Yom Hazikaron

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The Montreal community will be observing several commemorations in the next few weeks, including Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance), Yom Hazikaron (remembrance of fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s anniversary of independence).

The annual Montreal Holocaust Museum Yom Hashoah Vehagvurah ceremony will be taking place 7 p.m. April 23 at the MHM, 5151 Côte St. Catherine Road. The event is also marking Heroism Remembrance Day. Reservations are encouraged, and can be made at the MHM website, museeholocauste.ca.

“On this day and every day, we remember the victims of the Holocaust, honour the survivors, and learn the difficult lessons of the past,” says an MHM announcement.

This year’s Yom Hashoah theme is A Changing Face, A Timeless Fight. The commemoration will include “video testimonies of survivors describing their experiences of antisemitism before the Holocaust, as well as a keynote address from the Honourable Professor Irwin Cotler, the International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and longtime Member of Parliament, and an international human rights lawyer. Commemorative songs in Yiddish, Ladino, and Hebrew will be performed alongside traditional prayers.”

The Yom Hazikaron ceremony, honouring Israel’s fallen and the victims of terrorism, is hosted by the Consul-General of Israel and Federation CJA. The solemn event takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday April 29 at the Gelber Conference Centre, 5151 Côte Ste. Catherine. Doors open at 6 p.m. For free tickets, go to jlive.app/events/8538.

On the next day, 1:30 p.m. April 30, also in commemoration of Yom Hazikaron, the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA is presenting Montreal’s third annual ZikkaRun, an international memorial for Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s National Remembrance Day.

“Guests are invited to run or walk on Wednesday, April 30 in memory of Israeli fallen soldiers and victims of terror,” an announcement says. “This is a walk or run with no fanfare, no tracking of running times, no music, no fee to participate. All participants will receive the name of an Israeli fallen solider or victim of terror to pin to their shirt. Everyone is invited to participate with one intention — to remember. Register for the run with your friends, family, and loved ones today. This global event will take place in Jewish and Israeli communities around the world, in cooperation with the Department of Organization and Relations with Israelis in the Diaspora in the World Zionist Organization.”

Register at jlive.app/events/10352.

The annual Israel Day celebration, organized by the Jewish Unity Partnership, will be celebrating the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence. The event will be taking place, uniquely this year, 10:15 a.m. May 1 at Macdonald Park on Clanranald Avenue corner Dupuis in Snowdon. The event usually takes place downtown.

Free shuttle buses will be available at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Dollard des Ormeaux at 9:30 a.m., Shaar Shalom Synagogue in Chomedey at 9:30 a.m., Beth Ora Synagogue in St. Laurent and Shaar Hashomayim in Westmount at 9:45 a.m, the Van Horne Shopping Centre in Côte des Neiges at 10 a.m., Quartier Cavendish, Décarie Square and the Côte St. Luc Shopping Centre in CSL at 10 a.m. and Federation CJA and the YM-YWHA in Snowdon at 10 a.m.

For more information, go to israelcelebration.ca.

At 4 p.m. May 1, there will be a Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration at Federation CJA’s West Island headquarters at 96 Roger Pilon in Dollard des Ormeaux.

“Bring your family and friends and get ready for an afternoon filled with carnival games, delicious food, and tons of fun,” an announcement says. For more information and to register for free, go to jlive.app/events/10712, n