Houston Chronicle, Savannah Mehrtens,
A local organization is bringing March of Remembrance back to Kingwod for its 10th anniversary.
The goal of March of Remembrance is to help give a living connection to the history of the holocaust and raise awareness about the continued attacks Jewish people face.
It will be held in Kingwood at Kings Harbor on April 11 starting with a pre-event at 1 p.m. featuring music by the Peitzman family, the Kingwood Middle School Acapella Choir and performances from Rachel Towns of Care for Women in Kingwood. Holocaust survivor Bill Orlin will speak at the event and is joined by fellow survivor Ruth Seinfeld. The event will be at 1660 W Lake Houston Pkwy, Kingwood in Kings Harbor.
It is an important time for the event.
The Anti-Defamation League found that 40 percent of those surveyed said they heard antisemitic comments, slurs or threats directed at someone else in the last year. In the Lake Houston Area, two reports of neo-Nazi propaganda was reported to the ADL in Humble and one was reported in Atascocita.
Rozalie Jerome, National Director for the March of Remembrance Texas, said they decided to stay close to home this year after last year’s planned events had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jerome said she believes antisemitism is twofold — against Jewish people and Israel. Jerome said their goal is to help people connect with the history of The Holocaust and meet a survivor to carry on their experience and remember the reality of what they lived through.
“Genocides begin with words,” Jerome said. “And we want to teach people, we want them to be aware of even words at dinner tables when you hear somebody who is edifying a certain people group, will you be silent or will you speak out and say ‘no that’s not true, and that’s not correct.”’
Christine Ege, Associate Director for the March of Remembrance Texas, said there are central goals of the event, including to remember survivors and give them a voice. While the Jewish community is the main starting point, Ege said the goal is to recognize the signs of prejudice against any people.
Ege said they actively fundraising now for their Holocaust Garden of Hope, which aims to teach young children how to stand up when they see other people being mistreated and to learn about The Holocaust from a child’s point of view. The Garden will be outdoors.
Several representatives, including Israeli Consul General to the Southwest Gilad Katz and Vice Consul Yuval Derry and Vice Consul Michael Ott (acting as Consul General of Germany) will make an appearance. Local leaders, such as former US Congresswoman Debbie Riddle and Humble Mayor Merle Aaron will also be attending the event according to the press release.
For more information, visit their website at holocaustremembranceassociation.org.
savannah.mehrtens@chron.com
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