Esteemed author of Schindler’s Ark Thomas Keneally will be the keynote speaker at the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) Yom Hashoah commemoration event this year.

The commemoration event will take place on Sunday, April 16 at a location in Kensington.

It will mark 80 years since the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, featuring representatives from Jewish youth movements, and a tribute to partisan fighters will include the Sydney Jewish Choral Society singing the Partisan Song. There will also be a moving segment honouring the life and experiences of Holocaust survivor, Yvonne Engelman.

“The board is incredibly honoured and privileged to host Thomas Keneally as our keynote speaker at this year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration,” JBD president David Ossip told The AJN.

“As the very person who told the world of Oskar Schindler’s heroism, Keneally will share rare insights into the making of this remarkable novel, and discuss the profound impact Schindler’s Ark and Schindler’s List has had on Holocaust remembrance worldwide.

“The board’s annual Yom Hashoah commemoration is one of the most important events on the Jewish calendar, and as the number of Holocaust survivors in our community sadly dwindles, we urge the entire community to attend this important event.”

Relatives of survivors who passed away in recent years can honour the survivor through the JBD’s “Their Names Survive” initiative. The survivor’s name and photo will be displayed on screen before the Yom Hashoah commemoration, with survivors who died in the past year to be honoured on screen during the annual “In Memoriam” segment.

Earlier on Sunday at 10.30am, the annual reading of the names will take place at the Martyrs’ Memorial, Rookwood Cemetery.

Register for commemoration: nswjbd.org/events/yomhashoah2023.

To participate in “Their Names Survive”: Send survivor’s name, photo, date of birth and date of death to suzanne.green@nswjbd.org.au.