Charleston Jewish Federation aims to combat anti-semitism during Holocaust Memorial Day

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Thursday marks Holocaust Memorial Day, or Yom Hashoah.

Israel’s day of commemoration goes until sundown tonight. Charleston Jewish Federation is preparing to honor those lost in the Holocaust.

The community-wide Yom Hashoah ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Charleston’s Holocaust Memorial in Marion Square.

Organizers want to commemorate the Holocaust, turning the memory of those murdered into strength and action. The event aims to help combat antisemitism and hate with education, as those incidents increase nationwide.

A reported six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. The Charleston Jewish Federation’s ‘Remember Program’ provides Holocaust education resources to schools, the community and advocates for Holocaust education at a statewide level.

The Federation says hearing the stories from family members of the survivors helps their stories live on.

“That personal connection is so key. You might learn about it in a textbook, you might read statistics, but when you say the number six million Jews and 11 million total, that’s unfathomable,” said Erin Boynton with the Federation. “When you can make those personal stories come to life and really make a connection to someone, they’re not going to forget it.”

One of the ceremony’s speakers, Shirley Mills and her husband Mike have committed to match all donations up to $10,000.

News 2 will attend the ceremony on Sunday.