[Archived] Alexandria Marks Remembrance of Holocaust with Ceremony on May 3

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2005
PIO 115-05/rdo

Alexandria Marks Remembrance of Holocaust with Ceremony on May 3

The City of Alexandria will observe the Days of Remembrance, in honor and memory of the victims of the Holocaust, with a ceremony at noon on Tuesday, May 3. The ceremony will take place at Market Square, in front of City Hall, 301 King St. The Days of Remembrance ceremony is hosted by the Alexandria City Council and is open to the public.

Arthur S. Berger, Director of Communications for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, will serve as this year’s guest speaker. Since November of 2000, Mr. Berger has directed the museum’s public and media relations, general publishing, and marketing activities. He represents the museum on the 20-nation Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research. Previous positions include: Vice President for Public Policy for the Weizmann Institute of Science’s American Committee; National Director of Public Relations and Communications at the American Jewish Committee; Spokesperson at the American Embassy in Israel and the State Department’s Bureau of Near East and South Asian Affairs; and a senior Foreign Service Officer.

Since 1988, the City of Alexandria has hosted this annual ceremony observing the Days of Remembrance of the Holocaust, which is 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.

This is the 18th consecutive year that the City has observed Yom Hashoah. This event acknowledges and reflects on the suffering of the more than six million Jews, Roma, and others who lost their lives during the Holocaust.

For more information on the City’s Yom Hashoah observance, call Janet Barnett of the City’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.838.4842.

# # #