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Community Reading of NIGHT, Elie Wiesel’s Seminal Account of the Holocaust

The Museum of Jewish Heritage & National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Organize Community Reading of NIGHT, Elie Wiesel’s Seminal Account of the Holocaust

On January 29, more than 50 Notable New Yorkers will participated in the presentation, including:
Tovah Feldshuh, Abraham H. Foxman, Joel Grey, David Hyde Pierce, Daniel Libeskind, Itzhak Perlman, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer

Honoring International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Wiesel’s recent passing
On Sunday, January 29, 2017, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust joins with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to honor the memory of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who died on July 2, 2016, by presenting a community reading of his landmark memoir NIGHT, which tells of his experience in German concentration camps with his father during the Holocaust.  This reading is being held to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27.

The reading – a first of its kind for the Museum – will take place on January 29, 2017 at the Museum, 36 Battery Place in Lower Manhattan, in Edmond J. Safra Hall, beginning at 3:00 pm and will continue through the evening until the last page is read at approximately 8:00 pm.

“This event honors the legacy of Elie Wiesel and gives us the opportunity to bring his groundbreaking and eloquent account of the Holocaust to life for one night, through the voices of New Yorkers of all backgrounds,” says Michael S. Glickman, President and CEO of the Museum. “As New York’s Holocaust Museum, it is our responsibility to amplify Wiesel’s words in whatever way we can to continue his work of teaching the world about the dangers of indifference and the importance of fighting for justice.”

This gathering will bring together a wide array of artists, actors, community leaders, government officials, students, Holocaust survivors and survivors of other genocides, each of whom will read at least a page of Wiesel’s NIGHT. Elisha Wiesel, Elie’s son, will also participate as the community gathers to hear his father’s word read aloud. The readings will be done primarily in English, with some speaking in French and Yiddish.

Elisha Wiesel said: “At a time when this country is feeling so divided, when so much negativity is circulating about those who are different from ourselves – those who have different ethnicities, religions or even different political leanings – my father’s words are an important reminder of the dangers of the ‘us versus them’ mentality.  My family and I are grateful to the Museum of Jewish Heritage for hosting this community reading of ‘Night’ at this very important moment in our history.”

“Elie Wiesel’s remarkable testimony as a survivor and his grace in reassuring all of us that we can heal, find redemption and protect ourselves through the incalculable darkness has soothed and inspired so many,” said Zalmen Mlotek, artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.  “It is essential that we hear his message and follow his example of civility and strength.”  Christopher Massimine, executive producer of NYTF added: “Artists, through their art, reflect who we are; only a few can be said to reflect the conscience of mankind. Elie Wiesel was one such artist.”

The list of participants, still in formation, includes:

Entertainment
Tovah Feldshuh, TV and Broadway actress, Emmy winner
Joel Grey, Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor
Sheldon Harnick, playwright/lyricist, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner
Jessica Hecht, TV and Broadway actress
Bill T. Jones, choreographer
Itzhak Perlman, world’s preeminent violinist
David Hyde Pierce, Film, TV and Theater actor/director, Emmy and Tony Award winner Maryanne Plunkett, Broadway actor
Ron Rifkin, TV and Broadway actor, Emmy and Tony Award winner
Jay O. Sanders, Broadway actor
Media
Joseph Berger, award-winning journalist for The New York Times
Jane Eisner, Editor in chief of The Forward
Adam Gopnik, writer, essayist, and New Yorker contributor
Pia Lindstrom, Emmy-winning television journalist
Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentaries
Sam Norich, president of The Forward
Letty Cottin Pogrebin, award-winning journalist, author, and founding member of the Feminist movement
Geraldo Rivera, award-winning journalist, author and media personality
Gary Rosenblatt, publisher and editor in chief of The Jewish Week
Edward Rothstein, columnist and reporter for The Wall Street Journal
Stephanie Simon, culture reporter NY 1 News
Government and NGO
Hon. Dani Dayan, Consulate General of Israel in New York
Hon. François Delattre, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations
Carmen Fariña, NYC Education Chancellor
Joshua Laird, Commissioner, National Parks of NY Harbor
Senator Joseph and Hadassah Lieberman
Eugenie Mukeshimana, founder & executive director Genocide Survivors Support Network
Jacqueline Murekatete, Founder of the Genocide Survivors Foundation
Yuh-Line Niou, Assembly member-elect
Consolee Nishimwe, Rwandan genocide survivor
Menachem Rosensaft, Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Survivors
Jean-Baptiste Rudatsikira, Director at the Genocide Survivors Foundation
Ilia Salita, CEO of Genesis Philanthropy Group
Elliot Spitzer, Former Governor of New York
Andres Spokoiny, Jewish Funders Network
Scott Stringer, NYC Comptroller
Hon. Brita Wagener, Consul General, German Consulate of New York
Lifestyle and Culture
Andre Aciman, award-winning author and professor, CUNY Graduate Center
Georgette Bennett, founder of the Tannenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Rabbi Blu Greenberg, author
Rabbi Irving Greenberg, author
Alice Greenwald, President and CEO, National 9/11 Memorial
Aaron Lansky, executive director and founder Yiddish Book Center
Daniel Libeskind, world-renowned architect
Daryl Roth, theatre producer
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, American sex therapist, media personality, and author
Ruth Wisse, author and authority on Jewish culture
Academia
Abraham H. Foxman, director of the Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Andzelika Berestko, student
Sister Mary Boys, dean Union Theological Seminary/ Columbia University
David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States
Josh Morrison, student
Among the numerous Holocaust survivors participating in the event are Mrs. Fanya Gottesfeld Heller and Mrs. Susanne Kaplowitz.

Mrs. Gottesfeld Heller, a Museum Trustee, author, and longtime friend of Elie and Marion Wiesel, was born into a traditional Jewish family in a small Ukrainian village in 1924. Mrs. Heller and her family hid from the Nazi death squads with the help of two Christian rescuers. Beset by hunger, marked for death by her neighbors, and faced with the constant threat of discovery and execution, she miraculously survived to share her message of life and hope.

Mrs. Kaplowitz was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1936. Mrs. Kaplowitz and her brother were hidden by a Christian woman, a former employee in her father’s store. Her parents hid separately. She and her family survived the war and came to the U.S. in December 1949.

Prior to the reading of NIGHT, from 12 pm to 2 pm, other Holocaust survivors will share their testimonies in the Museum’s Core Exhibition.

The Tribute and entry to the Museum are both free. Advance reservations for the Tribute are recommended as theater seating is limited. To reserve Tribute tickets, visit www.mjhnyc.org/tribute or call 646.437.4202. Additional seating will be available in rooms showing the simulcast.

The event will be live streamed on the Museum’s website at: www.mjhnyc.org/night. Live streaming is made possible through a community engagement partnership with Battery Park City Authority.











When: Sun., Jan. 29, 2017 at 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Museum of Jewish Heritage
36 Battery Pl.
646-437-4202
Price: Free
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

The Museum of Jewish Heritage & National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Organize Community Reading of NIGHT, Elie Wiesel’s Seminal Account of the Holocaust

On January 29, more than 50 Notable New Yorkers will participated in the presentation, including:
Tovah Feldshuh, Abraham H. Foxman, Joel Grey, David Hyde Pierce, Daniel Libeskind, Itzhak Perlman, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer

Honoring International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Wiesel’s recent passing
On Sunday, January 29, 2017, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust joins with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to honor the memory of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who died on July 2, 2016, by presenting a community reading of his landmark memoir NIGHT, which tells of his experience in German concentration camps with his father during the Holocaust.  This reading is being held to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27.

The reading – a first of its kind for the Museum – will take place on January 29, 2017 at the Museum, 36 Battery Place in Lower Manhattan, in Edmond J. Safra Hall, beginning at 3:00 pm and will continue through the evening until the last page is read at approximately 8:00 pm.

“This event honors the legacy of Elie Wiesel and gives us the opportunity to bring his groundbreaking and eloquent account of the Holocaust to life for one night, through the voices of New Yorkers of all backgrounds,” says Michael S. Glickman, President and CEO of the Museum. “As New York’s Holocaust Museum, it is our responsibility to amplify Wiesel’s words in whatever way we can to continue his work of teaching the world about the dangers of indifference and the importance of fighting for justice.”

This gathering will bring together a wide array of artists, actors, community leaders, government officials, students, Holocaust survivors and survivors of other genocides, each of whom will read at least a page of Wiesel’s NIGHT. Elisha Wiesel, Elie’s son, will also participate as the community gathers to hear his father’s word read aloud. The readings will be done primarily in English, with some speaking in French and Yiddish.

Elisha Wiesel said: “At a time when this country is feeling so divided, when so much negativity is circulating about those who are different from ourselves – those who have different ethnicities, religions or even different political leanings – my father’s words are an important reminder of the dangers of the ‘us versus them’ mentality.  My family and I are grateful to the Museum of Jewish Heritage for hosting this community reading of ‘Night’ at this very important moment in our history.”

“Elie Wiesel’s remarkable testimony as a survivor and his grace in reassuring all of us that we can heal, find redemption and protect ourselves through the incalculable darkness has soothed and inspired so many,” said Zalmen Mlotek, artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.  “It is essential that we hear his message and follow his example of civility and strength.”  Christopher Massimine, executive producer of NYTF added: “Artists, through their art, reflect who we are; only a few can be said to reflect the conscience of mankind. Elie Wiesel was one such artist.”

The list of participants, still in formation, includes:

Entertainment
Tovah Feldshuh, TV and Broadway actress, Emmy winner
Joel Grey, Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor
Sheldon Harnick, playwright/lyricist, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner
Jessica Hecht, TV and Broadway actress
Bill T. Jones, choreographer
Itzhak Perlman, world’s preeminent violinist
David Hyde Pierce, Film, TV and Theater actor/director, Emmy and Tony Award winner Maryanne Plunkett, Broadway actor
Ron Rifkin, TV and Broadway actor, Emmy and Tony Award winner
Jay O. Sanders, Broadway actor
Media
Joseph Berger, award-winning journalist for The New York Times
Jane Eisner, Editor in chief of The Forward
Adam Gopnik, writer, essayist, and New Yorker contributor
Pia Lindstrom, Emmy-winning television journalist
Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentaries
Sam Norich, president of The Forward
Letty Cottin Pogrebin, award-winning journalist, author, and founding member of the Feminist movement
Geraldo Rivera, award-winning journalist, author and media personality
Gary Rosenblatt, publisher and editor in chief of The Jewish Week
Edward Rothstein, columnist and reporter for The Wall Street Journal
Stephanie Simon, culture reporter NY 1 News
Government and NGO
Hon. Dani Dayan, Consulate General of Israel in New York
Hon. François Delattre, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations
Carmen Fariña, NYC Education Chancellor
Joshua Laird, Commissioner, National Parks of NY Harbor
Senator Joseph and Hadassah Lieberman
Eugenie Mukeshimana, founder & executive director Genocide Survivors Support Network
Jacqueline Murekatete, Founder of the Genocide Survivors Foundation
Yuh-Line Niou, Assembly member-elect
Consolee Nishimwe, Rwandan genocide survivor
Menachem Rosensaft, Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Survivors
Jean-Baptiste Rudatsikira, Director at the Genocide Survivors Foundation
Ilia Salita, CEO of Genesis Philanthropy Group
Elliot Spitzer, Former Governor of New York
Andres Spokoiny, Jewish Funders Network
Scott Stringer, NYC Comptroller
Hon. Brita Wagener, Consul General, German Consulate of New York
Lifestyle and Culture
Andre Aciman, award-winning author and professor, CUNY Graduate Center
Georgette Bennett, founder of the Tannenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Rabbi Blu Greenberg, author
Rabbi Irving Greenberg, author
Alice Greenwald, President and CEO, National 9/11 Memorial
Aaron Lansky, executive director and founder Yiddish Book Center
Daniel Libeskind, world-renowned architect
Daryl Roth, theatre producer
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, American sex therapist, media personality, and author
Ruth Wisse, author and authority on Jewish culture
Academia
Abraham H. Foxman, director of the Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Andzelika Berestko, student
Sister Mary Boys, dean Union Theological Seminary/ Columbia University
David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States
Josh Morrison, student
Among the numerous Holocaust survivors participating in the event are Mrs. Fanya Gottesfeld Heller and Mrs. Susanne Kaplowitz.

Mrs. Gottesfeld Heller, a Museum Trustee, author, and longtime friend of Elie and Marion Wiesel, was born into a traditional Jewish family in a small Ukrainian village in 1924. Mrs. Heller and her family hid from the Nazi death squads with the help of two Christian rescuers. Beset by hunger, marked for death by her neighbors, and faced with the constant threat of discovery and execution, she miraculously survived to share her message of life and hope.

Mrs. Kaplowitz was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1936. Mrs. Kaplowitz and her brother were hidden by a Christian woman, a former employee in her father’s store. Her parents hid separately. She and her family survived the war and came to the U.S. in December 1949.

Prior to the reading of NIGHT, from 12 pm to 2 pm, other Holocaust survivors will share their testimonies in the Museum’s Core Exhibition.

The Tribute and entry to the Museum are both free. Advance reservations for the Tribute are recommended as theater seating is limited. To reserve Tribute tickets, visit www.mjhnyc.org/tribute or call 646.437.4202. Additional seating will be available in rooms showing the simulcast.

The event will be live streamed on the Museum’s website at: www.mjhnyc.org/night. Live streaming is made possible through a community engagement partnership with Battery Park City Authority.

Buy tickets/get more info now