Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center to Honor Holocaust Survivors and Family
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) will hold their Annual Benefit on Thursday evening, October 30th starting at 6:30pm at Harrison Meadows Country Club in Harrison, New York. HHREC will honor Holocaust Survivors Jerry and Ellen Kaidanow, their son Joseph and his wife Ellen Kaidanow, and feature keynote speaker David Harris.
Jerry Kaidanow was born in 1933 in Krivitchi, Poland (now Belarus). In April 1942, his parents, Eliahu and Sarah, were murdered by the Nazis. Together with his older brother, Howard, he fled to their aunt’s family and survived by hiding in the Naroch Forest for two years until liberation. After immigrating to the United States in 1947, he attended Roosevelt High School. In 1952, he married Ellen, also a Holocaust survivor. Jerry later served in the U.S. Army and built a successful career, first owning bakeries and Carvel Ice Cream franchises, and ultimately becoming an accomplished commercial realtor.
Ellen Kaidanow was born Shifra Leviatin in Dubno, Poland (now Ukraine), in 1936. In 1942, her immediate family and many relatives were killed during the liquidation of the Dubno Ghetto. She survived thanks to the extraordinary courage of her family’s housekeeper and nanny, Lena Dudzinsky, who rescued her, hid her, and ultimately presented her as her own illegitimate daughter. After the war, Ellen immigrated to the United States, attended Taft High School, and eventually met her husband, Jerry.
Joseph Kaidanow is an attorney, entrepreneur, investor, and senior operating officer in a variety of businesses. He is a Principal of Arkaid LLC, which invests in, manages, and provides consulting services for commercial and residential real estate. For the past 16 years, he has served on the HHREC Board of Directors, including three years as Chairperson. Joseph and his family have been active members of the Jewish Community Center of Harrison for three decades, where he has contributed to the Yom HaShoah Committee for 18 years and also participated in Afghan Relocation initiatives.
Ellen Kaidanow has been a member of HHREC’s 2nd & 3rd Generation Speakers Bureau since 2017. She shares the miraculous Holocaust survival story of her mother-in-law—also named Ellen Kaidanow—highlighting the lessons it offers to students and audiences throughout the Tri-State Area. She also facilitates a workshop called Safekeeping Stories, helping others write and preserve their family Holocaust narratives or other meaningful family stories. Ellen previously worked in commercial real estate and executive recruiting before devoting herself to community organizing and volunteer work in her children’s schools. For the past 20 years, she has also volunteered with her synagogue, JCCA’s Pleasantville Cottage School, and UJA.
David Harris, Executive Vice Chair, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, served asCEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) from 1990 to 2022. The son of Holocaust survivors, he is recognized as one of the most influential Jewish leaders of his time. Dubbed “the foreign minister of the Jewish people” by Shimon Peres, he played a central role in rescuing Ethiopian and Soviet Jewry, expanding Israel’s diplomatic ties, preserving Holocaust memory, fostering interfaith dialogue, and combating global antisemitism. Harris also supported democratic transitions in Eastern Europe, advocated for NATO expansion, and explored relations with Arab and Muslim communities. A prolific author and commentator, he holds four honorary doctorates and studied at the University of Pennsylvania and LSE, with appointments at Johns Hopkins and Oxford.
To register for this event, or for more information visit hhrecny.org email benefit@hhrecny.org or call 914.696.0738.
About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in White Plains New York that serves schools, synagogues, colleges, churches and civic centers in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley area. The HHREC Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. HHREC works with teachers and students to help schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, the HHREC has brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations to more than 3,000 teachers, and through them to thousands of students. HHREC has earned a 92% rating by Charity Navigator. For more information visit www.hhrecny.org call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org