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YOUNGSTOWN -- The Jewish Community Relations Council will have its annual Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance) commemoration programs virtually Thursday and Sunday.
The 27th annual Community Holocaust Commemoration event will be 7 p.m. Thursday and the annual Shoah Memorial Ceremony will be at 4 p.m. Sunday.
"The continuous rise in antisemitism, racism, extremism, and hate crimes against the Asian and Pacific Islander communities demonstrates why studying and remembering the Holocaust are more important today than ever before," said Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, federation executive director for community relations / government affairs. "This mission continues to be at the top of the JCRC's agenda."
Both virtual programs are free. Visit jewishyoungstown.org to register.
Yom Hashoah is an internationally recognized day set aside for remembering all victims of the Holocaust and for reminding society of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred, and indifference reign. This year's local theme is "Torn From Home," a reflection on how the enforced loss of a safe place to call "home" is part of the trauma faced by victims of genocide and persecution, and the difficulties survivors face as they try to find new homes and build new lives.
The annual Community Holocaust event Thursday will include remarks by Federation Holocaust Educational Specialist Jesse McClain, the recognition of the winners of the JCRC's student Holocaust writing, art, and multimedia contest, and the presentation of a proclamation by Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, as well as memorial prayers and a candlelighting ceremony to honor the 6 million who perished.
The annual memorial ceremony on Sunday will feature a keynote presentation by Jacob Ari Labendz, the YSU Clayman Assistant Professor of Judaic and Holocaust Studies and the director of the YSU Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies.
Labendz will offer a reflection on the history and meaning of the local community's four Czech Torahs, which come from a collection of 1,546 scrolls saved from Nazi destruction and distributed around the world. Though torn from their original homes, they have found a second life in Youngstown as foils for sacred remembrance.
The program also will include video presentations, a candlelighting ceremony, and participation by children and grandchildren of survivors. Because there are few survivors left in the community who are able to share their stories firsthand, it is crucial that the second and third generations preserve their memories.
The Holocaust Commemoration and Education Task Force, a committee of the JCRC, is co-chaired by Rabbi Joseph Schonberger and Rochelle Miller, children of Holocaust Survivors, and is comprised of numerous children of survivors and other interested volunteers from the community. For more information, contact the JCRC at 330-746-3251.