New York’s Hampton Synagogue last Sunday unveiled a new Holocaust memorial created by world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Installed outside Jack’s House, the synagogue’s children’s center, the memorial serves as a reminder that 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered during the Holocaust. This is Chihuly’s first Holocaust memorial sculpture, and it is also the only children’s Holocaust memorial in the Hamptons.
Titled For the Children, it is a luminous 25-foot-tall tower composed of hundreds of unique hand-blown glass pieces, in which blends of color and form represent innocence (white) and fire (shades of red, orange, and yellow). The plinth of the sculpture is composed of wood from railroad ties, symbolizing the transportation of children to concentration camps.
The installation continues a four-year collaboration between Chihuly and Hampton Synagogue founder and leader Rabbi Marc Schneier, continuing a creative partnership that began with Hampton Fiori (2022), the Hampton Eternal Light Chandelier (2022), and the Temple Menorah Sconce (2022).
Among Chihuly’s many major exhibitions was Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem from 1999 to 2000, which included two sculptures over 40 feet in height, located in the Tower of David citadel. More than one million visitors experienced the extraordinary works of glass, ice, and light that honored Izzika Gaon, a longtime curator at the Israel Museum.
On the day after the unveiling of the children’s memorial, Yaakov Katz, the former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, who is on a book launch tour in the US, was the guest of honor at a breakfast meeting at the Hampton Synagogue, where, in conversation with Rabbi Schneier, he discussed his latest book, While Israel Slept, and subjects related to what is happening in Gaza.
Rising number of attacks against synagogues, Jewish institutions
OVER THE past few years, Jewish media outlets around the world have reported on rising numbers of attacks against synagogues and Jewish institutions.
Synagogues are not the only houses of worship under attack.
Jackson Lahmeyer, a Christian pastor and political activist, in an interview with Fox News, reported that churches in America are increasingly under attack. “Right now, there is a major escalation of attacks upon churches in the United States of America,” he said.
Quoting the Family Research Council, Lahmeyer noted an astounding statistic. Since 2018, there has been an increase of over 700% in the number of attacks on churches. In 2018, there were 50 reported attacks on churches (fewer than 1 per week). In 2024, there were 415 reported attacks on churches (more than 1 per day), and the attacks continued throughout 2025.
Every nation, community, organization, and institution is more concerned with itself than with external events that do not affect it. While some attacks on synagogues and churches have made international headline news because they involved shootings in which there were fatalities or arsons in which people were seriously injured, there is little knowledge about whether the houses of worship of people of other faiths have also been under attack.
Such attacks could be attributed to people who are mentally unstable, an increasing rebellion against religious decrees and practices, or Muslim radicals to whom infidels of all faiths other than Islam are the enemy.
The whole question of attacks on houses of worship demands more in-depth investigation.
Sports bringing people together
FOR DECADES now, churches have been advocating that the family that prays together stays together. But what about secular communities? One of the means of getting rid of negative bias in such communities is sport.
One example is the Freddie Krivine Initiative, where Arab and Jewish children meet, learn the game of tennis, play together, and form lasting friendships, as do their parents, who often accompany them, especially during tournaments. Tennis is not particularly well known in Arab communities, but it is gradually becoming more popular and, in its own way, is a tool toward peace.
Arab and Jewish instructors and other staff working side by side provide an example of cooperation and friendship. Some of the Arab children come from low-income families and cannot afford tennis rackets and club t-shirts. This is where philanthropically and peace-minded individuals who do not have very large financial resources can help children from Jisr and Fureidis.
A tennis racket is a relatively inexpensive gift. It’s amazing what can happen when children play sports together, talk to each other, laugh with each other, and even argue with each other.
Jane Krivine, the daughter of the late Freddie Krivine, whose initiative has empowered many Arab children and fostered understanding between Arab and Jewish children, tells of Mohamed Rashwan, who first joined the program when he was eight years old. Today, he is the head coach and is helping the next generation progress.
Excellence at the Hebrew University
TWO OUTSTANDING Hebrew University researchers have been awarded the prestigious European Research Council Starting Grants for 2025. The grants, valued between €1.5 million and 1.7 million, support promising early-career researchers in launching independent projects that push the frontiers of scientific knowledge. The new recipients join a long list of Hebrew University researchers who have received these grants in recent years.
The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organization for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age to run projects, and it offers four core grant schemes: starting grants, consolidator grants, advanced grants, and synergy grants. Along with its additional proof of concept grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees bridge the gap between their pioneering research and the early phases of its commercialization.
The current Hebrew University grant recipients are Dr. Anat Arzi and Dr. Ariel Goldstein.
Arzi, from the Department of Medical Neurobiology and the Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences at HU’s Faculty of Medicine, heads the Natural and Pathological (un)Consciousness Laboratory. She has received an ERC grant for her research on the dynamics of brain activity that underlie responsiveness across changing states of consciousness, ranging from everyday sleep to severe brain injury.
Her research investigates how sensory signals, such as smells and sounds, influence the unconscious brain and how subtle traces of responsiveness can be detected in patients who appear unresponsive. By identifying the local brain rhythms associated with fleeting moments of responsiveness, the study seeks to advance our understanding of transitions between unconscious and conscious states, with significant implications for both basic neuroscience and clinical care.
Goldstein, from the Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Department of Data Science at HU’s Business School, received an ERC grant of €1.5m. for his innovative research proposal on the neural basis of language generation during natural communication.
His study explores how the human brain plans speech, selects words, and creates meaningful communication during conversation. To do this, Goldstein will combine advanced brain activity recording technologies with AI-based models. The insights from his research are expected to deepen our understanding of cognitive processes, contribute to the study of language disorders, and even influence the development of intelligent communication interfaces in the future.
ERC recipients are selected from among thousands of candidates based on proposals that demonstrate innovation, originality, and significant scientific potential. The success of Hebrew University researchers is a testament to the university’s research excellence and academic leadership on the international stage.
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