It’s an alarming sense of déjà vu!
At 96, a Holocaust survivor now feels compelled to conceal his Star of David necklace due to the unsettling rise in antisemitism in New York City. During a poignant address, he admonished Democrats with a stark reminder of the historical roots of anti-Jewish sentiment.
Jerry Wartski voiced his concerns that members of the Democratic Party and the left-leaning Democratic Socialists of America have allowed antisemitic ideologies to infiltrate their ranks. This disturbing trend has left the Jewish community feeling threatened on the city streets, reminiscent of the ominous atmosphere in Europe during the ascent of the Third Reich.
“You must remain vigilant about the current situation,” Wartski shared with The Post in a candid interview. “I now discreetly tuck my Star of David under my shirt when I step out.”
“It’s a recurring nightmare,” reflected Wartski, who tragically lost his parents in the concentration camps during the Holocaust’s horrific genocide of Jews. “I button up my shirt to keep it hidden. Is this truly the ‘Land of the Free, Home of the Brave?’
Wartski said he’s been growing uneasy over what he feels is a tangible change in New York and the US, which were once safe havens for Jews who fled the Nazis and oppression in other countries.
Now, Jews could face hostility here or abroad, he added.
“If you run away from New York, you run away from the United States. There’s nowhere else to go,” he said. “Europe is corroded.”
Poland-born Wartski and an older brother survived the Nazi wipeout of two ghettos — his hometown Ozorkow and Lodz — before his family was shipped to Auschwitz, where his mother was gassed to death when he was still a child, he said.
Later, he was relocated to Nordhausen concentration camp in Germany, where his father died just before the American liberation.
Today, he has grown disillusioned with the Democratic Party because it appears to be succumbing to anti-Jewish rhetoric under what he said is a coalition of socialists, communists and radical Islamists.
Wartski blasted democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a staunch pro-Palestinian activist and outspoken critic of Israel, as part of the problem.
“Mamdani is definitely an antisemite — a big one. He doesn’t hide it.” Watski said. “I didn’t vote for him.”
Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, backs the controversial boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel, which some view as antisemitic.
Wartski backs President Trump, saying he’s fighting the good fight against the radical Islamists in Iran and supports Republican Bruce Blakeman for governor.
During a Post interview in 2024, he criticized Democrat Kamala Harris for likening Trump to Hitler.
The Holocaust survivor said despite his worries about the state of the city today, he’s lived a good life in New York, running his own sweater-knitting business before launching a career in real estate.
“I was lucky during the war. I was lucky in business. I survived,” he said.