We plan to launch this educational program this summer with more details coming soon.
From the “International March of the Living” and the “Gates of Prayer.”:
. . . after witnessing the remains of the once vibrant Jewish communities in Poland and the death camps that destroyed them, we realize that we, as individuals and as people, must accept the responsibility of remembrance. . . .
However, remembrance alone is not enough. We must remember, educate, and act. Like countless generations before, it is the youth of today who continue our dedication to the continuation of the Jewish legacy.
We recognize that through our 4,000-year history, our faith has been sustained by a collective memory and study of the past, and the use of it as a foundation for the future.
“The Zachor Project: Escape from the Holocaust” is a fundamental step in the process, not only in its remembrance and experiencing of the concentration camps in Poland, but also its conclusion in the United States, Israel and everywhere else in the world where Jews live.
As the last generation to come in contact with actual survivors, it is our responsibility to carry on their legacy to future generations as well as to spread their message to the present one.
In assuring that our presence in the world will never dim, we will do the following:
Educate young Jews towards a strong Jewish identity.
View Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and the core of Jewish identity.
Support and aid Jewish education.
Strengthen Jewish youth programs.
Encourage long range study programs at home and in Israel.
Encourage every Jewish youth in our communities to participate in future Commemorations of the Holocaust in order to gain the knowledge and have the experience from which we have benefited.
We believe that it is imperative to find ways to facilitate the participation of Jewish youth by offering new and relevant ways to commemorate the Holocaust in our homes, our schools, and our communities; commemorating both the terrible atrocities and the inner strength of the victims and those that helped them. Can a people disappear and be annihilated so long as a child remembers its parents?
Only after we understand and fulfill the above goals, will we have fulfilled the obligation to ensure that another Holocaust will never happen again.