Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Queen's University historian Howard Adelman is available to comment on Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Memorial Day. The day serves as a memorial for those who died during the Holocaust, giving families time to reflect on the lives lost and educate future generations against anti-semitism. Yom HaShoah begins at sundown on May 4, continuing until sundown on May 5.
"Jews remember the Holocaust for many reasons, on different days, with different names," says Dr. Adelman. "For some Jews, these losses compelled them to look inwards to create a particularistic sense of identity; other Jews have turned outward and fostered a universalistic sense of justice for all peoples.
"Some Jews wanted to commemorate the Holocaust on the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising of April of 1943. Others wanted to add the victims of the Holocaust to other Jewish days of mourning. The Israeli government has set the name of the holiday as Yom hazikaron lashoah velagevurah, Remembrance Day for the Holocaust and Heroism, emphasizing resistance as well as loss. It falls eight days before Israel Independence Day, marking a transition from tragedy to victory in the Zionist narrative."
Dr. Howard Adelman is an associate professor of History and the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Queen's University. His research focuses on the social and cultural aspects of Jewish history. He is available prior to sundown on May 4, and during the day on May 5.
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