Members of The Jewish Center of Princeton gathered outside their building on April 11 for a memorial ceremony to remember the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust.
The Daffodil Project is a worldwide effort to remember the children of the Holocaust by planting 1.5 million daffodils around the world, one for each child who died, as well as to remember the children who are suffering from humanitarian crises taking place in the world today, according to information provided by The Jewish Center.
Over 250 daffodils were planted in October at the building on Nassau Street in their honor along the side of the building.
Daffodils were chosen because of their yellow bell that resembles the Star of David, the symbol of Judaism, as well as the yellow stars the Jewish people were required to wear during the Holocaust, according to the statement.
Yellow is also the color of remembrance and hope.
The Jewish Center is one of more than 266 locations that participated in The Daffodil Project around the globe. The project was created by Am Yisrael Chai, a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta.
At The Jewish Center, people who attended were given small daffodil cut outs on their jackets with the name of a child who died in the Holocaust written on it. The memorial started with an introduction from Pamela Zaifman, the leader of The Daffodil Project at The Jewish Center, who shared that both of her parents were Holocaust survivors, according to the statement.
She was then followed by six children, one for every million people who were killed in the Holocaust, who each read a poem from a child that was in a concentration camp or ghetto.
Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg then spoke after the children before the plaque dedicated to The Daffodil Project was unveiled against the outer wall of the building.
“This experience has been very meaningful not only to the ladies who helped initiate The Daffodil Project here, but to everyone at the synagogue. The memorial felt even more symbolic with the bright flowers against the gloomy day,” Joel Berger, executive director of The Jewish Center, said in the statement.
For more information, please contact [email protected], call (609)-921-0100 or visit thejewishcenter.org.