ICJA Observes Yom Hashoah

On April 14, 2026, students observed Yom HaShoah with a fascinating conversation between ICJA alumna Alison Pure-Slovin ’75, Midwest Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and two distinguished children of Holocaust survivors.

Miriam Starck Miller is the daughter of ICJA grandparent Izzy Starck and the author of A Boy Named 68818, about her father’s Holocaust experiences. Howard Reich is a journalist and author of five books including Prisoner of Her Past, about his mother Sonia’s experiences during the Holocaust, and The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel.

Students listened as these writers discussed their parents’ experiences and the ways that it affected them growing up. Our speakers also shared important advice with our students.

Mrs. Starck Miller stressed how important it is to speak with one’s grandparents. Even if students discuss seemingly trivial items with their grandparents, she explained, they are still building a connection and gaining their grandparents’ wisdom. Mr. Reich shared an insight he learned from Elie Wiesel: “To bear witness is to be a witness.”

This program was sponsored in memory of Rabbi Shlomo Hirsch Koller, hy”d and his sister Etka Koller-Cykornik, hy”d, by Sharon and Seymour Gertz and the estate of Margalit bat Rav Shilem Gertz z”l.