Standing inside a gas chamber, Natalie Francisco felt history — the darkest kind — come alive in a way no classroom lesson on the Holocaust could have.

Francisco, an 11th grader at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Harlem, told Jewish Insider that “witnessing Auschwitz-Birkenau, literally being inside a gas chamber, brought the horror of it all to me in a way that reading or studying history could not.”

“It was super emotional to think about the sheer inhumanity and the vast scale of it. I will carry the memories of the visit for the rest of my life,” she said.  

Fransciso was one of eight high school students who took part in the school’s inaugural six-day trip to Poland last month, which included visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the Plaszów Concentration Camp in Krakow and the Warsaw Ghetto.

Success Academy, a network of New York City charter schools primarily serving low-income families, designed the new program as a way to give students “a direct personal connection and opportunity to understand this singular event in history,” Eva Moskowitz, the organization’s CEO and founder, told JI. 

While the trip to Poland came as antisemitic incidents reached record-high levels in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel — and anti-Israel rhetoric has in particular surged dramatically in New York City K-12 schools, Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said the program wasn’t necessarily designed to combat the increase of antisemitism. 

“Even if there weren’t recent, horrific incidents of antisemitism, I would still want our students to understand [the Holocaust],” she said, adding that the trip was several years in the making, with logistics including obtaining passports for students, many of whom have never traveled outside of the U.S.

“At Success Academy, our students spend four years studying world history in middle school, and in high school students take both AP World History and AP European History,” continued Moskowitz. “Our curriculum is primary-source driven. But the ultimate primary source for the Holocaust is visiting an extermination camp.” 

Miguel Suriel, a student at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Manhattan, echoed that seeing the camps in person had a larger impact than learning about the Holocaust in class. 

“Nothing prepared me to witness where, and how, it took place. I am so grateful I got to see it with my own eyes. I will never forget it, and I am changed because of it.”

“It was the hair, the enormous piles of shoes, glasses and luggage that conveyed to me the 1.1 million people, mostly Jews but not exclusively so, that were deliberately and systematically murdered there,” said Suriel. 

Success Academy was founded by Moskowitz in 2006 to provide an alternative for students attending poor-performing New York City public schools. Nearly 90% of Success Academy’s 22,000 students are nonwhite, and 70% come from low-income families. Earlier this year, one of Success Academy’s schools was ranked as one of the top 10 public high schools across New York’s five boroughs, according to US News & World Report.

Ellie Miller, an AP U.S. history teacher at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Harlem, told JI that she could see from students’ faces “that this journey will leave a lasting impression, shaping their character and sense of moral responsibility.”

“While our students spend a significant time studying this singular event in the classroom, nothing compares to actually walking in the footsteps of this unimaginable history,” said Miller. 

Whether the trip will run again next year “is really a question of resources,” said Moskowitz. “I [think] it’s important to invest in our students’ understanding.” 

While funding only allowed for bringing eight students to Poland, those students presented their experiences to peers upon returning to New York. “We brought the entire high school community together to learn,” said Moskowitz.  

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, emphasized the importance of education as the critical tool to combat antisemitism during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

“Together with bipartisan support, we must educate the world to respect one another. Lofty goals, perhaps, but a lesson that I learned from the Grand Rabbi of Lubavitch, as well as from my grandparents and my parents, is to do my best to impact and make the world a better place,” Kaploun said. “We do this by building bridges through education and friendships and dialogue. We must learn from the past to protect and educate the living.”

“We must, educate, educate, educate about the history of the Jewish community in America and the Judeo-Christian values our country was founded on,” he continued. “I pledge to all of you here, I will not waver and I will not rest. I will commit to you to do my very best, if confirmed, to fight antisemitism everywhere and to make this world a better arena for God to dwell and spread his blessings upon us all.”

Kaploun also emphasized the importance of understanding the history of the Holocaust, describing the U.S. veterans who liberated Nazi death camps as men who “saw the worst of humanity” and became “the best advocates in the world” against antisemitism. He also said he urges people to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

“People don’t know the history, people don’t understand that we have to respect one another,” Kaploun said. “The problem is that people don’t want to listen to [WWII veterans] and hear their stories. … In America, we believe in freedom of expression and freedom of speech, but at the same time, we have to educate people as to what the facts truly are. … We’re missing that boat.”

Asked by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about President Donald Trump’s response to Tucker Carlson hosting neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes on his podcast — Trump said that Carlson has “said good things about me over the years” and that “people have to decide” how they feel about Fuentes — Kaploun emphasized freedom of speech, as well as the administration’s work to combat antisemitism.

“I think the president and the secretary of state have made it perfectly clear that any type of antisemitism [does not have] a place in America. … That’s something that guides the administration’s policy,” Kaploun said, adding that the administration’s policy is that “antisemitism is to be condemned everywhere.”

He said that antisemitism is a “global problem” that stems from “ignorance” and a lack of education.

“But freedom of speech is something that’s a right, and freedom of expression globally is an important part of what the administration’s policy is,” he continued.“You have a right to hate, but we have a right to explain and stand up and abhor everything that you say. I believe very strongly that we can condemn remarks whenever they need to be condemned and educate people.”

The friendly interview between Carlson and Fuentes has touched off a reckoning in conservative circles about antisemitism on the right, though the administration has largely stayed out of the fray on the issue.

Pressed on the line between criticism of Israel and antisemitism, Kaploun pointed to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which has been used by the State Department for years.

He said that anyone has a right to criticize Israel, but that when individuals single out Israel without offering criticisms of any other countries, that can cross the line into antisemitism.

In his opening statement, Kaploun detailed the ways that antisemitism has impacted him throughout his life: he heard shouts of “dirty Jew” while walking to synagogue as a child; he grew up during the Crown Heights riots, hearing cries of “kill the Jews” in the streets; and his sister died of 9/11 related cancer and his cousin was killed on Oct. 7 protecting her children who are now orphans.

He said he also had the opportunity to sit with former hostage Yarden Bibas, whose family was killed by terrorists in Gaza after being taken captive, the night before the funeral of Bibas’ wife and children.

“Yes, I have seen the worst that humanity can do. When asked to serve my country by our president in a role that I truly wished did not need to exist there was no hesitation,” Kaploun said. “I sit before you humbled by the opportunity to serve my country. It is a daunting task.”

Kaploun also emphasized that antisemitism is a “symbol of a larger hatred” and that “when a country starts allowing antisemitism, the results are not kind to that country.”

“That is why President Trump and Secretary Rubio have stated there can be no compromise with antisemitism,” he said. “Antisemitism is anti-American. Those who chant ‘death to the Jews’ all too often chant ‘death to America.’ We cannot allow anyone to teach children from infancy to kill and to be a martyr.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-chair of the Senate antisemitism task force and a member of the committee, told Jewish Insider in a statement, “I’ve worked closely with Special Envoys under both Republican and Democratic Administrations. Maintaining this bipartisan tradition will be critical to the success of this role. If confirmed, I look forward to working with Rabbi Kaploun to achieve our shared priorities.”

In a letter to the committee, the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center’s Nathan Diament and Isaac Pretter — while not directly endorsing Kaploun — emphasized the importance of filling the role quickly and noted Kaploun’s qualifications.

“As an easily identifiable member of the Jewish community, and longtime activist, Rabbi Kaploun is familiar with the issues facing Jews around the world,” the OU Advocacy leaders wrote. “As a member of the Orthodox community, we are familiar with Rabbi Kaploun and his commitment to combatting antisemitism.”

The also noted that he had “shown a willingness to cross the partisan divide” to issue a joint op-ed with predecessors Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt and Elan Carr in response to the Capital Jewish Museum shooting.

“In short, Rabbi Kaploun has proven an eager and capable ally in the fight against antisemitism,” Diament and Pretter said.

Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, urged the “swift confirmation of Rabbi Kaploun to help the United States continue to lead the fight against antisemitism across the globe,” in a post on X.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), a co-chair of the House Jewish Caucus, and 17 other House Democrats wrote to committee leaders in opposition to Kaploun’s nomination, calling it “partisan and controversial.” 

They criticized him for past comments accusing Democrats of failing to condemn the Oct. 7 attackers as terrorists or call out antisemitism, saying that the comments raise concerns about his “judgement, temperament” and capacity to work with Democrats, and that a vote to support him would be an endorsement of those sentiments and an insult to committee Democrats.

They also condemned him for failing to condemn antisemitic comments by Trump and members of his administration, and highlighted past reporting on a lawsuit relating to an alleged extramarital affair.

“Ultimately, Mr. Kaploun, when confronted by antisemitic rhetoric, did not speak out against it and himself engaged in speech that was deeply damaging to the Jewish community at a time of peak antisemitism,” the letter reads. “We must demand better.”

Other signatories to the letter included Jewish Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Becca Balint (D-VT) and Steve Cohen (D-TN), as well as Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Troy Carter (D-LA), Emily Randall (D-WA) and Joe Courtney (D-CT).

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, nominated to be deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, testified alongside Kaploun. She affirmed that the administration is committed to preventing the U.N. Relief and Works Agency from having any role in the future of Gaza.

“Other nations, other entities, NGOs know that this is something now, it is a new way forward, it is something they can work forward with,” she said, praising the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan, recently approved by the U.N. Security Council. “The World Food Program, other entities associated with the U.N. and other nations and their assistance will make the difference. We will pick up the difference of whatever UNRWA claimed that they were doing.”

She also highlighted concerns about UNRWA’s educational programs radicalizing young generations of Palestinians through antisemitic and anti-Israel school curricula and said these issues must end.

Bruce also committed to pursuing “bold reform” at the U.N. and pursuing an end to its anti-Israel bias.

When several hundred people gathered on Sunday evening at the French Embassy in Washington for the Capital Jewish Museum’s second annual gala, they did so in service of a simple theme: “preserving history and building bridges.”

That message was particularly resonant as the evening’s honorees and organizers paid tribute to a tragic moment in recent history that will be part of the story of Washington’s Jewish community forever: the murder of Israeli Embassy staffers Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky outside the museum in May.

“It was a horrific, brazen act of antisemitic violence, a wrenching reminder of the importance of what the museum does every day of its existence and the fact that it collects artifacts, but it is a living, breathing place for a viable Jewish community to go, and that’s what was happening that day,” CNN anchor Dana Bash, who emceed the gala, said at the start of the event, as she introduced a moment of silence for Milgrim and Lischinsky. 

The Capital Jewish Museum opened in downtown Washington in 2023 with a commitment to teaching the history of the District’s local Jewish community, in the context of the city’s unique role as a nexus for civic-minded Americans. Speakers throughout the evening, including Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, touted the diversity and warmth of Washington while taking not-so-subtle jabs at President Donald Trump’s recent takeover of the city’s police force. 

“You know that the real D.C. is 700,000 people that actually live here, go to work, raise their families and are tax-paying Americans,” Bowser said. “While we are diverse, we are also a connected city, and so we know in our honorees tonight that they have followed their faith [and] invested in their families, their city and their nation.” 

The Sunday evening gala honored the investor and philanthropist David Rubenstein and Esther Safran Foer, the former longtime CEO of Sixth & I Synagogue and the Capital Jewish Museum’s founding board president. The two were asked, in conversation with Bash, where each traces their love of history.

For Rubenstein, the co-founder of the private equity giant Carlyle, who has supported major American institutions like the National Archives and the Kennedy Center, the answer was a sixth grade teacher who encouraged him to watch President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, sparking a lifelong love of American history. He used historical reference points — immigration quotes from 1915 and the doomed voyage of the MS St. Louis, a European ship with Jewish refugees on board that was turned away by the U.S. — to bemoan antisemitism as “at a level I’ve never seen before in my lifetime.” 

Foer described a lifelong search for answers about her family’s story in Ukraine, which they fled after the Holocaust. She detailed that quest in her 2020 memoir, I Want You To Know We’re Still Here. 

“Pulling together the family history and the context of the history of the times has been kind of a lifelong obsession for me,” said Foer, who was born in Poland in a displaced persons camp soon after World War II ended. 

“My background is a Holocaust background, but when I wrote my book and I was working on the title, my working title was, ‘I Want You To Know We’re Still Here,’ and it ultimately became a title, because that’s our story. The Holocaust happened at a terrible time, a terrible place, but there’s a vibrant Jewish life here, in other countries. We need to celebrate that, and a museum is a way to celebrate that, to keep telling the stories.”