Spring Break
Memorial week begins with Holocaust day
Josh Weaver
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: News
The Holocaust claimed the lives of an estimated 5.1 million to 6 million Jews, tearing apart families and devastating a culture.
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah, and it marks the beginning of Genocide Holocaust Week at San Jose State University.
It is a week that serves as a memorial for the lives lost during the Holocaust, but is also a week dedicated to exploring the word genocide, what it means and why it still exists in the world.
The week's events are organized by Hillel of Silicon Valley - which helps support Jewish campus life at SJSU - MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center, SJSU faculty, staff and students and other community volunteers.
"Every year on campus we do something to commemorate the Holocaust because it is a very defining moment for the Jewish people," Hillel Executive Director Sue Maltiel said.
A memorial is set up along Paseo de Cesar Chavez across from the Event Center and is open today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This year Hillel received the Jewish Family and Children's Services Zisovich Award for Holocaust Education, which is funded by an anonymous Holocaust survivor.
Maltiel said the award provided the opportunity to produce an extensive program above and beyond the Holocaust Remembrance Day memorial.
"We saw that we could do something that was much broader and really talks about genocide," Maltiel said. "What leads to a genocide and what one person can do to make a difference."
Events this year include movie screenings and pizza in the residence halls starting tonight with a showing of "Shindler's List" in the Royce Hall lounge at 6 p.m.
Tomorrow through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., luncheons will be held in The University Room of the Student Union, which will include panel discussions that will explore three topics that emphasize "acknowledgement, understanding and prevention."
On Tuesday, Jonathan Roth, department chair of the SJSU history department will lead a discussion centered on understanding the Holocaust and other genocides.
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah, and it marks the beginning of Genocide Holocaust Week at San Jose State University.
It is a week that serves as a memorial for the lives lost during the Holocaust, but is also a week dedicated to exploring the word genocide, what it means and why it still exists in the world.
The week's events are organized by Hillel of Silicon Valley - which helps support Jewish campus life at SJSU - MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center, SJSU faculty, staff and students and other community volunteers.
"Every year on campus we do something to commemorate the Holocaust because it is a very defining moment for the Jewish people," Hillel Executive Director Sue Maltiel said.
A memorial is set up along Paseo de Cesar Chavez across from the Event Center and is open today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This year Hillel received the Jewish Family and Children's Services Zisovich Award for Holocaust Education, which is funded by an anonymous Holocaust survivor.
Maltiel said the award provided the opportunity to produce an extensive program above and beyond the Holocaust Remembrance Day memorial.
"We saw that we could do something that was much broader and really talks about genocide," Maltiel said. "What leads to a genocide and what one person can do to make a difference."
Events this year include movie screenings and pizza in the residence halls starting tonight with a showing of "Shindler's List" in the Royce Hall lounge at 6 p.m.
Tomorrow through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., luncheons will be held in The University Room of the Student Union, which will include panel discussions that will explore three topics that emphasize "acknowledgement, understanding and prevention."
On Tuesday, Jonathan Roth, department chair of the SJSU history department will lead a discussion centered on understanding the Holocaust and other genocides.
Be the first to comment on this story