Each year, our community comes together to commemorate the Holocaust on the Jewish day of Yom HaShoah – the Day of the Shoah. We are so grateful to have a beautiful and meaningful Holocaust Memorial here in downtown Alexandria that allows us to remember those who were lost and to make a vow to “Never Forget.” This year, we will gather at the Holocaust Memorial downtown on Monday, April 28 at 6 pm for a brief memorial service. We will then walk over to the Chapel at Emmanuel Baptist Church for a memorial service and candle lighting that will begin at approximately 6:30 pm.
Participating in the service will be Dr. Chris Thacker, Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church; Rabbi Judy Ginsburgh, Rabbi at Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim; Mayor Jacques Roy; Jeffrey Nolen, pianist/organist at Emmanuel; the ASH Highs and Lows under the direction of Naomi Baker; the Pineville High Chamber Choir under the direction of Adrienne Perkins and members of the Jewish community.
Our esteemed guest speaker is Michael Berenbaum. Michael is a writer, lecturer, and teacher consulting in the conceptual development of museums and the historical development of films. He is the director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust and a Professor of Jewish Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. For three years, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. He was the Project Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, overseeing its creation, and later directed its Research Institute.
Berenbaum is the author and editor of twenty-two books, scores of scholarly articles and hundreds of journalistic pieces. In film, his work as Co-Producer of One Survivor Remembers: The Gerda Weissman Klein Story was recognized with an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and the Cable Ace Award. He was the historical consultant on The Shoah Foundation’s Documentary, The Last Days, which won an Academy Award for the best feature length documentary of 1998.
This event is free and open to the public. Rabbi Judy Ginsburgh, one of the planners of the event said, “Now, more than ever, we need to be supportive of one another promoting kindness and caring throughout our community.”
This event is sponsored by Alexandria Holocaust Memorial, Inc., Emmanuel Baptist Church, Gemiluth Chassodim (The Jewish Temple), B’nai Israel Traditional Synagogue, and Cenla United Jewish Communities.
We hope you will join us.