Lynbrook board accepts donation of Holocaust classroom sets, passes resolution

Lynbrook Union Free School District trustees voted to accept a donation of classroom sets of Holocaust remembrance books from the Never Again Committee and Beth David, a donation the board valued at approximately $2,500.

The books, presented at the February meeting, include a memorial label inside the cover for each title naming a child killed in the Holocaust. “Each book has a label in loving memory of a child that was killed during the Holocaust,” said Herb Friend, a first-generation Holocaust survivor who spoke at the meeting. “It has their name, where they were born, how old they were, and where they were killed.”

The donation was presented by members of the Never Again Committee and local synagogue representatives; the board moved a formal resolution to accept the gift during the meeting. The resolution (25.02 GS2) was called for by a board member, seconded, and recorded as passed. Board members thanked the donors and acknowledged the potential for the class sets to deepen students’ understanding of history and to reduce hate and bigotry.

The board’s acceptance will allow textbooks to be distributed to middle- and high-school classrooms to support Holocaust remembrance programming and curricular use. No implementation timetable or specific classrooms for the sets was specified during the presentation.

The donor, Herb Friend, described his family history and the committee’s goals in remarks to trustees, linking the educational aim to preventing future hate. “Holocaust education can make a profound effect on teenagers, significantly reducing the tendency to harbor hate, bigotry, antisemitism,” Friend said.

The board recorded the acceptance on the meeting record under resolution 25.02 GS2 and closed that portion of the agenda before moving to retirement recognitions.