The City of Carmel’s Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony was the brainchild of former Mayor Jim Brainard.
So, Rabbi Benjamin Sendrow, from Congregation Shaarey Tefilla in Carmel, was pleased when Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam said she was committed to continuing the ceremony.
“Together, we gather here to honor the memory of millions of innocent victims in one of history’s darkest chapters, the Holocaust,” Finkam said at the May 3 ceremony at The Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts. “On a solemn occasion, we reflect on the unfathomable atrocities committed and the lives tragically lost through an unconscionable genocide fueled by hatred, intolerance and inhumanity that absolutely defies comprehension. We must never forget these atrocities, the evils that made them possible — poisonous ideologies, antisemitism, racism and xenophobia that dehumanize so many people. Silence and inaction in the face of such hatred enabled these horrors.”
Finkam said everyone has a moral obligation to ensure nothing like it ever happens again.
“On this day, we recommit ourselves to combat prejudice, hatred and oppression in all its forms through education, vigilance and especially compassion,” she said.
Finkam said the victims and lessons from the Holocaust can never be forgotten.
The keynote presentation was Carmel High School freshman Sadie Cohen’s narration of “Anne Frank’s Tree,” accompanied by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. It was composed by Victoria Bond.
Carmel Symphony Orchestra’s violinist Amanda Baer and pianist Rebecca Edie performed “Theme from Schindler’s List.”
Carmel resident Jay Dorman spoke about his relatives fleeing Lithuania before Germany invaded it in 1941.
“Had they stayed, the chances are slim that I would be standing here today, as 90 percent of the quarter-million Lithuanian Jews perished at the hands of the Nazis and their sympathizers,” Dorman said. “So, I must continually challenge myself, how can I maximize my good luck to be here today and somehow, some way make this world a better place?”
Dorman shared President Ronal Reagan’s speech dedicating the construction of the United States Holocaust Museum in 1988.
