BIRMINGHAM - The Holocaust Days of Remembrance, an annual observance of Yom HaShoah by the state of Alabama, and the rededication of the Anne Frank Tree in Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham will be streamed online on Sunday, April 11 at 2 p.m. CST. The commemoration will be streamed on the event page<https://bhecinfo.org/event/alabamas-annual-holocaust-remembrance-event-in-observance-of-yom-hashoah/> and a direct link will additionally be emailed to those who register for the program.<https://bhecinfo.org/yom-hashoah-registration/> Educational materials are available here<https://bhecinfo.org/remembrance/yom-hashoah/> for schools to prepare students to watch the program.

The Holocaust Days of Remembrance (Yom HaShoah) solemnly observes the memory of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and honors our Alabama survivors and their families.

The featured speaker will be Pastor Chris Edmonds. Edmonds recently received the Righteous Among the Nations award<https://jfr.org/bureau-of-speakers/pastor-chris-edmonds/> on behalf of his father, World War II hero Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds who saved Jewish American soldiers in a prison of war camp in Germany. The award is from Israel and Yad Vashem, the world's Holocaust Remembrance Center.

The program will also feature a message from Ambassador Gilad Erdan. Erdan is Israel's Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations. Prior to assuming his dual role, Ambassador Erdan served in the Israeli Knesset for 17 years and held several ministerial positions including Minister of Public Security, Minister of Strategic Affairs and Minister of Environmental Protection. He was a member of Israel's security cabinet and led many important reforms in Israeli society.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will deliver a message of remembrance and the Alabama Legislature has planned a presentation. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is scheduled to introduce the Anne Frank Tree Rededication at Kelly Ingram Park. Pastor Agnes Lover of St. Paul AME Church in Montgomery will deliver the invocation.

The program includes music by Violinist Niv Ashkenazi as part of Violins of Hope<https://bhecinfo.org/educators/classroom-resources/violins-of-hope/> and a candle-lighting ceremony with Holocaust survivors and their families. Prayers will be delivered by Birmingham-based Temple Emanu-El Cantor Robert Wittner and by Pastor Ed Nettles of Freewill Baptist Church in Montgomery.

The program is organized by the Alabama Holocaust Commission, Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and The Jewish Community Relations Council of The Birmingham Jewish Federation. The program is sponsored by: Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem, Alabama Holocaust Commission, Alabama Holocaust Foundation, Beis Ariel Chabad House, Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, Birmingham Jewish Federation, Birmingham Jewish Foundation, Chabad of Mobile, Gulf Coast Holocaust Center, Jewish Community Relations Council of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Jewish Federation of Central Alabama, Jewish Federation of Huntsville and North Alabama, Knesseth Israel Congregation, Mobile Area Jewish Federation, Temple B'nai Israel, Temple B'nai Sholom, Temple Beth-EL (Birmingham), Temple Beth-Or, Temple Emanu-El (Birmingham), Temple Emanu-El (Dothan), Temple Emanu-El (Tuscaloosa), and Temple Mishkan Israel.