Ahead of Holocaust Day, CAM to Honor Chiune Sugihara, the ‘Japanese Rescuer’

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) and B’nai B’rith International will hold at special virtual reception on Monday, January 25, 2021, commemorating the heroic deeds of the late Chiune Sugihara, who as a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania in 1940 saved thousands of European Jews by issuing transit visas that allowed them to escape the Nazis.

Later in life, Sugihara was recognized by Yad Vashem with the “Righteous Among the Nations” title.

The event, “Chiune Sugihara: The Japanese Rescuer” will begin at 10:00AM EST, and feature remarks by the Honorable Kanji Yamanouchi, ambassador and consul general of Japan in New York, and Nathan Lewin, who survived the Holocaust as a child thanks to Sugihara.

A panel of distinguished experts — including Alyza Lewin, president and general counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law; Kenneth R. Weinstein, immediate past president and CEO of the Hudson Institute and former US ambassador-designate to Japan; and Professor (Emeritus) of Japanese History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ben-Ami Shilony, author of The Jews and the Japanese — will share their insights on Sugihara’s enduring legacy and Japan’s relationships with Israel, the United States and global Jewish community.

Japanese-American artist JURRI will also present a mural of Sugihara.

“The Jewish people will always remember those who came to our aid in the darkest hour of our history,” CAM Director Sacha Roytman-Dratwa said. “As the horrors of the Holocaust recede into the past, it is vital that its lessons continue to be learned. We believe that in the battle against contemporary antisemitism, stories such as Sugihara’s can inspire a new generation to help create a better world.”

Register for the event — which will be broadcast on Zoom and Facebook — here.