The Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission has continued to shed light on Holocaust and genocide education while combating antisemitism across Texas.
We are preparing for a new grant cycle and working with non-profit organizations throughout the state to match our available dollars with specific needs for projects and programming.
Our Friends of the THGAAC remain active in raising private dollars to complement our grant work. We recently hosted a meeting coordinated by Commissioner Adam Blum in Austin and are planning to make new appointments and hold new parlor meetings across Texas in addition to the work we have initiated in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
We are working to implement our recommendations from our Study on Antisemitism presented to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, and all legislators in November. These include adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism in all public schools from kindergarten through college, an anti-masking bill to unveil antisemites, and working with Jewish Federations and other groups to secure security grants for religious institutions. We have developed significant relationships with leaders in state government to help us reach our goals.
Two new initiatives are moving forward. Our 1525 Club (students and young adults from 15-25 years of age) is planning a kickoff event with Alan Dershowitz and Lizzy Savetsky in hope of attracting 1,000 Texans on a statewide zoom call. Additionally, our Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) steering committee is gathering a few Texas Jewish stories to distribute in May. We have a proclamation from Governor Abbott recognizing May as JAHM in Texas.
We continue to monitor antisemitic incidents in Texas as we pass on details to appropriate authorities so action can be taken to stop this hatred in its tracks.
Our outstanding professionals and speakers’ bureau have been crisscrossing the state educating Texans on Holocaust, genocide, and antisemitism.
And we are grateful to you, our valued partners for taking the time to follow our progress in taking the lessons of The Holocaust and other genocides to combat antisemitism in our great state.
Ken Goldberg
Chair, Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission
Kenneth.Goldberg@thgaac.texas.gov
THGAAC Vice Chair Sandra Parker’s testimony on March 6 at the Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee Meeting.
|
The THGAAC has just opened a new grant cycle! We are currently accepting letters of intent for our 2025 Education Grant and will begin accepting full applications on March 31. All nonprofit organizations headquartered in the state of Texas are eligible to apply. These grants will cover projects that take place any time between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2027. For more information, visit our website or contact Grants Specialist Cheyanne Perkins at (512) 463-5674 or cheyanne.perkins@thgaac.texas.gov.
Pictured above: Previous grant recipient ArmeniaFest 2023 in Carrolton, Texas at St. Sarkis Church.
 |
On January 27, 2025, Governor Abbott issued a proclamation recognizing the 6th annual Holocaust Remembrance Week in Texas. Holocaust Remembrance Week (HRW) was held January 27 – January 31, 2025. Holocaust Remembrance Week (HRW) was enacted by the Texas Legislature to educate students about the Holocaust, inspire in students a sense of responsibility to recognize and uphold human value, and to help prevent future atrocities. The THGAAC offers a variety of resources to educators during HRW (and all year), including lesson plans, audiovisual resources, and speaker presentations.
A busy Holocaust Remembrance Week was held January 27- January 31, 025 for the THGAAC and our partners. Following implementation of the Holocaust Remembrance Week Survey in 2024, we saw a surge of connectivity across the state. Teachers utilized approved resources from our website to provide quality Holocaust instruction during the week, and we saw more than a 40% increase in speaker requests between HRW this year and last. To meet the increased demand for speakers, we partnered with the four Holocaust museums across the state, referring 41% of requests received to area museums. Collectively, the museums reported reaching over 30,000 Texas students through a variety of programming. We also sent additional THGAAC staff out into the field and utilized THGAAC volunteers, fulfilling 39% of speaker requests in-house and reaching over 2,700 students.
The THGAAC expanded our partnerships with educational organizations, working with the Texas Association of Rural Schools and Education Service Center professionals to broaden our impact in rural and urban communities. Due to the high demand for Holocaust education during this time, Holocaust Remembrance Week programming extended well past the allotted week, with many events still ongoing.
 |
|
State Coordinator of Education Dr. J.E. Wolfson spoke to Rockwall-Heath High School on February 5. He's pictured with Rockwall ISD educators.
Pictured L to R: Christy Barr (Library Assistant), Lauren Craft (HS Teacher), Dr. J.E. Wolfson, Tenille Miller (Children's Librarian, Rockwall County Library), Gennie Holcomb (Social Studies Department Instructional Coach)
|
January 27, 2025, was International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. Governor Abbott honored the millions of people killed during the Holocaust by lighting the Governor’s Mansion in yellow. The Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives both issued resolutions commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, with Senator Phil King and Representative Giovanni Capriglione leading these efforts. Throughout the state, proclamations and commemorations were coordinated with City Councils in multiple cities in Texas, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
 |
The newly formed Steering Committee for the 1525 Club met via Zoom on January 22. This initiative seeks to engage students across Texas who are 15-25 to provide resources and fill in gaps related to fighting antisemitism. Pictured are Jade Steinberg from University of Texas at Dallas, THGAAC Executive Director Joy Nathan, Nir Maor from University of Texas at Dallas, Joshua Strauss from Southern Methodist University, Naomi Nathan from Early College High School, Lauren Clark from Texas A&M, THGAAC Chair Ken Goldberg, Ethan Karlovsky from Rice, THGAAC Commissioner Adam Blum, Levi Fox from University of Texas Austin, Carol Silverberg from Austin who is leading the Jewish American Heritage Month effort, and Lizzy Savetsky who is a pro-Israel Social Media influencer.
 |
TARS Executive Director Randy Willis, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Claudia Loewenstein Second-Generation Holocaust Speaker, and THGAAC Executive Director Joy Nathan at the TAMS & TARS 2024 Legislative Conference in Georgetown, Texas.
Governor Abbott’s remarks at the Hanukkah party at the Governor’s Mansion.
Sherry Goldberg, Board Chair-Elect for the Dallas Federation; Rabbi Avi Pekier, Head of School for Torah Day School; Mark Jacobs, Second-Generation Speaker; and THGAAC Commissioner and City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn led a program at Torah Day School in honor of Holocaust Remembrance.
Vice Chair Sandra Parker and THGAAC Executive Director Joy Nathan traveled to Texas A&M International University in Laredo on January 15-16 and met with university leadership to explore partnership opportunities and proactively bring programming and resources to this campus.
|
Pictured above: Maria Calderon-Porter, VP of Global Initiatives; THGAAC Vice Chair Sandra Parker; Juan Castillo, Interim President; Rosanne Palacios, VP of International Advancement; Trevor Liddle, Chief of Staff; and THGAAC Executive Director Joy Nathan
|
 The THGAAC March Quarterly meeting was held in Austin. The invited speakers were Vincent Luciano, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director- Central Texas Region; Randy Willis, Executive Director of the Texas Association of Rural Schools (TARS); and Claudia Loewenstein, second-generation Holocaust speaker.
Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) in May recognizes Jewish contributions to American culture, history, military, science, government, and more. In 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed May as Jewish American Heritage Month. This was a result of a concerted effort by American Jewish leaders to introduce resolutions in both the U.S. Senate and the House urging the President to proclaim a month specifically recognizing Jews in America and their contributions to the United States.
Governor Greg Abbott has issued a proclamation (pictured above) celebrating May as Jewish American Heritage Month.
The THGAAC issued the second Study on Antisemitism to the 2025 Texas Legislature. Included in the report was a recommendation to expand the state’s commemoration of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) each May to include formal programming at the Capitol and to provide educational resources for schools to incorporate into their teaching.
The THGAAC has formed a Steering Committee, led by Carol Silverberg from Austin. The committee is working to expand JAHM in Texas by sharing stories of the Jewish community’s contributions, heritage, and history in Texas. The goal in year one is to raise awareness of JAHM by engaging a cross-section of organizations already doing this work and coordinating their efforts and programming in May under the umbrella of JAHM.
 |
On March 3, a Friends of the THGAAC community parlor meeting was held with close to 40 emerging community leaders in attendance. During the meeting, THGAAC Commissioner Adam Blum and THGAAC Executive Director Joy Nathan explained the origin of THGAAC, the commission’s uniqueness, and the motives behind the agency’s establishment by Governor Abbott. They highlighted the THGAAC’s legislative responsibilities, partner organizations, and statewide reach. Friends of the THGAAC Executive Director Scott Kammerman emphasized the function of Friends and its important role in securing supplemental funding for the Commission based on its recommendations. He also highlighted Friends’ charge of helping the THGAAC explain the dangers of antisemitism across the Lone Star State, as no other local organization can undertake this herculean task across such a broad geographical area.
Thanks to the generosity of The Moody Foundation, Friends was able to embark upon a pilot program with the University of Texas system in finding unique ways to combat the unfathomable spike in antisemitism on college campuses following the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel. After interviewing a number of potential partner organizations, Friends selected four outstanding institutions with whom to work based on specific goals the THGAAC believed needed to be achieved. The four campus partner organizations included: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, who engaged their student body about Holocaust education while partnering with Holocaust Museums in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Washington D.C.; Texas Hillel at The University of Texas at Austin & UT Hillel San Antonio, which established a fellowship program, an Israel Block Party on UT Austin’s South Campus, and a special evening featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett; The Chabad Jewish Center at UT, which oversaw educational programs and initiatives in a number of arenas including non-Jewish Greek life; and Olami Texas which initiated campus ally programs with groups such as Christians United for Israel (CUFI).
 Top left: Texas Hillel students with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at his address on the UT campus. Top right: UT Rio Grande Valley Students visiting United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem in Washington, D.C. Bottom Left: Rabbi Zev Johnson and Chabad UT students with Greek Leaders at UT Austin. Bottom Right: Rabbi Moshe Trepp and Olami Texas at CUFI’s “Night To Honor Israel” in San Antonio.
In the coming months and later this year, high-end fundraising events with major state leaders have been preliminarily planned to take place in Austin and Houston. These events will feature a VIP anchor speaker along with representatives from rural communities in remote areas across Texas that are now teaching about the Holocaust and antisemitism thanks to the guidance and tutelage of the THGAAC.
Friends is also working on a number of unique opportunities that will allow Texans to invest in mobile educational vehicles to canvas Texas’ more remote locations and facilitate the advancement of education as it pertains to antisemitism, Holocaust remembrance, and genocide awareness.
To Support the Work of the Texas Holocaust, Genocide & Antisemitism Advisory Commission with a Tax-Deductible gift through Friends of the THGAAC, please
|
