SAN FRANCISCO (JNS) — Silicon Valley executives will host Holocaust remembrance events throughout next week in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorated annually on Jan. 27.
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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, WhatsApp founder Jan Koum and Houzz founder Adi Tatarko will host friends, colleagues, youth and other members of the Silicon Valley community in their homes throughout the week for intimate discussions with Holocaust survivors.
Leading the initiative in partnership with Zikaron B’Salon (“Remembrance in the Living Room”) and the Israeli-American Council (IAC), Israel Collaboration Network (ICON) founder and CEO Yasmin Lukatz’s goal was to influence America’s leading technology hub to promote tolerance through Holocaust remembrance.
Zikaron B’Salon is a Jewish-Israeli social initiative launched in 2011 that provides that provides an intimate format, in the privacy of people’s homes, for remembering the Shoah on the eve of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. ICON is U.S.-based nonprofit founded in 2014 to harness and support Israeli technology and innovation in Silicon Valley.
Lukatz gathered people in her home on Monday night to listen to a Holocaust survivor’s story, followed by an artistic performance and a discussion among attendees with regard to the responsibility of Silicon Valley to promote values learned from the tragedy of the Holocaust.
“While creating and exporting innovation worldwide, Silicon Valley also has a responsibility to harness the power of technology and the community to promote values of morality and justice,” she said.
“While the number of Holocaust survivors diminishes each year, and we see an alarming increase in anti-Semitism around the world, I’m proud of our many partners, founders and top executives who have chosen to join us and raise awareness.”