Twelve Hunter College students joined CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and dozens of other CUNY students on March 15 for a private tour at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, which teaches visitors about the broad tapestry of the Jewish experience before, during, and after the Holocaust through recorded testimony of survivors and extensive historical collections.
The tour, organized by the CUNY Arts initiative, guided the students and the chancellor through the museum’s exhibition, “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark.” The exhibition tells the story of how ordinary Danish citizens defied enormous risks and united to save nearly 95% of Denmark’s Jewish population from the Nazis.
“Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom and we’re grateful to our partners at New York City’s cultural institutions for opening their doors to our students. As a historian by training, I know how important it is to learn about the atrocities of the past to make sure they are never repeated. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is a place where our students — including those studying to be teachers — can better learn about the Holocaust and Jewish life, knowledge they pass on to their peers and fellow New Yorkers,” said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is committed to combating hate and helping Jewish students celebrate their heritage. This is how we build tolerance and understanding, and learn from each other.”
Daniela Urbano, an accounting major at Hunter College, called the exhibit “emotional.”
“Seeing visuals of what occurred makes you feel the gravity of the situation. This is something everyone needs to know because antisemitism is still relevant today,” said Urbano. “There were people my age helping with the resistance.”
The 12 Hunter students, all CUNY Cultural Corps interns this year, were: Rabia Akram, Solange Arias, Aishat Balogun, Gillian Chiu, Benjamin Chiu, Alyssa Friday, Savleen Kaur, Shihua Liu, Daniela Manrique, Adam Romanelli, Urbano, and Isabella Youssef.
The “Courage to Act” exhibit explores themes of separation, bravery, and resilience, asking students to make connections to their own lives and reflect on the dangers of prejudice — as well as their own potential for compassionate, moral and courageous collective action. The CUNY students learned the story of Gerda III, a small vessel that saved an estimated 300 Jews in groups of 10 to 15 at a time on clandestine journeys across the body of water known as The Sound to Sweden. The mission was led by 22-year-old Henny Sinding Sundø, who narrates her story in the exhibit.
This month, the Museum of Jewish Heritage released an Antisemitism FAQ Educator Resource in response to questions from teachers and students – and requests for support – following the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel and the subsequent accelerated rise in antisemitism. This resource is designed to guide educators throughout New York City in building an understanding of historical and contemporary antisemitism.
On Oct. 3, 2023, during his State of the University speech at Hunter, the Chancellor spoke to the necessity of promoting tolerance across CUNY and New York City and the obligation of a large public university like CUNY to be increasingly attentive to the racial, ethnic and cultural climate on its 25 campuses. The University has committed $1.3 million since last year to combat hate.
Last May, CUNY announced a partnership with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism on their #StandUpToJewishHate Campaign, an initiative to raise awareness about antisemitism and hatred against Jewish people by wearing blue squares or posting or sharing the blue square emoji.
CUNY also formed the Advisory Council on Jewish Life in May, a university-wide body made up of prominent New York Jewish leaders who meet with the chancellor regularly to discuss ways to lift up Jewish life in the CUNY community.
