Navigate to News section

Commemorating the Holocaust Through Song

Hundreds of Holocaust survivors and their families gathered in Israel to sing Ofra Haza’s ‘Chai,’ a song about the endurance of the Jewish people

by
Jesse Bernstein
April 10, 2018
YouTube
A crowd of Holocaust survivors and their families are led in song at Beit Avi Chai, in Jerusalem.YouTube
YouTube
A crowd of Holocaust survivors and their families are led in song at Beit Avi Chai, in Jerusalem.YouTube

Turning an event meant to commemorate the Holocaust into a joyous, life-affirming occasion is no small feat. So when someone is able to that, and with a little bit of flair, it’s worth paying attention to.

Beit Avi Chai, a Jerusalem cultural center, partnered with Koolulam, a group dedicated to mass singing events, and Zikaron BaSalon (“memory in the living room”), a Holocaust commemoration event facilitator, to produce this moving video:

Hundreds of Holocaust survivors, surrounded by generations of their families, came together to sing “Chai,” by Ofra Haza, one of Israel’s most revered singers. The song was originally written for the 1983 Eurovision Competition in Munich, and very directly addresses the horrors of the Holocaust and the promises of Israel. So goes the chorus:

Alive, alive, alive – Yes, I’m still alive!
This is the song which grandfather
Sang yesterday to father
And today, I

Check out the video, and keep the Kleenex close.

Jesse Bernstein is a former Intern at Tablet.