Melbourne marks Yom Hashoah

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Around 1000 people including Holocaust survivors and their descendants, as well as politicians and representatives from Victoria Police and multi-faith communities gathered at Monash University last week for the 2025 JCCV Yom Hashoah commemoration.

The evening was hosted by survivor Nina Bassat and her daughter-in-law Natalie Bassat, who spoke on the theme “What was lost and what endures”.

Natalie Bassat commented on the rise in antisemitism in Australia.

“Since last Yom Hashoah, there have been reminders right here in Victoria that the hatred that led to the Holocaust still works.

“On December 6 last year, we watched as members of our Jewish community rescued damaged and charred sifrei Torah scrolls from the remains of the Adass Israel synagogue that had been firebombed in act of hatred … there is no doubt that this sight was incredibly triggering for so many of us here tonight and for so many in our community,” she said.

“And yet, as we’ve done so many times throughout Jewish history, we will continue to gather. We will practise our faith and we will show our unity and our strength in the face of the hate and violence.

“This attack reminds us that ‘never again’ cannot be a passive phrase. It is an activity that requires courage, effort, and most importantly, all of us … We will not allow the current heightened levels of anti-Jewish hate to become normalised here in Victoria. We must push it back to the margins of society where it belongs.”

Nina Bassat shared her testimony of being the only surviving member of her father’s family. The audience also heard the testimony of Peter Gaspar, who fled Bratislava as a boy and survived Nazi camps and hid in a hole dug into a frozen field.

Six survivors lit six memorial candles to remember the six million murdered during the Holocaust. They were accompanied by a family member who shared their story. The candlelighters were Wolf Dean, Erica Frydenberg, Peter Gaspar, Rachel Kalman, Cera Newhouse and Joe Nowoweiski.

Jewish schools and youth movements read testimony, shared reflections and sang in the choir – a poignant reminder of what endures.

There were also moving performances by musicians including Layla Carmeli-Wolski, Tammy Cohen, Tomi Kalinski, Rachel Moshel, Freydi Mrocki, Gideon Preiss, Yoni Ringelblum and Jonathan Skovron.

The evening was organised by JCCV’s Yom Hashoah committee comprising Natalie Gunn, Nina Bassat, Motti Blum, Amanda Castelan-Starr, Sidra Moshinky, Pauline Rockman and Aviva Weinberg.