The People Next Door Exhibition Remarks
by Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky
It’s such a privilege for me to get to speak to you today. I’m deeply moved to see just how many of you tried to enter into the dark space of the Holocaust so that you could create from a personal and emotional place. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As we commemorate the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II, I’d like to think that we still remember the lessons from that war and won’t make the same mistakes again. But I’m afraid that today, in 2025, we need to learn the lessons all over again.
The community gathers at Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library for “The People Next Door” Student Art & Creative Writing Awards Ceremony.
As a rabbi, one of the most essential verses in the Bible to me comes very early on, in chapter one of the Book of Genesis: God created human beings in God’s image. No matter what color my skin is, no matter what language I speak, no matter whether I was born into poverty or wealth, no matter where I was born, my face is God’s face, and yours is too. To me, the most important lesson, the one that we have to learn over and over again, is the danger that lurks when we are encouraged to see our fellow human beings as other than ourselves, as somehow not made in the image of God. Unfortunately, that is the world where we find ourselves at this precise moment.
Here in the United States, as well as all over the world, leaders are calling on their followers to look at those different from themselves as other. People are being encouraged to separate from and even hate their fellow human beings and see them as less than human. This echoes a theme I saw in so many of your creative works: the shock that comes when people suddenly realize that others see them as less than human. If you are not human in the same way that I am, there’s no reason I can’t treat you terribly: lock you up, deport you, torture you, or even—God forbid—systematically murder you. What I am saying is that those lessons that you learned from studying about the Holocaust are real right now. Those horrifying depictions of Jews that some of you incorporated into your artwork—they’re being recycled right now to portray my people. Lies are being spread trying to convince us that all immigrants are criminals. Social media in particular is being exploited to turn us against each other and against some of the most vulnerable people in our country.
It is important for me to look at the horrors of the Holocaust and see a message that I can pass along to generations to come. My message is this: I have an obligation to make sure that the Holocaust never happens again to anyone. I invite each of you to take that responsibility upon yourselves too. Educate yourself about how hatred is being weaponized about people right now. If you see hatred playing out in your school, in your community, among your friends, speak up. Don’t be a bystander. Above all, don’t walk away from this event today and say that you’ve done enough to raise awareness about what hatred can do. Our work is only just beginning. Together, let us bring healing and wholeness to the world. Thank you for all that you’ve done and for all that you’ll continue to do.
