Yizkor Ceremony
Under heavy rain which reflected the somber mood of the occasion, Holocaust Survivors, politicians, founders of the society, students, and members of the community came together for the Society’s 19th annual Yizkor (Remembrance) ceremony at the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem Holocaust Wall of Remembrance at Earl Bales Park.
Yizkor, which means remembrance in Hebrew, is Judaism's memorial prayer that is traditionally recited on Yom Kippur by family members to remember and elevate the souls of their dearly departed loved ones. Occurring during Judaism’s most holy days, between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem Yizkor ceremony is the public observance for our community to remember those who were murdered in the Shoah and to pay homage to Holocaust Survivors.
The ceremony, on October 2, 2011, began with students from C.H.A.T. reciting names of innocent children who were murdered in the Holocaust. Fran Sonshine, National Chair of the Society, welcomed all the distinguished guests, which included Deputy Consul General of Israel Hadas Wittenberg-Silberstein, Minister of the Environment Peter Kent, MP for York Centre Mark Adler, MPP for St. Paul’s and Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Eric Hoskins, MPP for York Centre Monte Kwinter, conservative MPP candidate for York Centre Michael Mostyn, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, Councillors David Shiner, Alan Shefman, James Pasternak and Howard Shore; National Executive Director of the ICEJ Donna Holbrook and Chair of the Neighbourhood Interfaith Group Bryan Beauchamp.
Children in the community lent a note of hope for a better future with their participation, notably the Kachol Lavan choir and Shira McMull, who read the heart-wrenching last letter that a 12-year-old girl had written to her mother, attached to hairpin and thrown out of the train on her way to a death camp.
