January 27, 2012 | 10:31 am

Jewish Identity, It’s Less Holocaust Centric

Posted by Pini Herman

Follow JewishJournal.com on

It’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day today, Jan. 27, 2012, 67 years after the liberation of Auschwitz. 

My read from over 220 responses of the survey attached to this blog is that the Holocaust is of the least interest of many Jewish topics to people.  While the survey may not be absolutely representative of the general and Jewish population specifically, as a random sample survey may be, I think its not far off.

While the theme “REMEMBER” or z’chor in Hebrew is the central theme of many Holocaust “remembrances” the theme of “Never Again” has become much more militantly popular as we grow more distant in time and memory from the actual events and the horrors.

What is the source of the Holocaust disinterest?  Is it a result of Holocaust fatigue or that the dissonance that the Holocaust evokes is something that many Jews and non-Jews want to avoid?  Is it just that historical phenomenon just fade from memory and so too will this Holocaust of World War II?

Please join us Today, Friday, Jan. 27 at noon sharp (its only scheduled for 15 minutes) at the corner of Robertson and Burton Way, or any other location on map for the Mapping Auschwitz border Flash Event being organized by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. My mom who shared her story of survival will be there.

Pini Herman, PhD. has served as Asst. Research Professor at the University of Southern California Dept. of Geography,  Adjunct Lecturer at the USC School of Social Work,  Research Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles following Bruce Phillips, PhD. in that position (I was recently notified that with 40,000 visitors this year the 15 year old study of the LA Jewish population was third most downloaded study from Berman Jewish Policy Archives in 2011) and is immediate past President of the Movable Minyan a lay-lead independent congregation in the 3rd Street area. Currently he is a principal of Phillips and Herman Demographic Research. To email Pini: pini00003@gmail.com To follow Pini on Twitter: Follow @pinih