University of Arizona Hillel hosted Shabbat dinner with Holocaust survivors.

University of Arizona Hillel students teamed up with local Holocaust survivors for "Shabbat Dinner and Dialogue" Nov. 7. The dinner, which was planned by the student-led Holocaust Education Committee, allowed students and survivors to interact and engage in an intimate setting. 

Adam Bellos and Michael Lauwasser, the co-chairs of the committee, envisioned an evening where students and survivors could commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Krystalnacht in an environment that supported learning and camaraderie.

Bellos and Lauwasser, both University of Arizona seniors, utilized many resources in the Tucson Jewish community while planning for the Shabbat dinner, including meeting with community professionals at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Jewish Family & Children's Service of Southern Arizona.

When Bellos met with the JFCS Survivors Group, it was clear that the survivors were just as interested in hearing what it is like to be a Jewish student on the University of Arizona campus as the students were to learn about life during the Shoah. For the Hillel Holocaust Education Committee, providing the two groups an opportunity to learn from each other became the priority.

"As a young Jewish person whose family was not immediately affected by the Holocaust, I feel like it is my duty and responsibility as a Jew to make sure that the story of the Holocaust continues to be told," said Bellos at a meeting with the local survivors.

Submitted by Hillel Foundation at the University of Arizona