Jewish communities across the UK will come together this Yom HaShoah to remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, as part of Maccabi GB’s Yellow Candle project.
This year’s initiative places a clear focus on the British Jewish community, with thousands of candles distributed through Jewish schools, Jewish Societies in non-Jewish schools and universities, care homes, synagogues, and thousands of individual households.
Taking the theme “Remembrance starts at home”, the project encourages individuals and families to mark Yom HaShoah in a personal and meaningful way, ensuring that the memory of those lost continues to live on in homes across the country. Many will post their lit candles online as well.
Each Yellow Candle is accompanied by a biographical card sourced from the archives of Yad Vashem, sharing the name, age, and, where known, the place and date of death of a Holocaust victim. This personal connection transforms each act of remembrance into a tribute to an individual life, reinforcing the importance of remembering not only the scale of the Shoah, but the people behind the numbers.
Alongside the nationwide participation, a central Yom HaShoah ceremony will take place in London on Monday April 13. The ceremony will bring together survivors, descendants, and community representatives in collective remembrance.
Ashley Lerner, chief executive of Maccabi GB, said: “Each Yellow Candle lit is not only an act of memory, but a moment of personal responsibility. By taking time in our own homes, with our families, to remember a name, a story, a life, we ensure that those who were murdered in the Shoah are never reduced to numbers.
"We remember them as individuals, and we honour the survivors who continue to carry their legacy. Thank you to every person, family, school, and community taking part this year.”
To purchase a yellow candle, click here or go to: yellowcandleuk.org/purchasecandle
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