Częstochowa Landsleit in Israel Hold “Virtual Memorial Service”
Words and pictures: Alon Goldman
The Association of Częstochowa Jews in Israel held its Annual Memorial Service on Thursday 3rd December 2020, marking the 78th anniversary of the liquidation of the Częstochowa Ghetto.
Unlike in previous years, the Memorial Service was held unconventionally, via Zoom. The Association had endeavoured to postpone the event in the hope that the COVID pandemic situation would improve, thus allowing the Association to held the event as in previous year – but to no avail. This year, the Service had to be “virtual”.
The event was opened by Association Chairman Alon Goldman.
Following Alon Goldman’s opening remarks,
Kaddish was recited by Holocaust Survivor Eliezer Kirschenbaum (pic left)
and
memorial prayer El Male Rachamim was recited by Rabbi Ari Enkin (pic right).
The event was honoured with the presence of the Polish Ambassador to Israel, His Excellency Mr. Marek Magierowski. In his remarks, he noted that the organization’s activity serves as an example of building a bridge between peoples.
In the second part of the Memorial Service, Alon Goldman delivered a lecture entitled “Preserving the Częstochowa Jewish Heritage in the Mirror of Generations”. In the lecture, he reviewed the various activities carried out over the years, from the date of the liberation of Częstochowa by the Russians to the present day, for the preservation of the city’s Jewish heritage. He described the challenges faced and talked about the people whose contribution was significant in these activities in the various areas (click on images to enlarge):
