Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) delivers remarks as Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins tonight.
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00:00Let me begin by thanking my good friend of two decades, Representative Frankel, for not just the kind words, or his steadfast leadership in the House of Representatives, but the way in which he has literally put his community of Squirrel Hill, the site of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack on U.S. soil, on his back, and have lifted them up over the last five and a half years,
00:29and taking them from a dark moment to help them see light again. We thank you, Representative Frankel, so very much.
00:40It's truly a pleasure to be here with so many members of the General Assembly. I know how busy you are. I know how many demands you have on your time.
00:50And the fact that you have come here today to dedicate yourselves to remembering, and I know you carry that work with you every day, I want to say thank you to all who are assembled.
01:02And a special thanks to our speaker, Madam Joanna McClinton, and to our leader, Ruth Topper's son, Leader Topper.
01:12I want to thank them both for being here and representing the leadership of all of the different caucuses.
01:20I want to thank you, Jonathan, and all of the leaders of our Jewish community who are here today,
01:26and who dedicate yourselves professionally every day to making sure we never forget.
01:33I just want to begin on a personal note to say thank you to the people in this room for your prayers.
01:40Lori and I and our children have been comforted by them.
01:44We feel your prayers around us lifting us up.
01:47The prayers of our fellow American Jews, the prayers of Muslims and Christians, and so many others who may not worship a particular god but have found spirituality and want to share that with us.
02:00Your prayers have comforted us and your prayers have strengthened us.
02:05For all the leaders who are here in this room, those who have earned the trust of their constituents to represent this great commonwealth,
02:14the person I am most happy to see here today is Esther, my friend.
02:20Esther and I got to know each other a few months ago when she joined me at the governor's residence
02:26as we remembered the Holocaust and dedicated ourselves to Holocaust education and to making sure we never forget.
02:35This hero from Reading, Pennsylvania, has told me her inspiring story of survival,
02:42and I have dedicated myself to sharing her story and the story of all survivors.
02:48And I know we're joined by children and grandchildren of survivors here.
02:52I want to say thank you very much, Esther, for your courage.
02:56Thank you very much for making sure that the world knows what you and your family went through,
03:03the way you hid, the way you survived, the way your family looked out for you.
03:07And I was so inspired when I met you and so inspired by our time together.
03:14Esther and I sat in my office at the governor's residence a few months ago,
03:18and she shared her whole story with us.
03:22And I asked her at the end, I said, Esther, are you sure this really happened?
03:28She looked at me aghast, thinking, what's the matter with this guy?
03:33Why would he ask me that?
03:35But the truth is, Esther, there are too many people who don't acknowledge what happened,
03:42who don't want to be forced to remember,
03:45and who, in their ignorance or their bias,
03:49would like to make sure that the world doesn't remember what Esther and others went through
03:55when six million Jews and millions of others perished in the Holocaust.
04:00It is on us to not just be here today,
04:04but every single day to ensure that Esther's story is shared,
04:10to ensure that our schoolchildren know about her,
04:14to ensure that the adults in the room who are making decisions
04:19put policies and laws and other things in place
04:23to ensure that our history is taught and that we never forget,
04:28so that never again is not just a slogan recited once a year
04:32at an event or a reception,
04:35but it becomes a way of life for all of us.
04:41I know that Esther's story is incredibly important.
04:45I think it's also important we tell the story of heroes like Senator Robinson's ancestors
04:51who made sure that people were liberated and brought to freedom.
04:56You know, the day before we celebrated that first Seder at the governor's residence,
05:03Laura and I took our kids to Ellis Island.
05:06We had never been there before.
05:09You know, Laura and I grew up going to school together,
05:11and we were in New York for something a while ago
05:15and looked at the Statue of Liberty and said,
05:17did we go there when we were kids?
05:20And she said, no.
05:21I said, I think we have a responsibility to take our kids there.
05:23We went to the Statue of Liberty.
05:25We went to Ellis Island,
05:27and we stood with our children on the very spot where our ancestors entered this country,
05:34years before the Holocaust, but where they entered this country.
05:37This country has always been open to people of all different faiths
05:45and all different walks of life,
05:47and we've come together in this wonderful melting pot,
05:52this wonderful place that's allowed us to have heroes like the senators' ancestors
05:58and welcome people yearning to be free like Esther and others who fled war
06:04and fled bigotry in different places around the world.
06:09We wanted our kids to see that as part of the work we are doing to teach them.
06:13We want every Pennsylvanian to know those stories of liberation.
06:19Yes, to know the stories of hatred that we must never forget,
06:23but also the stories of heroes and liberation.
06:26It's one of the reasons why my wife, Lori, our First Lady,
06:30has dedicated herself to working with the Pennsylvania Department of Education
06:35to develop a new and updated toolkit for our educators across Pennsylvania
06:41to teach about the Holocaust, the heroes, those who perished, those who survived.
06:47That toolkit has now been accessed by 1,600 teachers across Pennsylvania
06:54in just the last year since we met right here in the governor's reception.
07:00The Pennsylvania Department of Education, the urging of the First Lady
07:04and under the great leadership of Secretary Rowe,
07:07has conducted eight trainings for groups of teachers across Pennsylvania.
07:11We must make sure that these stories are told.
07:15We must make sure, Mr. Chairman, that the stories of King and Heschel
07:20inspire people like you and Jared and others to continue on with this work.
07:26Yes, we must remember those who perished.
07:29And we must salute the people like Esther who survived,
07:32but we also need to learn the lessons that accompany the encompass,
07:38the entire story of the Holocaust,
07:41what led to it, what occurred,
07:44and how we make sure that never happens again.
07:49The responsibility falls not just to those who have positions of elected authority
07:54or those who have assumed roles leading organizations within the Jewish community.
08:00I believe the responsibility falls to each and every Pennsylvanian
08:05to speak and act with moral clarity,
08:10to remember the very foundation of this commonwealth,
08:16a foundation depicted in the murals here in this room,
08:20of William Penn coming to this place,
08:25establishing what is now the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
08:28with a singular promise and purpose,
08:32that what we would know as Pennsylvania
08:35would be a place that is warm and welcoming for all people,
08:41people of all different faiths.
08:44I'm not sure Penn would have ever imagined
08:46a Jewish governor talking to all of you here in this room
08:50that depicts his picture,
08:52but I bet he would be proud
08:54because this is what he set in motion.
08:58Every day I get to see our common humanity
09:03and it lifts me up.
09:05People of all different walks of life,
09:07all different faiths,
09:08all different upbringings,
09:10different terrain from the community they live in,
09:13who understand, I think, deep in their soul
09:16that we're part of something special here in Pennsylvania,
09:18that Penn set in motion
09:20and that we have a responsibility to continue that,
09:24to continue that with our votes,
09:27with our actions,
09:29to continue that by speaking and acting
09:31with moral clarity every day.
09:34That shared humanity
09:36is something that should inspire all of us.
09:39Yes, Representative Frankel, Senator Schwenk,
09:41and others who have cited the statistics
09:43about rising anti-Semitism,
09:46they are right, it is rising,
09:48and it must be universally condemned,
09:51but let us not only look at the negative,
09:53let us also see the positive that exists out there,
09:58the shared humanity we all have,
10:01the way in which people acknowledge a love for one another
10:04even though we come from different places,
10:06different walks of life,
10:08came to this country differently.
10:10I'll close with this.
10:12Lori and I and the kids
10:14wanted the opportunity last week
10:16to say thank you to the firefighters
10:19and first responders who saved our lives
10:22at the Governor's residence last Sunday morning.
10:25The kids thought it would be nice
10:27to make these firefighters a meal,
10:30recognizing I can't cook,
10:32I thought it was important
10:33that we get a little bit of help,
10:37and with the help of Chef Robert Irvine,
10:39my family and I had the opportunity
10:41to serve these firefighters,
10:42these heroes,
10:43a meal at the Harrisburg Firehouse.
10:47Firefighters from all across this region
10:49answered the call,
10:51and that day we had the opportunity
10:52to visit with each of them one-on-one
10:55and just say thank you.
10:57The chaplain from the North Penn Fire Department
11:00here in central Pennsylvania
11:01came over to me
11:04with a letter signed
11:06by each volunteer firefighter
11:09in their small department.
11:11It was a typewritten letter.
11:12It was a beautiful message.
11:14Each of the firefighters signed it.
11:16On the back,
11:18this 90-year-old or so Christian chaplain
11:21hand-wrote a prayer to me
11:24and to my family,
11:26a prayer of comfort,
11:27a prayer to make sure
11:29we are watched over by God,
11:32a prayer known to me
11:34as the priestly blessing,
11:37and a prayer that I recite nightly
11:39over each of our four children
11:41and have since the day they were born.
11:44We don't worship the same way.
11:46We come from different generations.
11:49We were raised in different parts
11:50of this commonwealth.
11:52We have different jobs,
11:54different ways of thinking
11:55about different things.
11:57But yet,
11:59we were bound
12:00by a singular chapter
12:03in the book of Numbers
12:04that we each draw strength from
12:06for different reasons
12:08and use it for different purposes,
12:10but another example
12:12of our shared humanity.
12:15So as we dedicate ourselves
12:17to never again,
12:19to always remember,
12:21to never forget,
12:23yes, let us dedicate ourselves
12:25to removing hatred and bigotry
12:27from our society,
12:28let's do that work together.
12:30Let's also not lose sight
12:32of the goodness
12:33of this great commonwealth,
12:35how it all started,
12:37the point of this place,
12:40and the way ordinary Pennsylvanians
12:42every single day show up
12:44to be there for one another.
12:46They're the best of us.
12:48We need to take our cues from them.
12:49We need to learn from them.
12:51I'm honored to be here again
12:53after many years of attending
12:55this event.
12:57It takes on particular meaning
12:58I know right now.
13:00As people like Esther
13:01are fewer and fewer
13:02in our society,
13:04we must make sure
13:05to embrace them,
13:07to salute them,
13:08to thank them
13:09for being here
13:10and for their courage.
13:12and we must make sure
13:13we embrace one another
13:14each and every day
13:15to find our better angels
13:17and to make sure
13:18never again
13:20becomes a promise
13:21and a purpose
13:21of our great commonwealth.
13:24God bless you all.