INTERFAITH HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE AND THE CRANFORD CLERGY COUNCIL CO-SPONSORING STATE-WIDE HOLOCAUST DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Cranford, New Jersey (March 30, 2015) – On Wednesday, April 22, 7PM, The Interfaith Human Relations Committee and the Cranford Clergy Council, in partnership with the Cranford Public Schools and St. Michael School, will be hosting a Holocaust Day of Remembrance. The event will take place at Orange Avenue School, 901 Orange Ave, Cranford, in the auditorium.
The event has been conducted by the Clergy Council for 21 years, the Cranford Public Schools and St. Michael’s School for 12 years, and the community for four years. It was in 2012 that the organizations recognized the value in combining and creating a single joint venture program.
Linda Leifer, member of the Interfaith Human Relations Committee of the Cranford Clergy Council and representative of Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim, explains, “These were a separate program. The school system did a program of their own and the Clergy Council and the Interfaith did a program together.” One night, she attended the program at the high school and “it hit me – why can’t the school and the clergy work together on this?”
This year, the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education has granted Cranford the honor of being the New Jersey state-wide site for the Holocaust Day of Remembrance. “The core mission of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education is to promote Holocaust education in the State of New Jersey,” states the Commission. “Cranford has met and exceeded that responsibility for good citizenship and we are proud to participate in their effort.”
Judith Podbelski, Supervisor of Social Studies and Business Management and Information Systems of the Cranford Public Schools and involved member of the planning committee, explains, “The students from the high school, the students from the 8th grade at Hillside [Avenue School] and Orange [Avenue School] and the 8th grade students from St. Michael’s all work together to present the program based on whatever the current day of remembrance theme is… it is truly a community event for the students.” This year, the theme is Liberation: Are We Truly Free?, as set forth by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
While the adults play a role in the organization and details of the project, it is the students who participate in the program. “This is such a wonderful collaboration,” states Leifer.
This year, chair of the Trinitas Hospital Neurology Department Dr. Bernard Schanzer and his twin brother, Henry, will be speaking about their time during the Holocaust, hiding from the Nazis on the Bonhomme family farm in Saint-Etienne, France.
“Adolphine Dorel and her daughter, Jeanne Bonhomme, were unbelievable individuals,” states Dr. Schanzer. “For someone in France, at that time, to have this grandeur of spirit was incredible. And in many ways, Adolphine Dorel was my grandmother. My Meme.”
Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education Dr. Paul Winkler will be speaking at the event. St. Michael’s students will be sharing poetry written especially for this event. The Cranford High School Concert Choir and Academy Dancers will also be performing for the event.
Since the program started many years ago, it has grown. “It has grown, truthfully, since we put it together, since we combined our efforts,” states Leifer. “The synergy has worked really, really well.”
“I’m proud to be living in a community like Cranford where we have a program like this,” she states.
For more information about the event, contact Cindy Hannen at cindy@patwin.com, or call her at (908) 272-9133.
ABOUT INTERFAITH HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE OF THE CRANFORD CLERGY COUNCIL:
The Interfaith Human Relations Committee of the Cranford Clergy Council consists of members from all houses of worship in Cranford, and Osceola Church in Clark. The group has sponsored anti-bullying events, service days, and interfaith religious services. In 2014, the group held the Sept 11th Memorial Service, an interfaith Thanksgiving service and raised funds for the Cranford CROP Walk.
To learn more about the Interfaith Human Relations Committee of the Cranford Clergy Council, contact Cindy Hannen at cindy@patwin.com, or call her at (908) 272-9133.
