Yom HaShoah Community Event & Presentation of the Second annual Tom Weisz Memorial Award to Michael Levitt

On April 16, 2026, our community came together to commemorate Yom HaShoah, Hamilton Jewish Federation's annual event dedicated to remembering the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust, and honouring the lives, stories, and legacies that continue to shape us today.

The energy throughout the evening was palpable. Attendees felt a shared sense of strength, resilience, and identity that could be felt in every interaction, every reflection, every story. 

From the candle lighting ceremony led by Holocaust survivors and their descendants to the shared silence and reflection that followed, the evening carried a weight that was both solemn and deeply unifying.

A particularly moving element of the evening was the musical performance of Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango, presented by the Payadora Tango Ensemble. The music rooted in poems, testimonies, and writings of women who endured unimaginable suffering during the Holocaust, brought forward voices that are too often left unheard.

Through melody and memory, their stories were felt in a very intimate way. It served as a reminder that Holocaust education is not confined to facts and timelines. It lives in art. In expression. In the ability to connect emotionally across generations.

We were honoured to present the second annual Tom Weisz Memorial Award for Holocaust Education and Jewish Advocacy to Michael Levitt.

Through his leadership as President and CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, Michael has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing Holocaust education and confronting antisemitism in today’s world.

Thank you to Mayor Horwath for your special remarks and to MP, Dan Muys and the Hamilton Police anti-racism unit representatives for their ongoing presence and support.

As we reflect on Yom HaShoah, we are reminded that remembrance cannot remain solely about the past. It is about recognizing how we have been shaped as a people because of our history and how that has impacted who we have become and how we choose to show up in the world moving forward.