Richard E. Fertel, z”l, Emerging Scholars Prize and Lecture in Holocaust and Antisemitism Studies

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS) joins the entire Ramapo Community in expressing deep gratitude and thanks to Bonnie Bornstein Fertel for establishing an endowment in her husband’s memory.

Beginning in 2025-2026, the CHGS will award an annual prize in Richard’s name to an early career scholar in Holocaust and/or antisemitism studies, and will invite the recipient to share their insights and wisdom with our campus and regional communities.

Mrs. Bornstein Fertel’s gift reminds us of the wonderful and consequential things we can build and accomplish together.

Please visit this site in the late-spring/early-summer for information about how to submit a proposal for the prize and award.

Bonnie and Richard Fertel

Richard E. Fertel z”l (March 29, 1951 – October 22, 2022) was born and raised in the Bronx, where he, his brother, and parents lived in the same walk-up apartment building as his grandparents, Helen and Oscar. Oscar, who immigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire in 1904, had a profound influence on young Richard. He took him, eight-years-old at the time, to the opening of the Guggenheim Museum and to AT&T shareholder meetings; they worshiped together each week at the neighborhood Orthodox synagogue for the Sabbath. Richard’s family never discussed any relatives lost in the Holocaust but he understood what it meant when letters from family members in Europe ceased during the war, forever.

Bonnie Bornstein Fertel, Richard’s wife of fifty years, shared that her husband’s warmth and humor provided the foundation for many loving family tales. Richard and Bonnie married at the young age of twenty-one. In significant ways, they grew up together. Richard studied history and anthropology in college, reflecting his lifelong, insatiable hunger for knowledge and his particular interest in the Second World War. Bonnie recalls that Richard must have seen every Holocaust film multiple times. Richard, blessed with a flair for storytelling, shared what he learned and knew with Bonnie and their two daughters, Pamela and Jill.

To honor Richard’s lifelong interest in the history of the Holocaust and raising awareness about antisemitism, Bonnie has endowed an annual lecture and prize for emerging scholars working in the fields of Holocaust and antisemitism studies.