(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

The Mayor of Beit Shemesh, Dr. Aliza Bloch, and the Deputy Ambassador of Japan in Israel, Mr. Yo Usumi, participated Thursday morning, Holocaust Remembrance Day, in the planting of a tree and the unveiling of a monument in memory of Chiune Sugihara, a Righteous Among the Nations.

The ceremony took place as part of the Holocaust Remembrance Day events at the Branco Weiss School, where the tree was planted, and the monument was erected. The mayor and the deputy ambassador praised the work of Sugihara, who during the Holocaust was the Consul of Japan in Kaunas, the capital of Lithuania, and saved thousands of Jews by means of Japanese documents that enabled them to leave the German occupied territory and reach a safe haven. Also participating in the ceremony were Mr. Berl Schorr, a Holocaust survivor who managed to escape the danger because of Sugihara and his family, as well as a representative of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Mr. Omar Caspi.

Mayor Bloch said: “This monument is a signpost for us to ask ourselves whether we have done enough good deeds or that we are busy only with ourselves. This is our way of turning Memorial Day into a day of learning and soul-searching. And in everyday life we have to stop, think and look for a way to say thank you to the good people who work for humanity and society. This is a welcome activity by the educational staff of the Branco Weiss School, and I thank them and greatly appreciate their work.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)