[Archived] Alexandria’S Annual Observance Of The Days Of Remembrance Of The Victims Of The Holocaust

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

City of Alexandria, Virginia

Office of the City Manager
Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street, Suite 3500
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2001
CONTACT: Allan Labowitz, Chair of the Planning Committee, (703) 548-2723

ALEXANDRIA’S ANNUAL OBSERVANCE OF THE DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE
OF THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

For the fourteenth consecutive year, the City of Alexandria will observe the annual international Day of Remembrance, known as Yom Hashoa, for the victims of the Holocaust with a ceremony at noon on Tuesday, April 17, in Market Square in front of City Hall (301 King Street) in Alexandria. The main speaker will be Congressman James P. Moran, who, while Mayor of Alexandria, initiated the annual Day of Remembrance ceremony in 1988. This event is open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Vola Lawson Lobby on the first floor of City Hall (Cameron Street side).

The Day of Remembrance civic ceremony on April 17, is hosted by the Alexandria City Council and is part of the week long commemoration of the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust which this year occurs from Sunday, April 15 through Sunday April 22. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in accordance with its Congressional mandate (Public Law 96-388, 10/7/80), is leading the nation in the annual week-long Days of Remembrance commemoration.

Every year since 1988, the City of Alexandria has sponsored a Day of Remembrance, Yom Hashoah. Alexandria is the only local government in the Washington, D.C., area to sponsor such an event. This event is planned by a citizen committee comprised of local residents and City staff.

As part of the ceremony, Mayor Kerry J. Donley will deliver the City Council proclamation designating April 17 as the City’s Day of Remembrance, Yom Hashoah, and the week of April 15 through April 22 in Alexandria as Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust.

"We hold this event each year to recall what happened in the past to six million Jews and others as a reminder of what must never happen in the future," said Mayor Donley. "As the number of survivors becomes fewer and fewer, it is our responsibility to be sure that generations to come never forget."

During the event, the participants will light the candelabrum donated to the City by Holocaust survivor Charlene Schiff and her husband, Ed. The 54-inch-high solid brass candelabrum was presented to the City in memory of Charlene Schiff’s parents, sister, and six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.

"This will be the second year that we will use the candelabrum as part of our ceremony," Schiff said. "It is a reminder to each of us how we and future generations must do all that we can to prevent anything like this from ever happening again."

The Schiff Candelabrum remains under the care of the City’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities and is made available to schools and civic groups studying the Holocaust, as well as to the City’s annual observance of the Days of Remembrance.

Biographical Sketch
Congressman James P. Moran

Congressman James P. Moran was elected to his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2000, representing Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District. Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Congressman Moran was on the Alexandria City Council beginning in 1979, serving as Vice Mayor from 1982 to 1984, and Mayor from 1985 until January 2, 1991 when he resigned to take his seat in Congress. The Planning Committee, in arranging this year’s program, thought it most appropriate to invite Congressman Moran to be this year’s speaker, because of his role in establishing this tradition in 1988. Alexandria is still the only local government in the Washington, D.C., area to sponsor a civic ceremony coinciding with the national period of commemoration of Yom Hashoah.

Throughout his career, as a member of City Council and as a member of the U.S. Congress, he has been a tireless advocate for human rights, and believes strongly in justice and equality for all. He is a strong supporter of federal employees and women’s issues, has authored legislation to provide military retirees with greater access to health care and is well-known for his efforts to protect federal employees and military retiree benefits and the public health care system. He supports fair and open trade, fiscal discipline and high technology. He was named as one of two "High Technology Legislators of the Year," by the Information Technology Industry Council, and later in 2000, he was named to the "Legislative Hall of Fame" by the American Electronics Association for his work on technology issues.

Congressman Moran is currently a member of the House Appropriations Committee, where he serves on the Defense Subcommittee, the Interior Subcommittee, and as ranking Democrat on the District of Columbia Subcommittee. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee. At the beginning of the 107th Congress he was elected to serve as a Regional Whip.

Congressman Moran graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs with a master’s degree in Public Administration in 1970 after receiving a B.A. in economics from the College of the Holy Cross in 1967.

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