Newark To Hold 30th Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony

From the City of Newark: Mayor Ras J. Baraka, the Berger Organization, and the Newark Holocaust Remembrance Committee will host the City of Newark's 30th Annual Holocaust Remembrance, on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, at 11 a.m. at the Robert Treat Hotel, located at 50 Park Place, in Newark's Downtown. This year's observance will once again involve Newark Public Schools and Catholic School students who are studying the Holocaust as part of their curriculum. The hotel is located in the City's Downtown.

The theme for the observance will be "We Shall Overcome," which will reflect on both the 75th anniversary of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights era and its associated struggles against poverty and injustice. Both are highly relevant subjects in a time when our nation and society are greatly divided and residents and citizens face denials of their rights and liberties.

This year's keynote speaker will be Michael Zeiger, who survived the Holocaust as a young child with his family and the assistance of a Polish peasant called "Anton," known as the village fool. Mr. Zeiger's story became the children's book "The Secret of the Village Fool," which teaches elementary school-age children about the Holocaust, and is being made into a movie. United Jewish Federation CEO and Executive Vice President Dov Ben Shimon will also speak at the event.

The observance will also feature musical performances by the Arts High School Choir, and is being sponsored by Holocaust Council of Metro West, the City of Newark's Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services, the Newark Public Schools, The Berger Organization, LLC, the Betesh Group, The Newark Museum, WBGO Radio, Edison Properties, LLC, RBH Group LLC, Fidelco, Audible, and Manischewitz.

The City of Newark's Annual Holocaust Remembrance, now in its third decade, is the state's largest such observance. Every year the observance focuses not only on memorializing those who were victims of the Holocaust, but emphasizes the importance of remembering the past for the sake of the future. By teaching our youth about Holocaust and genocide, they gain tools to prevent this horror from repeating itself, and to better transform our nation into one we can all believe in. Attending students also learn about resilience after trauma, civic responsibility, and personal responsibility.

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