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In backdrop of campus antisemitism, AEPi raises Holocaust awareness

Brothers organized walks and speaker events through the fraternity’s “We Remember” campaign.

AEPi Brothers at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., organized a campus-wide walk to raise awareness of the Holocaust. Credit: Courtesy.
AEPi Brothers at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., organized a campus-wide walk to raise awareness of the Holocaust. Credit: Courtesy.

Scores of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) chapters walked through their college campuses and communities this spring to bring Holocaust awareness directly to students and their campus community. While antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric and actions run rampant on college campuses, the brothers of AEPi, the world’s largest and leading Jewish college fraternity, wanted to make sure they helped raise awareness about the Holocaust through the fraternity’s “We Remember” campaign.

The campaign is a series of events and walks organized by AEPi brothers through their college campuses to raise awareness of the Holocaust and the atrocities committed against humankind.

The walkers are silent as they march through their campus and community, wearing only the words, “Never Forget” on signs attached to their shirts. On many campuses, the walks conclude with a short service by a local rabbi and/or are conducted in conjunction with a reading of names of those murdered in the Holocaust. On some campuses, AEPi helped sponsor events featuring Holocaust survivors speaking to the campus community. Participation in the events is voluntary and open to the greater campus and community.

AEPi Brothers at the University of California, Irvine organized a campus-wide walk to raise awareness of the Holocaust. Credit: Courtesy.
AEPi at the University of Tennessee
AEPi Brothers at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., painted the campus rock on Yom Hashoah. Credit: Courtesy.
AEPi at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., organized a solemn walk through campus on Yom Hashoah. Credit: Courtesy.

“These are complicated and dangerous times on college campuses. The level of antisemitic rhetoric and actions that Jewish students are facing is virtually unprecedented,” said Rob Derdiger, AEPi’s chief executive officer. “We are immensely proud of our chapters who have stood strong in the face of this hate and worked to peacefully remind their campus communities about the atrocities of the Holocaust.

He continued: “Our Brothers march with signs saying, ‘Never Again’ and ‘Never Forget.’ That message has never been more important or needed than it is today. Our Brothers are living AEPi’s mission to develop the future leaders of the Jewish community.”

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Alpha Epsilon Pi is the world’s leading Jewish college fraternity, operating chapters on more than 150 college campuses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel. Founded in 1913, AEPi has more than 110,000 living alumni. The fraternity’s mission—developing the future leaders of the Jewish communities—is demonstrated every day through acts of brotherhood, tzedakah (charity), social awareness, and support for Jewish communities and Israel.
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