Article published on Friday ,April, 9th 2021 in Visavis
Meeting of more than 500 youngsters from Latin America to commemorate Yom Hashoah
On Wednesday, April 7th, youngsters were the protagonists of a tribute ceremony on the occasion of Yom Hashoah, Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and Heroism organized by the Kehilah Center of Israel, which is in charge of supporting Jewish education in Spanish-speaking countries.
The meeting was virtual and brought together more than 500 young people, high school students from six Latin American countries: Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Panama, Peru and Colombia.
Read more: The siren sounded, Israel stopped, Yom Hashoah started
Rabbi Ramy Avigdor, Director of the Kehilah Center, hosted the ceremony. The students were the receivers, protagonists and the main voices of this meeting that ignited knowledge of their own history and of the responsibility to continue transmitting the legacy of the heroes to future generations.
The students read texts on testimonies of the Shoah. Images and videos were exhibited alluding to this tragedy and the proclamation of the State of Israel.
Chief Rabbi Isaac Sacca was summoned to recite the Yizkor. “Yizkor means to remember” – Sacca explained. “Today we are remembering and making a manifestation of heroism. He who risks against evil and vice is the true hero. The memory of evil drives us to be heroes of good. That is why we are remembering today, reading Yizkor. “
Holocaust survivor Mónica Davidovich, who answered questions to the young people , stressed that the must is to tell, so that future generations know, remember and transmit. “With education, memory and justice, we can build a democratic society free from prejudice and discrimination,” she concluded.
On the first place,Rabbi Avigdor stood out that survival is an act of heroism. “The legacy they pass on to us is that we have to live a life full of meaning and maintain strong values,” he said.
On the other hand, he highlighted how exciting it is to see boys and girls from so many countries and schools, together and united. Remembering the past and rebuilding the future. Young people are the future and the present of the community. They are also the community itself: they are the force and the vibration, the beating heart of the Jewish people. “The strength with which young people live our values, traditions and history is the strength that the people of Israel will have,” Avigdor concluded.
The joint participation of different schools, together with referents of Spanish-speaking Judaism, under the protection of an organization of international scope, is a valuable space for joint reflection in the face of horror and, as Rabbi Isaac Sacca highlighted, of remembrance as an impulse towards good deeds. The only way to avoid repeating events like the Shoah is through this type of memory exercise.
Source: www.visavis.com.ar
