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UA Holocaust Vigil to add family scenes, Butterfly Project

Naomi Schuster, UA Hillel director of student life (left) and Holocaust survivor Yuliya Genina paint ceramic butterflies for the Butterfly Project, to be displayed around Tucson in the coming months. Participants at the UA Holocaust Vigil will have the opportunity to paint butterflies. (Amy Gould)
Naomi Schuster, UA Hillel director of student life (left) and Holocaust survivor Yuliya Genina paint ceramic butterflies for the Butterfly Project, to be displayed around Tucson in the coming months. Participants at the UA Holocaust Vigil will have the opportunity to paint butterflies. (Amy Gould)

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation’s Annual Holocaust Vigil — a 24-hour program dedicated to Holocaust remembrance — will take place on the UA mall from Wednesday, March 20 at noon until Thursday, March 21 at noon. This year’s theme is “Silence Helps the Oppressors.”

The event will include discussions, films and exhibits. A new display pod will depict a Shabbat scene with photos on the walls of Jewish family life prior to World War II. Vigil passers-by will be able to sign a pledge to “never be a bystander or silent to tragedies happening around the world.” The Butterfly Project: Zikaron V’Tikvah-Remembrance and Hope, promoting the creation of 1.5 million ceramic butterflies worldwide to memorialize Jewish children killed during the Holo­caust, also will be on hand. Participants will be able to paint butterflies.

For more information, contact the UA Hillel Foundation at 624-6561 or visit www.uahillel.org.