[Archived] City of Alexandria to Mark Remembrance of Holocaust with Ceremony

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 to Mark Remembrance of Holocaust with Ceremony

The City of Alexandria will observe the Days of Remembrance, in honor and memory of the victims of the Holocaust, with a ceremony at 12 noon on Monday, April 8. The ceremony will take place in Market Square, in front of City Hall, 301 King St. The principal speaker will be Rabbi Arnold Fink of Alexandria’s Beth El Hebrew Congregation. The Days of Remembrance ceremony is hosted by the Alexandria City Council and is open to the public.

Since 1988, the City of Alexandria has hosted this annual ceremony observing the Days of Remembrance of the Holocaust, known internationally as Yom Hashoah. The Alexandria event, which is planned by a committee of residents and City staff, is the only community government sponsored commemoration of Yom Hashoah in the Washington metropolitan area.

Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley will deliver a City Council proclamation designating the week of April 7 though 14 in Alexandria as the Days of Remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has designated “Memories of Courage” as the theme for 2002 Days of Remembrance observances in honor of those who took a stand against Nazi barbarism.

“This is the 15th consecutive year that the City has come together to observe Yom Hashoah,” said Mayor Donley. “It is an important opportunity for our community to come together to acknowledge and reflect on the suffering of the more than six million Jews, Roma, and others who perished during the Holocaust.”

“Now, more than ever, we must be mindful of the scourge of intolerance, hatred and inhumanity in our world,” noted Donley. “We must learn from the lessons of the past in our effort to make our community and our world a better place. It is this spirit of remembrance and progress that brings us together.”

For the third year, the centerpiece of the Yom Hashoah ceremony will be an electric candelabrum, specially crafted for the event and donated by City resident and Holocaust survivor Charlene Schiff and her husband, Ed. The 54-inch tall, solid brass candelabrum was presented to the City in 2000 in memory of Charlene Schiff’s parents, sister and the millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.

“I donated the candelabrum to thank the City of Alexandria for its kindness towards Holocaust survivors,” said Schiff. “It is a legacy for the future when there are no more survivors left. It will silently and majestically tell our tale when we are gone.”

Charlene Schiff will also speak at the ceremony on “Memories of the Holocaust,” and will be introduced by Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation. Sharon Steinberg, a cantoral soloist, will sing “El Malei Rachamim” a memorial prayer, as part of the event. The observance will also include words from Elbert Ransom, special assistant to the City Manager for human relations, Ruth Griefer, city resident and survivor of the Holocaust, as well as Alexandria residents Louis Barnett and Suzanna Labowitz, sixth and seventh grade students, respectively, from Gesher Jewish Day School.

For more information about the City’s Yom Hashoah observance contact Janet Barnett with the Alexandria Department of Recreation and Cultural Activities, 703.838.4842.

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