The theme of Yom Hashoah this year, the Day of Remembrance for the Holocaust and Heroism, 2024, is "A Lost World: The Destruction of the Jewish Communities". On Yad Vashem's website you can read the stories of some of the vibrant communities in Europe that were wiped out during the Holocaust: https://www.yadvashem.org/communities.html
1. Watch the opening ceremony last night at Yad Vashem, with English subtitles: https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en
2. Read the stories of the Torch-lighters.
Each year, during the official Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day ceremony that takes place at Yad Vashem, six torches, representing the six million Jews, are lit by Holocaust survivors. You can read/watch the personal stories of the torch-lighters in English, with Youtube clips here: https://www.yadvashem.org/remembrance/
3. Light a Virtual Candle to honor and remember one of the Six Million. Visit this website to light a virtual candle: https://www.illuminatethepast.org/
4. Adopt A Safta: This is a nonprofit initiative that pairs young adults with lonely & isolated seniors, having a special focus on Holocaust Survivors. Working off of the Big Brother/Big Sister model, young volunteers "adopt" a grandmother or grandfather in Israel who is in need of company, love and attention. https://www.adoptasafta.com/about-us
5. Jacob Richman's website is a great resource with links to videos, articles and activities about the holocaust for all ages: https://jr.co.il/hotsites/holocaust.htm
6. There are events in Beit Shemesh this week, you can see the details here: https://www.shemesh.co.il/en/
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