Observe Holocaust Remembrance Day at North Jersey ceremonies set for this week and next

Deena Yellin, NorthJersey.com
Updated ·3 min read
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Events will be held Monday night and Tuesday in Israel and in Jewish communities around the globe to mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, which recalls the 6 million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust as well as the heroism of survivors and their rescuers.

Other events will be held in North Jersey this week and next.

What is Yom HaShoah?

Yom HaShoah marks the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising of 1943, when a band of Jewish resistance fighters in the largest Nazi ghetto during World War II managed to defy their well-armed Nazi opponents.

When German troops entered the ghetto in April 1943 in an attempt to deport its residents to concentration camps, the Jews fought back for a month before they were defeated by the Nazis. This month marks the 80th anniversary of that battle, which has become a powerful symbol of resistance.

Yom HaShoah has taken on a greater significance amid rising antisemitism and a growing ignorance of the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews during World War II.

According to a recent survey, "The State of Antisemitism in America 2022 | AJC", only 53% of people knew how many Jews were killed during the Holocaust and fewer than 40% realized that Adolf Hitler was democratically elected.

Jewish communities around the Garden State will mark Yom HaShoah this year with a variety of events, including lighting candles, hearing survivors' stories and musical performances. Here's a sampling of Yom HaShoah events in our area:

Yom HaShoah events in North Jersey

The Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County will host a community interfaith Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance program honoring the memories of those who perished during the Holocaust, on Monday, April 17, at 7 p.m. The theme for this year's program is "Songs of Hope and Resilience from the Holocaust: Inspiration for Cultural, Racial and Religious Respect." Tamara Reps Freeman, an educator and musician, will speak about and present songs composed by Jews and other persecuted people while they were interned in World War II ghettos and concentration camps. She will perform on a 1935 Joseph Bausch viola that was rescued from the Holocaust. The event will take place at the JCC in Edison.

The Holocaust Commemoration Committee of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Teaneck will hold an event on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Bergenfield High School featuring Abe Foxman, a hidden child survivor of the Holocaust from Poland and a leader in the fight against antisemitism. Foxman served as national director of the Anti-Defamation League for 28 years and then as vice chair of the board of trustees at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. The event will also feature performances by local musicians.

Temple Emanu-El of Westfield will recall the 6 million Jews with a ceremony Tuesday from morning through evening, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Participants will continually recite the names of the Holocaust victims in front of the synagogue during that time. People are invited to sign up for 15-minute increments to recite names or to stop by and reflect on the atrocities. The congregation will also dedicate a section of its new Torah scroll in memory of those who perished during the Holocaust.

The Community Relations Advisory Committee of Fair Lawn is holding a Community Holocaust Memorial Day Program on Sunday, April 23, at the Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library. The program, “Antisemitism Then and Now,” will address the Holocaust as well as the notable increase in antisemitism today. Featured speakers include Mayor Kurt Peluso, Holocaust educator Neil Garfinkle, Fair Lawn High School teachers who are involved in Holocaust education, and Rabbi Ronald Roth, the rabbi emeritus of the Fair Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation B'nai Israel.

Bergen County will celebrate Israel's Day of Remembrance and Independence Day on Wednesday, April 26, at 12:30 p.m. The ceremony will be held at the county Administration Building piazza at 1 Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack.

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

Twitter: @deenayellin

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Holocaust Remembrance Day events in NJ honor 6M victims, survivors