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In Episode 640 of Education in Motion on hmTv, host Donna Rosenblum welcomes Matt Loew, Assistant Principal for Humanities at Syosset High School, for an in-depth conversation about the power and continued importance of Holocaust education.

Matt shares his journey from classroom teacher to educational leader and explains how Syosset integrates Holocaust and tolerance education across multiple grade levels and academic disciplines. The conversation highlights the school’s Holocaust Resource Day, which has grown from a traditional assembly into a multi-day educational experience incorporating survivor testimony, music, student artwork, classroom discussions, and student-led reflection.

Donna and Matt discuss Syosset’s partnership with the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, the preparation of student docents, and the transformative impact of hearing directly from Holocaust survivor Rosalie Simon. They also explore how testimony from Consolee Nishimwe, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, helps students recognize recurring patterns of hatred, persecution, courage, and resilience.

This thoughtful episode demonstrates how Holocaust education can serve as a lens for understanding humanity, developing empathy, encouraging civil discourse, and inspiring students to become upstanders through the everyday choices they make.

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In Episode 639 of Education in Motion on hmTv, host Zachary Graulich, Director of Education at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, welcomes Nikhil Shah, a recent Syosset High School graduate and recipient of the Claire Friedlander Upstander Award Scholarship.

Nikhil discusses his work as a student docent for Syosset High School’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program and the transformative impact of hearing firsthand testimony from Holocaust survivor Rosalie Simon. He also shares how that experience inspired him to interview Rosalie and help preserve her story through The New Historia.

The conversation explores Nikhil’s leadership with Breaking Borders, an initiative that brings students from different Long Island communities together for respectful dialogue about political polarization, segregation, and other difficult issues. Nikhil also explains how a visit to Raynham Hall Museum led him to join the board of Remember Liss, an organization dedicated to preserving the story of an enslaved Black woman connected to the American Revolution.

Through his experiences in Holocaust education, historical preservation, civil discourse, and student leadership, Nikhil demonstrates how curiosity can become action. This inspiring episode reminds young people to remain true to their values, ask questions, pursue their interests, and recognize that they are never too young to make a meaningful difference.

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In Episode 638 of The Israeli Bond on hmTv, host Gal Swisa Cohen welcomes Ira Kohler, a Long Island native who moved to Israel and enlisted in the IDF as a lone soldier.

Ira shares his journey from growing up in a close Jewish community to serving in the 890th Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade. He reflects on the challenges of military training in Hebrew, the deep bonds formed among soldiers, and the sense of responsibility that led him to serve.

The conversation turns to October 7, 2023, when Ira was called into battle and deployed to southern Israel, including Kibbutz Be’eri. He speaks candidly about fear, courage, loss, survivor’s guilt, and the emotional impact of serving for more than one hundred days inside Gaza.

Ira also remembers his friend and fellow lone soldier, Omer Neutra, and discusses his book, Once a Paratrooper: The Story of a Lone Soldier in the Gaza War. Through his writing and public speaking, Ira hopes to preserve the stories of those who served, challenge misinformation, and help audiences understand the human beings behind the headlines.

This powerful episode explores service, sacrifice, Jewish identity, resilience, and the vital bond between Israel and American Jewry.

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In the concluding episode of The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv, host Richard Acritelli continues his powerful conversation with Rena Kesten about the extraordinary life and legacy of her grandfather, Colonel Sekunda, a Jewish armored commander in the Soviet Army during World War II.

Rena reflects on her grandfather’s postwar military service in Germany, his return to Ukraine, and the emotional scars he carried after years of combat. Although his soldiers affectionately called him “Father” and he helped lead Soviet forces from the Eastern Front into Berlin, antisemitism prevented him from receiving the full recognition he deserved.

The conversation examines the economic chaos and political repression of postwar Soviet life, the erasure of Jewish military contributions, and the dangerous myth that Jews did not fight against Nazi Germany. Rena also shares her efforts to bring her grandfather’s rare photographs and remarkable story into classrooms, museums, and the broader historical record.

Through family memories, preserved artifacts, and firsthand reflections on communism, immigration, and the American dream, this episode honors a courageous officer whose leadership helped defeat the Third Reich and whose story deserves a permanent place in history.

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In Part 3 of The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv, host Richard Acritelli continues his conversation with Rena Kesten through a remarkable collection of photographs documenting her grandfather’s service as a Jewish Soviet tank commander during the final Battle of Berlin.

The images reveal destroyed streets, armored units, Soviet officers planning attacks, damaged German tanks, soldiers moving through trenches, and Rena’s grandfather standing beside the tanks he commanded. Rena also shares how he survived the war without being wounded, developed strong relationships with senior commanders, and used courage, discipline, and even music to reassure the soldiers under his command.

The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as Rena explains how her grandfather helped evacuate military families ahead of the German invasion of Ukraine. His decision saved numerous women and children, while relatives who remained behind were murdered at Babi Yar.

The episode also explores the aftermath of victory, the rapid shift from wartime alliance to Cold War suspicion, Soviet antisemitism, and the photograph of Rena’s grandfather with American soldiers that he was forced to remove from the family album to protect himself.

Through rare artifacts and family testimony, this episode preserves the story of a courageous Jewish officer whose leadership helped defeat Nazi Germany and save lives both on and beyond the battlefield.

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In Part 2 of The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv, host Richard Acritelli continues his conversation with Rena Kesten, exploring the remarkable military history of her grandfather, Colonel Sekunda, a Jewish armored commander in the Soviet Army during World War II.

Rena recounts how her grandfather led his soldiers out of German encirclement during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, survived the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, and rose from captain to colonel while commanding a tank brigade of approximately 60 tanks and 1,300 soldiers.

The episode also examines the antisemitism he faced within the Soviet system. Despite being twice nominated for the prestigious Hero of the Soviet Union award, he was denied the honor because he was Jewish. Through rare military documents, photographs, and family artifacts, Rena reveals his role in the liberation of Belarus, the Soviet advance through Poland and Germany, and the final Battle of Berlin.

This powerful conversation restores an overlooked Jewish military leader to the historical record while highlighting courage, leadership, sacrifice, and the importance of preserving family memory before it disappears.

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In Part 1 of this compelling episode of The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv, host Richard Acritelli welcomes Rena Kesten for a deeply personal conversation about immigration, Jewish identity, family memory, and an overlooked chapter of World War II history.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Rena shares her childhood memories of life under Soviet communism, her family’s difficult journey to freedom through Vienna and Italy, and their eventual resettlement in the United States. She reflects on the loss of religious tradition, the antisemitism experienced by Soviet Jews, and the challenges her parents faced while rebuilding their lives in America.

The conversation also introduces the extraordinary story of Rena’s grandfather, a Jewish colonel and armored commander in the Soviet Army whose service in the fight against Nazi Germany was largely excluded from history. Through family photographs, military records, and inherited stories, Rena begins uncovering his journey from an impoverished orphanage to military academy, chemical defense training, and command of a tank battalion at the beginning of World War II.

This episode is a powerful reminder that behind every military campaign are families, sacrifices, and stories that deserve to be remembered.

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In Episode 633 of Influential Origins on hmTv, host Alan Mindel continues his compelling conversation with Jolanta Zamecka about the Katyń massacre and the decades of Soviet oppression that followed World War II.

Jolanta shares personal and family experiences of life under communism, when the truth about Katyń was forbidden, resistance fighters were persecuted, private property was restricted, and fear and propaganda shaped everyday life. The conversation examines how the Soviet Union weakened Poland’s military, intellectual, and civic leadership while imposing nearly half a century of political control.

Alan and Jolanta also explore Poland’s remarkable transformation after communism, the importance of a free press and open borders, and Poland’s powerful response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jolanta recounts helping organize a major demonstration in support of Ukraine and reflects on the responsibility each person has to stand against oppression.

This timely episode reveals how authoritarian governments manipulate history, control information, and silence opposition—and why those who have experienced tyranny often understand the value of freedom most deeply.

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In Episode 632 of Influential Origins on hmTv, host Alan Mindel welcomes longtime Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center leader Jolanta Zamecka for Part 1 of a powerful conversation about Poland’s history, World War II, and the long shadow of Soviet deception.

Jolanta reflects on her Polish heritage and explains how Poland disappeared from the map for 123 years, regained independence after World War I, and was invaded by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. The discussion examines the devastation suffered by Jewish and non-Jewish Polish citizens, the destruction of Warsaw, and the systematic targeting of Poland’s military, intellectual, and civic leadership.

Alan and Jolanta take a detailed look at the Katyń massacre, in which approximately 22,000 Polish officers and members of the intelligentsia were murdered by the Soviet secret police. They explore Stalin’s role, the decades-long effort to blame Nazi Germany, and the difficult decisions made by Western leaders who needed the Soviet Union as an ally.

This deeply historical episode reveals how propaganda can bury the truth, how political necessity can silence justice, and why the consequences of World War II continue to shape Poland and the world today.

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In Part 2 of this special conversation on The Israeli Bond, host Gal Swisa Cohen continues her discussion with her husband, Dagan Cohen, senior emissary for the Jewish Agency’s delegation on Long Island and Director of the Randy W. Molinsky Center for Israel at Sid Jacobson JCC.

As Dagan prepares to conclude his three-year mission, he reflects on what it truly means to serve as a shaliach and build a living bridge between Israel and the Jewish community. He shares how arriving just weeks before October 7 transformed his role, forcing him to choose between returning to Israel for reserve duty or remaining on Long Island to support, educate, and strengthen the community during an unprecedented crisis.

The conversation explores the creation of the Long Island Jewish Coalition, the expansion of the Israeli delegation, the importance of investing in people and relationships, and the development of lasting partnerships between Long Island and communities in Israel.

Dagan also discusses the lessons he will carry home, including his belief that shlichut is a two-way street. Just as Diaspora Jewish communities learn about and support Israel, Israelis must better understand their connection to Jewish life around the world.

This heartfelt episode is a reflection on leadership, responsibility, resilience, Jewish unity, and the people who transformed Long Island from an assignment into a second home.

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