Members of the Jewish community marched through the Quad yesterday for a “Walk to Remember” in honor of those lost during the Holocaust for Yom Hashoah, Hebrew for “day of remembrance.”
Approximately 20 people walked single file in silence, wearing all black. Some had signs on their chests and backs that read “Never Forget.“
At 11:30 a.m. the group gathered at the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) house on C Street in a circle to read a poem called “We Remember.” After a moment of silence and donning signs, they began to make their way to campus in silence.
“This is a significant Jewish event for Jews everywhere and it’s important for us to remember it so that this experience doesn’t repeat itself here or in any other nation,” said Louis Sachs, junior religions studies major and member of AEPi.
Leon Bernstein, a sophomore psychology and economics double major and Jewish identity chair for AEPi, helped organize the event, making it the second year running. Bernstein advertised through Facebook, and announcements at the Hillel House, and throughout the Jewish community.
“In this day and age there is still a lot of anti-Semitism that goes around the world and hate crimes, and it’s important to bring awareness to these issues,” Sachs said.
“As we move on to a new decade, there are less and less Holocaust survivors each year,“ said Tye Gregory, AEPi president and junior political science and economics double major. “It’s important that their grandchildren and family carry on their stories because soon there won’t be any left, it will only be in our memory.”
After the walk through the quad, the group headed back to the house on C Street, where they read a Kaddish – the traditional mourning prayer usually said at Jewish funerals.
Other events throughout the week in honor of Holocaust Remembrance week include a film about Simon Wiesenthal and a walk through exhibit looking at genocides from past to present tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Hillel House. There is also a Shabbat Dinner “Judaism from Survival to Revival: A celebration of Judaism and its resilience” on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the Hillel House. On Monday, two holocaust survivors shared their story at Hillel.
– Text and photo by ANGELA RUGGIERO
