A Holocaust survivor who was denied a speaking engagement at a public school in Brooklyn has now received an official invitation to address students at the school in February, city officials confirmed on Monday.
Sami Steigmann, 86, survived the Holocaust, but was rejected and silenced from speaking at MS 447 in Boerum Hill last month. But following public outcry, he will now visit the school on Feb. 5 to address students and tell his story of surviving a labor camp in Nazi Germany during World War ll.
Brooklyn Council Member Inna Vernikov said Steigmann was even offered additional speaking engagements as a result of the backlash.
“Sami Steigman, the Holocaust survivor who was rejected from speaking at MS 447 will now be speaking at MS 447 on Feb. 5,” Vernikov said. “Other speaking opportunities were offered to him as well.”
A spokesperson for NYC Public Schools confirmed the date.
Vernikov said she spoke to Steigmann, who said he is “extremely grateful” to those who advocated on his behalf.
“But he also wanted to stress that this is not about him and that he feels a sense of responsibility for all Holocaust survivors who are still alive and have incredible stories to tell,” the council member explained.
Steigmann’s supporters were shocked last month when Principal Arin Rusch denied a parent’s request to have the survivor speak to the students at the middle school.
Rusch responded to the request by saying Steigmann’s presentation would not be right for the school “given his messages around Israel and Palestine,” according to an article in The Times of Israel.
But Steigmann is a motivational speaker who has posted messages of hope and resilience, as well as history, on his website, samispeaks.com.
Following community outrage about the rejection, Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos immediately spoke with Steigmann about collaborating with the city’s public school system, the largest in the nation.
Steigmann’s supporters were pleased after learning he now has an official date to speak at the school.
Masha Pearl, executive director of The Blue Card, a nonprofit that helps Holocaust survivors, thanked the school for reversing course and hosting Steigmann.
“Holocaust survivors carry irreplaceable history, and students deserve the opportunity to hear directly from those who lived through humanity’s darkest chapter,” she said.
She added that The Blue Card “is committed to working with MS 447” to develop additional educational programs.
“Survivor testimony is education, not politics, and protecting these voices is essential at a time of rising antisemitism,” Pearl said.
Meanwhile, Verikov said she was thankful to school officials for “righting this wrong.”
“We will never stay silent in the face of antisemitism and discrimination,” she said.
