The Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies held its Yom HaShoah program this past Sunday. The program began with six students who take the Holocaust Through the Eyes of Maus class lighting candles and reading a line from a poem. The guest speaker for the program was Neil Garfinkle. Garfinkle is an experienced educator with a passion for teaching about the Holocaust. He is also a program liaison for the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers Program and leads teachers on a trip to Poland and Germany every summer. Garfinkle led a discussion with the students citing recent statistics of millenials lack of knowledge of the Holocaust. He also asked the students for their thoughts on the Instagram story of Eva Herman. The commemoration continued with Principal Nagler talking about the recent shooting at the Poway Chabad House and the barrage of rocket fire in Israel. The program concluded with the Kel Maleh Rachamim and Kaddish recited by BCHSJS teacher Dr. Mark Silk and a prayer for Israel by BCHSJS guidance counselor, Chanan Strassman.
