 MAY 28 • 2020 | 79

Remembering 
Survivors
Students plan Virtual Yom HaShoah 
Community Refl
 ection.
O

n May 1, the community 
of Kalamazoo College 
staff, students, admin-
istrators and supporters joined 
a Zoom call for the annual 
Yom HaShoah Community 
Reflection. This event is usually 
put on every year in person; 
people fill up the chapel in 
the center of campus, and we 
remember the lost and the sur-
vivors. 
When approached with 
the question of “Should we 
do a Yom HaShoah reflection 
this year?” My answer was a 
resounding yes! It was made 
possible by the wonderful mem-
bers of Hillel at Kalamazoo 
College and Chaplain Elizabeth 
Candido. 
Living in the middle of a 
pandemic can be stressful, but I 
believe it is also an opportunity 
to step back and grow. For me, 
this time has been spent reflect-
ing on my own connections to 
Judaism and examining what 
Yom HaShoah means to me. 
I came to that conclusion the 
day before our Zoom call, when 
listening to my fellow classmates 
practice the Mourner’
s Kaddish, 
tell the story of Paula Marks-
Bolton, sing Eli Eli to remem-
ber resistance fighter Hannah 
Szenes and remember their own 
thoughts while walking through 
a death camp. 
This year, Yom HaShoah must 
be about learning from our past, 
cultivating community and 
honoring the lives of those in the 
Holocaust more than any past 

years. 
I believe the success of the 
Yom HaShoah Community 
Reflection came from remem-
bering our past so as not to 
repeat it in the future. Anne 
Frank and thousands of others 
died from typhus and disease 
that spread through crowded 
camps without access to medical 
treatment. Today, we have camps 
with thousands of refugees who 
have been placed as “the other,
” 
just as Jews have been, and pris-
ons where COVID-19 runs ram-
pant. Our Chinese classmates 
face xenophobia just as our 
ancestors (and even us) faced 
anti-Semitism. 
Through acknowledging these 
comparisons, we can grow as 
a society and honor those on 
Yom HaShoah. This community 
reflection served to bring our 
small campus together; not just 
through the act of joining the 
Zoom call, but also through 
creating a common time to 
mourn as we know how other 
marginalized communities have 
felt. We are connected through 
shared grief and memories, and 
honoring Yom HaShoah is an 
act of resistance and comfort in 
the face of the unknown. We are 
stronger because of this, and we 
have learned how to stand up for 
justice during trying times. 

Naomi Verne is a sophomore at 
Kalamazoo College.

Naomi Verne } jewish@edu writer

TOP: A pre-pandemic get-together of 
Kalamazoo College’
s Hillel at an
Avi Shabbat they had in February.

KALAMAZOO HILLEL

this demographic faces with 
content geared toward all stu-
dents and young adults. Our 
account provides mental and 
physical health support, with 
posts about telemedicine ser-
vices, destigmatizing mental 
illness, and free resources for 
improved sleep and physical 
activity, just to name a few. 
We also share unique ways 
to connect with loved ones 
who are physically distanced, 
such as virtual games to play 
and virtual date ideas. 
 Additionally, we promote 
ways to shape our individual 
perspectives on the circum-
stances impacting our age 
demographic, including the 
cancellation of summer intern-
ships or the uncertainty about 
school in the fall. We also post 
funny and relatable tweets and 

memes each week because we 
all need comedic relief during 
these times.
We are so grateful for the 
success of our account thus far. 
With more than 1,100 follow-
ers, our content has generated 
support from numerous col-
leges, health professionals and 
Hillels across the country. 
If you’
re a student or young 
adult interested in learning 
how to support your mental 
and physical wellbeing in 
quarantine, give us a follow 
@covid19studentsupport on 
Instagram! Everyone is strug-
gling in their own ways, but 
know you are not alone in fac-
ing these challenges. @

Sarah Wish is a rising senior at the 
University of Michigan. Marissa 
Levey is a recent University of 
Michigan graduate.

away from Israel, members 
“Zooming in” from their own 
devices, we come together to 
socialize, explore and devel-
op a critical understanding 
and perspective on Jewish 
history, contemporary issues 
and the world around us.
Halevi’
s writing is 
thoughtful, personal and 
often emotional — qualities 
reflected in our book club’
s 
dialogue. We begin each 
meeting by talking about 
a chapter of Letters, but 
inevitably end up drifting 
away from the text itself, 
sharing our own feelings 
and views as well as the 
ways in which we, as Jewish-
American college students, 
feel the ripples of Israel’
s 
political turmoil in our own 
lives. Our discussion helps 
us interact with the text on 
a meaningful personal level, 
while the book itself provides 

a thought-provoking account 
that powerfully captures and 
contextualizes the political 
and emotional difficulty and 
complexity of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict.
Soon, Reading Between 
the Lines will have the 
incredible opportunity of 
speaking with Halevi via 
video call. We look forward 
to digging even deeper into 
his work, ideas and connec-
tion to Israel. While we are 
not the “neighbors” to whom 
Halevi addresses his letters, 
we are fortunate to be among 
the many readers touched 
by Letters to My Palestinian 
Neighbor. @

Noa Dahan is a student at Western 

Michigan University. Isabella 

Lieberman is a student at Grand 

Valley State University. Sarah Weiss 

is a student at Eastern Michigan 

University.

