Livingston—On Wednesday evening April 22, a community-wide Yom Hazikaron observance and Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration was held at Congregation Etz Chaim of Livingston. This show of unity was a tremendous Kiddush Hashem as members from all the shuls in Livingston, Springfield, and West Orange came together with the Federation of MetroWest to participate in what was a capacity crowd for the event.

The program began with a memorial for the soldiers and civilians who lost their lives last summer in Israel during Operation Protective Edge. Teens from the community read each name with a short biography.

The keynote speaker for the event was Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice President of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Mr. Hoenlein gave a most inspiring talk that left the audience wanting more.

The program concluded with a lively Chagigah.

Audio of the program can be found on the Etz Chaim website at www.etzchaimnj.org.