Palm Desert hosts Holocaust Remembrance Day program
PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) - The Coachella Valley community gathered in remembrance and reflection at the 17th Annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day Program on Wednesday morning.
More than 200 people gathered at the Palm Desert Civic Park Amphitheater, adjacent to the Holocaust Memorial founded by Holocaust survivors Joe Brandt and Earl Greif.
The annual program honors the memory of the six million Jewish victims murdered during the Holocaust, while also commemorating the hundreds of thousands of Roma, homosexuals, people with disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others who were killed by the Nazi regime.
This year’s remembrance included special tributes to victims of more recent acts of violence. Organizers honored the 15 individuals murdered in Bondi Beach, Australia, during a Hanukkah celebration, as well as remember the 1,219 people killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attack.
As part of the program, heroes from the Bondi Beach tragedy were recognized with the Mensch Award.
Those unable to attend the Palm Desert ceremony will be honored the same day at a parallel event in Bondi, held at the site where the attack occurred. In addition, Harold Matzner and Alan Potash will be awarded the Mensch Award posthumously.
Community members wishing to support the program and its mission are encouraged to make a contribution through the Mensch Foundation at www.MenschFoundation.org/Donate.htm.
