SACRAMENTO, California (Press Release) – Assemblymember Marty Block (Democrat, San Diego) on Tuesday announced that, in partnership with Assemblymember Ira Ruskin (Democrat, Redwood City), he is leading an effort to honor Holocaust survivors and World War II veteran concentration camp liberators during a special ceremony in the Capitol on April 19, at 12:00 p.m., as part of Holocaust Memorial Week.
More than 40 survivors, veteran liberators and their guests from around the state are expected to attend – to share survival stories and memorialize those who lost their lives.
It will be during this event that Assembly Concurrent Resolution 31, which formally proclaims April 12 to April 18 as California Holocaust Memorial Week, will be presented to the full Assembly.
“As the years bring us farther away from that horrific time in world history, it is our duty to preserve the memories of the millions who perished in the Holocaust,” commented Assemblymember Block.
“By telling the stories of the survivors, indeed by creating a living memorial, we echo the message to the next generation that ‘never again’ is more than a simple phrase; it is a commitment to those who perished and those who survived.”
The event’s keynote speaker is Rabbi Denise Eger, founding rabbi of Congregation Kol-Ami in West Hollywood, and Vice President of the Southern California Board of Rabbis. Eger was ordained as rabbi in 1988 and has served pulpits in Canada, New York and Los Angeles. She will also serve as chaplain at the event.
This is the eighth year of the Assembly’s Holocaust Memorial Project. In addition to the ceremony at the State Capitol, students interview survivors each year and write essays about their Holocaust experiences. The essays are bound into books and distributed to ceremony participants, as well as to students and schools, survivors and veterans, legislators, libraries and community organizations. This is the first year that the book of essays includes stories of World War II veterans who liberated concentration camps.
“It’s vital that we keep and share this knowledge – that we teach our children and future generations that acts of heroism during the Holocaust serve as a powerful example of how our nation and our citizens can and must respond to acts of hatred and inhumanity,” said Assemblymember Ruskin.
During the ceremony, survivors and veterans will join Assemblymembers at their desks. Students and other participants will be invited to sit in the gallery. A luncheon will follow the ceremony. For more information about the event, please call the Capitol Office of Assemblymember Block at (916) 319-2078.
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Preceding provided by Assemblymember Marty Block