Remembering children who died in the Holocaust: Jewish Center of Princeton participates in the Daffodil Project

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Amy Banner, pictured with Adrian Banner, performs at the ceremony.

The Jewish Center of Princeton held a memorial ceremony on Sunday to remember the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust.

People gathered outside of the center, where more than 250 daffodil bulbs had been planted last fall as part of the Daffodil project, a worldwide effort to remember the children of the Holocaust by planting 1.5 million daffodils across the globe to represent all the children who died, as well as to remember the children who are suffering from humanitarian crises taking place in the world today.

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. Yellow is also the color of remembrance and hope.

The Jewish Center is one of more than 266 locations that have participated in The Daffodil Project around the globe. The project was created by Am Yisrael Chai, a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia.

On Sunday, people who came to the Jewish Center of Princeton were given small daffodil cutouts to put on their jackets. Each cutout had the name of a child who died in the Holocaust written on it.

Pamela Zaifman, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, kicked off the program as the leader of the Daffodil Project at the Jewish Center. Six children, one for every million people who were killed in the Holocaust, each read a poem written by a child who was in a concentration camp or ghetto. After Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg spoke, a plaque dedicated to the Daffodil Project was unveiled.

Joel Berger, the executive director of the Jewish Center, said the project was meaningful to the entire synagogue community. “The memorial felt even more symbolic with the bright flowers against the gloomy day,” he said.

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Pamela Zaifman
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Hannah and Alexander Ploss wear yellow daffodil cutouts bearing names of children killed in the Holocaust.
daffodil at Jewish Center
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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.