March begins Jewish Awareness Month at the University, providing students, faculty and administrators with a chance to experience Jewish culture.
The University will host an international conference entitled "Music Suppressed by the Third Reich." Hillel will work as a cosponsor of this event, which will be a two-day conference featuring the work of world-renowned musicians and internationally known speakers.
"The concert is a huge thing," Hillel Program Director Shelby Apple said. "Hillel's never been a part of anything this big."
Ela Weisbeerger, a Holocaust survivor, was added to the list of participants last week.
Weisbeerger was one of 100 children to survive the Terezin concentration camp. She was in more than 50 operatic productions that the Nazis used during the Holocaust as propaganda to convince the public they were promoting Jewish culture.
"This will be a huge international conference and will bring a lot of attention to Hillel," Conference Coordinator Benjamin Levy said.
Other distinguished guests include the Hawthorne String Quartet and Bret Werb, a music researcher from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
For six years, the Hillel Jewish Center has sponsored a month of cultural and religious activities for the University community.
Jewish Awareness Month occurs nationally at colleges and universities during different months of the year. The University's Hillel traditionally has chosen March for its events.
Hillel members said the month marks a chance to reach out to Jewish and non-Jewish students alike about Jewish culture.
Approximately 10 percent of the University population is Jewish, and about 400 students are now involved in activities within Hillel, Apple said.
During March, Hillel plans to hold one or two outreach programs for interested students as well as activities for people who are already active, said Melinda Moshell, former JAM chairwoman and a fourth-year College student.
Hillel has traditionally seen a rise in interest and participation among Jewish students after awareness month activities, Moshell said.
Students began yesterday to deliver baskets called mishloach manot to Jewish residents in Charlottesville. Tomorrow on the Lawn, students will hand out hamentashen, a special pastry eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim.
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