Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), a fraternity at Carleton, organized We Walk to Remember, an event to commemorate Holocaust victims, on March 5.
Zachary Novack, a fourth-year geology student and member of AEPi, said the event is held internationally across the different chapters that are part of his fraternity, but this is the first time his chapter has organized one in Ottawa.
AEPi is an international Jewish fraternity and was founded in 1913, according to its website. The fraternity has 15 chapters across Canada, and 171 chapters across the United States and other parts of the world.
Novack said the importance of the event was to remember and educate people about the Holocaust.
He added the event is typically held on campuses, but his chapter held it downtown so the outer community could be involved as well. AEPi partnered with B’nai B’rith, an international organization “dedicated to improving the quality of life for people around the globe.” In 2016, the group partnered with AEPi to organize the event across 161 campuses in North America, according to its website.
Attendees were invited to wear black and to silently walk from the Byward Market to Ottawa City Hall. Leaflets were also handed out with information about the Holocaust.
Rhonda Love, vice-president of programming at B’nai B’rith, said the organization was responsible for the materials handed out during the ceremony, such as leaflets and stickers.
“These programs provide a visible reminder of our obligation to remember,” she said.
“Everyone’s mood and tone switched to something serious,” Novack said.
Novack said the walk typically involves reading the names of survivors so people walking by can hear. His chapter chose to organize it a bit differently and had Holocaust survivor Moshe Kraus speak at the event.
He said it was organized this way to “make it something memorable.”
Mayor Jim Watson also spoke at the event and later tweeted, “A beautiful and touching ceremony with the Jewish people to commemorate Holocaust victims. We Walk to Remember.”
“These events are important because we have the opportunity to connect to the next generation of Jewish young leaders as we work co-operatively on activities,” Love said. “We have many AEPi alumni who have been involved as leaders within B’nai B’rith.”
She also said AEPi partners with B’nai B’rith to implement the ceremony on campuses all over the world.
“These Holocaust awareness and education projects provide a meaningful and visual link to an important subject to the Jewish community,” she said.
While the ceremony is usually held over Yom HaShaoh, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, in April, Novack said the group chose to hold it in March so students could participate.
According to Novack, despite taking a lot of planning, it was important “to get the message across and educate people about the Holocaust.”
– Photo by Luke Carroll
