In the spirit of their continued partnership, B’nai B’rith International (BBI) and the Jewish fraternity of North America Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) organized Yom HaShoah commemoration events on more than 65 college campuses across the United States during the latter part of April. B’nai B’rith’s program included the 20th consecutive year of hosting the “Unto Every Person There is a Name” ceremony, which is endorsed by Yad Vashem, while many campuses also participated in the AEPi “We Walk to Remember” event.
“We truly cherish our relationship with AEPi,” said BBI President and AEPi brother Moishe Smith. “Together we celebrate both joyous and somber events on the Jewish calendar, assuring that Jewish history and culture are passed along to the next generation of leaders.”
During the “Unto Every Person There is a Name” portion of the commemoration, students and community members recited the names of those lost in the Holocaust in order to honor their memories. The “We Walk to Remember” segment included a silent walk through college campuses while participants, all dressed in black, handed out information describing the meaning of this most solemn occasion.
“This is obviously an extremely important event, commemorating not only the darkest period of Jewish history, but of human history as well,” BBI Executive Vice President and AEPi brother Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “Our partnership with AEPi has ensured that this critical program makes it to college campuses across the country, reminding the next generation of leaders of this cataclysmic event.”
On April 22 at Florida Atlantic University, AEPi brothers and other students on campus participated in the walk through campus, also taking time to recite names at the school’s Jewish Student Center.
“Walking in silence really hit home for me,” said Michael Krammer, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and a freshman at FAU who organized the event at his school. “To hear the names was incredibly impactful, too. We only had a couple of pages with two letters of the alphabet. To think of all the innocent children that died, and for what?”
“The men of Alpha Epsilon Pi are always at the forefront of Jewish life and Jewish causes," said AEPi Supreme Master Mark Schiff. "Their participation throughout North America in Holocaust Remembrance Week is a testament to their strong convictions and I could not be more proud of them.”
