Florida Holocaust Museum offers educational opportunities for lawyers
Among its many programs is 'Lawyers of Conscience, a non-political forum for discussions linking lessons from history and past atrocities with contemporary issues
Ben Diamond of St. Petersburg, from the left, Bar President Gary Lesser, Florida Holocaust Museum Chiar Michael Igel, and Board of Governors members Sandra Diamond and Joshua Chilson.
President Gary Lesser recently joined St. Petersburg attorneys Ben Diamond and Michael Igel and Florida Bar board members Sandra Diamond and Joshua Chilson for a tour of the Florida Holocaust Museum.
Igel, a Johnson Pope shareholder and head of its health-care practice group, chairs the museum’s board.
“It was as real honor,” Igel said. “Gary and I had great conversations about his family, and not only his passion for Holocaust education, but also the battle against antisemitism.”
Igel showed his guests family artifacts, including the original refugee agency letter notifying his uncle that his grandparents survived.
“We teach through individualized stories, so I wanted them to see what that feels like,” Igel said.
Much more than its rich trove of art and artifacts, the museum works with the Florida Department of Education to develop age-appropriate Holocaust curriculum.
Among its many programs is “Lawyers of Conscience,” a non-political forum for discussions linking lessons from history and past atrocities with contemporary issues. In 2018, The program became an approved CLE provider for lawyers and CJE provider for judges. A long list of distinguished presenters includes 102-year-old Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg trial prosecutor.
On February 27, Stetson Law School Professor Jason S. Palmer will present “Moral and Ethical Implications for Holocaust Reparations – In re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation and the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland.” The seminar has been approved for CLE for Ethics, Civil Trial Law, International Law, and International Litigation Arbitration.
In addition to honoring the memory of the millions of Holocaust victims, the museum is dedicated “to teaching members of all races and cultures to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides.”
