By Rachel Loria
On November 9, members of the Jewish community, along with friends and supporters, gathered at Emek Sholom National Holocaust Memorial to commemorate Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass.
The sense of community felt even stronger this year as many speakers (see photos below), including Co-chair Irina Manelis, Rabbi Shlomo Pereira from Chabad of Virginia, and Tal Bahar, Shlicha from the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, talked about the importance of Hineini (“I am here”) and being present as a community in times of turmoil and uncertainty.
Many speakers also commented about the rise in antisemitism and feelings of fear. Susan Greenbaum sang a moving rendition of “Gesher Tzar Me’od” based on the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov about the importance of not being afraid.
Our family speaker, second-generation Survivor Alex Perelman (below), told his family’s story and emphasized the importance of continuing to speak about tolerance. He traced their roots back to Europe and to one of the names engraved on the Emek Sholom monument, the oldest Holocaust memorial in the United States.
His words reflected the enduring responsibility of remembrance, and the sacred task of transforming memory into moral action. “We must continue to tell these stories,” he said, “not only to remember what was lost, but to remind ourselves what it means to be human — to choose compassion over indifference, courage over silence.”
Our Esther J. Windmueller Never Again Award high school recipient (below), Lacy Calhoun, a 10th Grader from Harrisonburg High School, spoke eloquently about how to stop the spread of Anti-Semitism and offered thoughtful suggestions to increase tolerance. (Our deadline for the 2026 award will be October 29.)
Sarah Beck Berman (below), Cantor from Congregation Beth Ahabah, led the community in Kaddish and El Moleh Rachamim.
Captain Alex Keisch (below), longtime Chair of Kristallnacht Event planning, spoke about the significance of Emek Sholom and thanked those who work to ensure the ceremony’s success.
Alex acknowledged that this is his last year as the Co- Chair of Event Planning for Kristallnacht, and acknowledged the younger generations will be taking the lead. As he passed the torch to a new generation of leaders, and that he Co-chaired with Rina Manelis this year, he reminded all that remembrance is not a duty of the past, but a living covenant for the future.
As a conclusion, Susan Greenbaum and Yakov Tulchinsky played Hatikvah on the guitar and violin while the community members sang the words.
As always, our board members encouraged participants to place stones on the monument to symbolize that those who perished are still remembered.
(ABOVE) Danya Walker, Never Again 2nd place winner - lights one of the memorial candles
(ABOVE) Inge Horowtz, longtime Emek Sholom leader since its founding in 1955. places a stone.
We appreciate the support from everyone who made the event possible, including the staff at Forest Lawn, the Legionnaires from American Legion Post 144, the community members who attend every year, and those who helped to publicize our event.
(ABOVE) Legionnaires and Esther Ipson-Minter show the flags.
All photos by Rachel Loria