Holocaust survivor Albert Garih is set to speak in front of the US Congress during a bipartisan session held in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, as a rise in antisemitism threatens Jewish communities worldwide.
Garih is a French Jew who survived the Holocaust by hiding with two families and later at a Catholic boarding school. He, his mother, and his siblings escaped arrest due to the courage of two French police inspectors, a social worker, and other heroic non-Jews.
His father, Benjamin Garih, was deported to a forced labor camp in the Channel Islands in 1943 before being rescued by the Belgian resistance and returning home on foot after liberation in 1944, on Rosh Hashana.
After the Holocaust, Garih graduated from Sorbonne University in France and became a translator for the World Bank, which brought him to Washington in 1976.
Worldwide rise in antisemitism
“France has taken important steps to confront its Holocaust-era past, but rising antisemitism, especially since October 7, 2023, demands vigilance, stronger protection of Jewish communities, and Holocaust education,” said Afraim Katzir, Founding Director of the Sephardic Heritage International (SHIN-DC).
“Recent attacks, including the Bondi shooting in Australia, underscore the urgency of working together to combat antisemitism,” he added.
"Jews in France today are feeling threatened more intensely than at any time since the Holocaust. To ensure the safety and security of Jews in France, the United States, and around the world, we must do more than remember the past; we must act to protect the future,” said Alyza D. Lewin, president of US Affairs for the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
“The Congressional Holocaust Commemoration does both. It pays tribute to Holocaust survivors, enabling us to learn from their stories and strength, while also educating today's leaders to recognize and combat all forms of contemporary antisemitism," he concluded
The event is being organized by the SHIN-DC, sponsored by Senator John Fetterman, and with remarks from Senator Jackie Rosen; Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Dan Goldman, Timothy M. Kennedy, Mark Messmer, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Craig Goldman, Steve Cohen, Jimmy Panetta, Tom Kean, Jr., and other members of Congress.