Jewish Community Commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day With 25-Hour Vigil at Pasadena City Hall

On Sunday evening in Pasadena, volunteers solemnly read the names of victims of the Holocaust. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

By Terry Miller

The Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys partnered with the City of Pasadena and the community’s synagogues to hold “Every Person Has a Name.” The 25-hour vigil was held on the steps of Pasadena City Hall on Saturday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 27.

The program began with a commemoration ceremony on Saturday and featured speeches from elected officials including Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek, Congresswoman Judy Chu, State Senator Anthony Portantino, LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, Assemblymember Chris Holden, local clergy, as well as performances by the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Youth Orchestra and Kol HaEmek.

Immediately following the ceremony, the program transitioned into the reading of the names of people who perished during the Holocaust. Holocaust survivors and children of Holocaust survivors from around the community began by reading the names of their family members who were killed during the Holocaust, and then were followed by volunteers from throughout the community reading names.

“With every passing day, survivors are dying, and with them go their stories … my concern is that the memories will be dying as well,” explains Jason Moss, Jewish Federation’s executive director. “An event such as this allows the community to come together and to remember that each person that was killed was someone who lived and whose life was cut short. While our readers and those who listen may not know the people they are reading the names for; by saying their names aloud … they are remembered.”

For more information, please contact the Jewish Federation at (626) 445-0810 or by sending an email to federation@jewishsgpv.org.

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