On the 26 of April the Jewish Community gathered in the local history museum. Supported by the Jewish Community Center Shemesh, Hesed Miriam and World Agency Sohnut, Jews of Karaganda commemorated three important dates: the Day of the Catastrophe, the Memorial Day, and the Independence Day of Israel. Opening of an exhibition of Israeli artists was specially timed to this event. The exposition became popular not only in the Jewish community.

The Director of the Jewish Community Center Shemesh Irina Kozhanovskaya and the Director of the representative office of Sohnut in Karaganda Alla Savostyanenko addressed the audience with welcoming remarks. Then the floor was given to the hostess of the event Larisa Brodskaya, Library Coordinator at Hesed Miriam. Among guests there were people from all generations.

The poem Six Million was recited in mournful silence and people were told about atrocities committed by fascists. Memorial candles were lit and we had a minute of silence in memory of the killed during the days of Catastrophe. At the end, Alina Dzesa and Stella Sukhorukova sang the song "Light the candles".

The Memorial Day to commemorate Israeli soldiers takes place the day before the Independence Day. Young Israelis gave their lives for the freedom and independence of Israel. The name of each soldier is inscribed in the history of Israel. As many Israeli families at this day, we recited memorial prayer Iskor.

The third part of our Journal of Memory and Glory was opened by the song Irushalaim performed by Alina Dzesa. We listened to many interesting stories about Israel and musical performances. By participating in the quiz game "Do you Know Israel?" and watching the movie "Israel without war." we have learned a lot of new things.

At the end of the event, guests shared their impressions. Some people told about their personal impressions of visiting and getting to know Israel. For example, Sergey Egorov told us how the Independence Day is celebrated in Israel in different cities. All guests thanked the organizers for this memorable and kind event.

Larisa Brodskaya