Asheville hosts Holocaust remembrance event for the first time

Asheville hosts Holocaust remembrance event for the first time

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as Yom Hashoah, is a day dedicated to honor and reflect on the lives lost during the Holocaust. More than 100 people attended a community remembrance of the Holocaust at UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Student Union on Sunday, May 5.

The ceremony paid tribute to the millions of Jewish people and other victims who were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Keynote speakers included representatives from the United Nations Human Rights Council, members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council, and others. Rochelle Reich, the executive director of Beth Israel Synagogue, said that Holocaust Remembrance Day continues to strengthen her bond with her ancestors in a profound way.

“This really connects me to all of my family and ancestors that I don’t know and never knew and in a way that I can’t really — I can’t get out of a prayer book,” she said. “It really brings up the way hate can manifest in our world and the result in that kind of hate and a hope that somehow we can do better.”

This was the first time the day of remembrance was held at UNCA.