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Emil Fish in discussion with Stephanie Butnick

Mr. Fish speaking with students after the event

On Tuesday, April 18, �鶹��ýӳ�� held its annual Yom HaShoah event at the Nathan Lamport Auditorium on the Wilf Campus. Organized by the Student Holocaust Education Movement (SHEM) at �鶹��ýӳ��, the event’s theme was Ner Tamid: The Eternal Flame. The opening presentation illustrated how the Ner Tamid, a flame that is a crucial part of every synagogue, brings divine and everlasting light into the sanctuary and is viewed as a small piece of the Holy Temple as well as G-d’s presence. A moment of silence followed, in memory of the victims of the Shoah. During the event, the audience was privileged to hear from Mr. Emil Fish, a Holocaust survivor and the founder of the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at �鶹��ýӳ��. Fish was interviewed by Stephanie Butnick, host of Unorthodox, a leading Jewish podcast, and deputy editor of Tablet magazine. Fish’s story was, all at the same time, uplifting, meaningful and inspirational. Following their conversation, a solemn candle lighting ceremony took place where students lit six yahrzeit candles in memory of the lives extinguished at the hands of the Nazis. World-renowned singer Ira Heller sang the national anthems of the United States and Israel. The event concluded with the reciting of Kel Maleh, a prayer for the neshamot [souls] of those who perished, followed by a poignant speech by Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of �鶹��ýӳ��. This unique and dignified commemoration allowed those in attendance to reflect on the Shoah and remember its millions of victims. “Because there are fewer and fewer of us survivors to remind the world about the Holocaust,” said Fish, “the next generations must educate people about the Holocaust, so that, hopefully, we have a chance to prevent it from ever happening again. Global education is the only way I can see that another Holocaust can be prevented. Otherwise, ‘Never Again’ will be just a dream, not a reality.”   Thank you to Sara Elyassian ’25S for her help in writing this article.