 1959 — though many observed it before that. The date on the Hebrew calendar coincides with the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943.
“Yom HaShoah is a call to action. It is the ultimate reminder of how quickly an advanced, educated and modern society can unravel with how easily hateful rhetoric can lead to deadly violence for both the Jewish people and for all of humanity today as a reminder of our collective obligation to do more, to bring the lessons of the Holocaust to all corners of the state,” Gabriel said.
Rabbi Scott Fox of Temple Israel Long Beach, who served as legislative guest chaplain on Monday, began the floor session with an invocation about the importance of remembrance and the potential of antisemitism to spread when societies fail to address it.
“Jewish hate is just another form of the same hate that charges fear into the hearts of so many of our sibling communities, including the Muslim community,” Fox said. “I stand here today with the honor of this microphone and humbly add your voice to ours.”
Representatives from the California Legislative Black Caucus, Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, and California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus spoke in support of the resolution, stressing the need for solidarity and standing against hate.
“It’s that humanity that I think grounds us,” said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Culver City), who is treasurer of the Black caucus. “Today is not just a day of remembrance. It’s a day of action — and that action is to see one another, as the Jewish caucus has reminded us putting these pictures on our desks … that action is to move with love and compassion and in solidarity.”