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.