Students from Gunn High School, Palo Alto High School, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, South Peninsula Hebrew Day School and Gideon Hausner School plan to participate in the Yom HaShoah ceremony, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day.

More than 500 people are expected at the ceremony, which will be held Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Yom HaShoah, the newest holiday on the Jewish calendar, is the day when the genocides of World War II are remembered.

This year's theme -- Dignity and Defiance -- will be illustrated through music, dramatic readings, first-person stories of survival and student exhibits.

Projects and reports created by Kari Nygaard's English class at JLS will be on display, along with research posters made by Hausner and SPHDS students. Paly and Gunn students will read poems and essays. Survivors of the Shoah will begin the gathering by lighting candles of remembrance as teens introduce them.

The Yiddish Community Chorus will sing a selection of songs about the subject. Daniel Wolfert, a Gunn High School student and choir member, will sing "Yisrolik," a song written in the Vilna Ghetto in 1942 about a tough young entrepreneur who remains cheerful in the face of adversity.

"Daniel is such a perfect choice to sing this song," said Karen Bergen, director of the Yiddish Choristers. "His age makes him a credible 'Yisrolik.'"

Bergen praised Wolfert's hard

work in mastering the material. "He's facing Yiddish words like 'skhoyre' and 'hefkediker,' sung quickly to quarter and eighth notes in an up-tempo song," Bergen said.

 

From Wednesday to May 27, a selection of projects created by Nygaard's class will be displayed near the fitness desk of the Oshman Family Community Center at 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto.

All ceremonies and exhibitions are free and open to the public.

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