Rambam HCC Joins in Holocaust Commemoration Project

A memorial area was set up at the entrance to Rambam Health Care Campus last week in preparation for Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 23–24, 2017. Dozens of memorial candles were distributed, each one with the name and information of an individual who perished in the Holocaust. The memorial area is an initiative of the organization 'A Candle for Every Name,' which has set out to create a new national tradition wherein every citizen lights a memorial candle each year, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

According to recently published data, around 158,000 Israeli citizens survived the Holocaust, and another 56,000 were recognized as victims of the anti-Semitic and racist harassment of World War II. Their average age is around 85; each month close to 1,000 of them pass away. Many elderly patients are treated in various departments at Rambam, including some of the last living Holocaust survivors who can testify about the horrors experienced by European Jewry at that time. One of these survivors is 89-year-old Sima Goodman who lives in Kiryat Hayim. Born in Kiev, Sima was the youngest of ten children, four of whom perished in the Holocaust. Upon receiving a memorial candle, she became very emotional and began to share her story with the staff members of the Department of Internal Medicine D, where she has been hospitalized for some time.

"As a hospital that treats many Holocaust survivors, we are very pleased with this initiative," remarked Professor Tzvi Dwolatzky, head of Geriatric Services at Rambam. "Continuing to share the names of Holocaust victims is of upmost importance, and this project enables our staff to take part in the work of preserving their memories throughout the generations."