In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Combat Anti-Semitism, B’nai B’rith International, and the Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law (LDB) came together on Monday, January 25th to honor the late Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, who risked his career and defied the instructions of the Japanese government to rescue thousands of Jews during World War II. Known as “the Japanese Schindler,” Sugihara’s righteous acts helped save more than 6,000 Jews fleeing the Nazis during the Holocaust, and contributed to the survival of an estimated 40,000 descendants of the Sugihara survivors. The event began with a moving video, presented by Combat Anti-Semitism and B’nai B’rith, about Sugihara’s heroic efforts, while he was stationed as a diplomat in Kaunas, Lithuania, to help thousands of Jews seeking transit visas as they fled Eastward from the Nazis; Sugihara tirelessly wrote as many visas as he could for these desperate Jewish refugees, until the Japanese consulate was ultimately closed and he was forced to leave Lithuania. As his train departed, Sugihara threw visas out his window: “Please forgive me,” he said, “I cannot write anymore.” In 1984, Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, honored Sugihara with the title of “righteous among the nations.” Following the video, LDB advisory board member, Nathan Lewin, a Sugihara survivor, shared his own incredible, life-story. When Lewin was just 3 years old, he was “carried in the night through the forest” with his parents, maternal grandmother, and uncle to Lithuania. Once there, the Lewins were among the first Jewish refugees to obtain transit documents from Sugihara. During his remarks, Lewin shared the actual travel documents that Sugihara helped his family acquire. “It is both an honor and a blessing for me to be here today to share my admiration and thanks for an individual who embodied the role that our rabbis specified, saying you should not do a good deed with the expectation that you will be rewarded, but for the good deed itself. That is what Chiune Sugihara did.”. Alyza Lewin, Nathan Lewin’s daughter and President of LDB, followed her father’s remarks by sharing her personal perspective about the impact that Sugihara’s actions and legacy have had on her as the direct descendant of a Sugihara survivor. Lewin shared that “with the immense gratitude that each Sugihara survivor feels, comes a parallel sense of responsibility,” and that her family’s history thus inspires her dedication and commitment to her ongoing and tireless work at the Brandeis Center to fight today’s anti-Semitism. Following these moving presentations from the Lewins, the keynote speaker, Ambassador and Consul General of Japan in New York, Kanji Yamanouchi, praised Sugihara’s brave decision to follow his convictions, contrary to the instructions provided by the Japanese government not to provide visas to Jewish refugees. The Ambassador spoke about the everlasting importance of empathy and humanity in diplomatic actions across the United States, Israel, and Japan, and how Sugihara’s memory and legacy should inspire equality and compassion in diplomatic spheres. Kenneth Weinstein, CEO of the Hudson Institute and former United States Ambassador designate to Japan, spoke about Jewish, American, and Japanese relations in changing times. His inspiring words touched on the importance of building partnerships with Israel and many Asian countries, particularly given recent improvements in Israel-Japan relations. In addition, Ada Winstein, described her and her family’s story of survival, providing yet another moving and impactful reminder about the fateful role that Sugihara played in the lives of so many Jews, and the reverence that such survivors and their descendants have for the Japanese diplomat who protected so many from certain death. To conclude the presentation, Tokyo-born mural artist, Juuri, presented a mural she created in honor of Sugihara’s actions and legacy. The mural depicted Sugihara’s compassion and conviction, with bold colors and beautiful artwork surrounding his portrait. The mural even included direct text extracted from Nathan Lewin’s visa. Watch the event here. Listen here to LDB President, Alyza Lewin, discuss the impact of Sugihara’s legacy in the fight against anti-Semitism today on Alan Skorski’s “The Definitive Rap.” Nathan-Lewin Leidimas