WHITE PLAINS, NY — County Executive Robert P. Astorino today announced that Dr. Moshe Avital, a Holocaust author, scholar and survivor, will be the keynote speaker at the Westchester County Human Rights Commission’s annual forum on December 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
“It’s been 70 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Dr. Avital was a survivor, and sadly anti-Semitism continues to plague us both at home and throughout the world,” Astorino said. “Yet it is important to never forget the past, and to confront hatred in all its forms – especially close to home. I commend and join with the Westchester County Human Rights Commission in standing up for all those who fall victim to discrimination.”
Dr. Avital’s remarks will explore his personal experience as a survivor of Auschwitz and shed light on the meaning of the Holocaust in modern Western society. The forum will also include special guest speaker Joan Grangenois Thomas, president of the Port Chester/Rye Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She is also a board member of the Rye, Rye Brook and Port Chester League of Women Voters.
The free event is sponsored by the Westchester County Human Rights Commission in partnership with the Town of Greenburgh, the Yonkers Human Rights Commission, and the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center. Please contact Diane Balistreri at dgb3@westchestergov.com or (914) 995-7710 to register or learn more. Registration is preferred but not required.