Yom Hashoah commemorations
This year, Yom Hashoah falls on Sunday, April 7. There are many community observances. Here is a list, correct as of press time, showing the various offerings.
Friday April 5
Shabbat in Closter: Temple Beth El offers services commemorating Yom Hashoah at 7:30 p.m. Survivors and children of survivors help light yahrzeit candles in memory of the Six Million. 221 Schraalenburgh Road. Information, (201) 768-5112.
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Shabbat in Parsippany: Award-winning investigative journalist Edwin Black gives the annual Joseph Gotthelf Holocaust Memorial lecture during services at Temple Beth Am at 7:30 p.m. His latest book, “The Farhud: Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust,” documents how the Mufti of Jerusalem worked with the Nazis. 879 Beverwyck Road. Information, (973) 887-0046.
Sunday April 7
Yom Hashoah in Teaneck: Congregation Beth Sholom’s annual Morgenstern and Melamed program features Jewish Standard film critic Dr. Eric Goldman discussing “Reflecting and Affecting Memory: Cinema as Haggadah for the Holocaust,” 11 a.m. He will incorporate film clips and explore how cinema reflects memories and experiences of the Holocaust as well as how it affects and shapes our understanding of the Shoah. His new book, “The American Jewish Experience through Cinema,” will be published this month. Light refreshments. 354 Maitland Ave. Information, (201) 833-2620.
Yom Hashoah in Manhattan: The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization (WAGRO), and the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants sponsor the Annual Gathering of Remembrance at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York at 2 p.m. The gathering is in association with the Anti-Defamation League, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, the Council of Young Jewish Presidents, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the Jewish Labor Committee, the New York Board of Rabbis, UJA-Federation of New York, and Young Friends of the Museum. Fifth Avenue and 65th Street. Information, (646) 437-4202 or www.mjhnyc.org.
Yom Hashoah in Paramus: The Holocaust Memorial Committee of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey offers “Yizkor – Remembrance Service for the 6,000,000 Jewish Martyrs” at the Jewish Community Center of Paramus. After a photo exhibit that opens at 3 p.m., Stuart Rabner, chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court (and originally from Passaic), will give the keynote address at 3:30; later, he will give the Second Generation response. This year, the six honorees who will represent the Six Million are Rose Lazarus of Paramus, Stella Rabner of Passaic, Sarah Weiner of Fort Lee, Jacob Pollack of Fair Lawn, David Friedman of Wayne, and Milton Yudkowitz of Clifton. (Stella Rabner is Stuart Rabner’s mother and Sarah Weiner is his mother-in-law.) The Holocaust Memorial Committee is sponsored by Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. East 304 Midland Ave. Information, Dr. Wallace Greene, (201) 873-3263, or JCC of Paramus, (201) 262-7691.
Yom Hashoah in Jersey City: Congregation B’nai Jacob hosts a community-wide observance with Temple Beth-El of Jersey City and United Synagogue of Hoboken, 3 p.m. Ruth Ravina, a Holocaust survivor and wife of the late New York Philharmonic violinist Oscar Ravina, will speak. 176 West Side Ave. Information, (201) 435-5725 or www.bnaijacobjc.org.
Yom Hashoah in Englewood: Congregation Ahavath Torah offers a community program, “Remembering Those Who Fell in the Shoah,” including words of survivors, at 7 p.m. Co-sponsored with the East Hill Synagogue, Kehillat Kesher, and Kol HaNeshamah. 240 Broad Ave. Information, (201) 568-1315.
Yom Hashoah in Tenafly: The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades features keynote speaker Helene McQuade, who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and vice president of Art and Remembrance, a nonprofit arts and educational organization, at 7 p.m. Later, a film, “Through the Eye of the Needle,” telling her mother’s story, will be screened. Afterward, the annual Abe Oster Holocaust Remembrance award, which is given to a high schooler who completed a project that demonstrates a moral understanding of the Shoah, will be presented. The evening, which concludes with a candle- lighting ceremony, is made possible through the Martin Perlman & Jo-Ann Hassan Holocaust Education Institute. Information, (201) 408-1429 or rrosenfeld@jccotp.org.
Yom Hashoah in Emerson: Congregation B’nai Israel offers poetry, inspirational readings, and candle lighting at 7 p.m. Isaac and Diana Dostis will talk about Holocaust-era Greece and show their film, “The Lost Synagogue of Ioannina.” 53 Palisade Ave. Information, (201) 265-2272 or www.bisrael.com.
Yom Hashoah in Fort Lee: Congregation Gesher Shalom/Jewish Community Center of Fort Lee offers a Yom Hashoah remembrance with a talk by Ann Monka at 7 p.m. As a child, Monka and her family found refuge with the Bielskis who led a resistance group. 1449 Anderson Ave. Information, (201) 947-1735.
Monday April 8
Yom Hashoah in Teaneck: 92-year-old former partisan and Holocaust survivor Moshe Baran talks about his experiences and shows scenes from a documentary, “Through the Eyes of Resistance,” at the Teaneck High School, 7:30 p.m.; a reception for survivors and their families is at 6. The commemoration is sponsored by the Jewish Community Council of Teaneck; it includes songs of the Shoah by Cantor Sam Weiss and a reading of the names and a candle-lighting. Free. Information, teaneckyomhashoa.org
Wednesday April 10
Marking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in NYC: The Primo Levi Center offers a concert with Italian-Israeli singer Charlette Shulamit Ottolenghi, joined by pianist Shai Bachar, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust at 7 p.m. 36 Battery Place. Information, (646) 437-4202 or www.mjhnyc.org.
Thursday April 11
Yom Hashoah in Haskell: Holocaust survivor Bella Miller shares her story of survival for the Chabad Jewish Center of Upper Passaic County, 7 p.m., at Chabad – The Haskell Towne Centre, 1069 Ringwood Ave., Suite 202. Information, (201) 696-7609 or Rabbi@JewishHighlands.org.
Sunday April 14
Film in Paramus: The Paramus Public Library screens “Only A Number” to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day at 2 p.m. 116 East Century Road. (201) 599-1300.
Wednesday april 17
Yom Hashoah in Fair Lawn: Esther Wertlieb reads a survivor’s story archived at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., for Temple Beth Sholom’s sisterhood at 8 p.m. 40-25 Fair Lawn Ave. Information, (201) 797-9321.
Thursday April 18
Yom Hashoah in Mahwah: Robert Molander recalls his grandfather’s efforts to save Jews during World War II, in a talk, “Jews Saving Jews During WWII: The Story of Gilel Storch,” at Ramapo College of New Jersey at 7:15 p.m. Sponsored by the college’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Trustees Pavilion. 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah. Information, (201) 684-7409.
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