Memorial to the Martyrs

Weekend of Events in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust in West Hollywood

Hollywood Temple Beth El  and The Iranian American Jewish Federation are joining together to honor the memories of the martyrs of the Holocaust at a weekend of commemorative events for Yom HaShoah,  April 26 and 27 at the sanctuary at 1317 N Crescent Heights Blvd at Fountain in West Hollywood.

The weekend will start with a Memorial to the Martyrs on Saturday Morning, April 26, following joint services at 9:30 AM.  Joe Alexander, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and who had passed through numerous concentration camps as a slave to the Nazis, will speak of his experience, and Rabbi Norbert Weinberg, author of Courage of the Spirit will speak as son of Holocaust survivors on the need to remember for future generations. Members will join in memorial readings and prayers, as the names of martyrs, relatives of members of the congregations, will be read.

That Saturday evening, the Iranian Jewish American Federation will host an interfaith program Holocaust: Past, Present, Never Again on contemporary dangers of Genocide at 8:30 PM Honorable Consul General of Israel, David Siegel, Rabbi David Wolpe, Dr. Ardeshir Babaknia,

Dr. Majid Mohammadi, and Mrs. Renee Firestone, a Holocaust survivor. Iran, during the Holocaust, actually served as a refuge for many Jews.

The following Sunday, April 27, at 4:00 PM, there will be a screening of the documentary film Alois Bruner: The Last Nazi, featuring discussion afterwards with film producer, Lynda Goldman, former CNN and Atlanta Journal Middle East correspondent . Alois Bruner, Eichmanns right hand in murder, found refuge in Syria, where he advised the Assad regime in its tactics of oppression.

Members of the community will also be attending commemorations at Pan Pacific Park, sponsored by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust at 2:00 PM.

We recall that although the brunt of the Holocaust focused on Europes Jews, Hitlers troops and sympathizers, such as the Grand  Mufti of Jerusalem had begun to hunt Jews and foment riots against Jews throughout the Middle East. These are actions that have repercussions continuing till today, explained Rabbi Norbert Weinberg. Therefore it is significant that we have a merging of communities this Shabbat, of Jews from the Middle East and Iran and of refugees from Central and East Europe.

For more information, please call:

            Iranian American Jewish Federation: 323-654-4700

            Hollywood Temple Beth El: 323 656 3150

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