JAN-C

International Jewish AIDS Network announces plans for observance of Lev B'Omer, International Jewish AIDS Memorial Day.

"Thousands of candles to be lit on May 10 in memory of thousands of Jews who have died of AIDS."

In response to the growing number of Jewish people who have died of an AIDS-related illness, and the tendency of many people to think that the epidemic does not and has not affected the Jewish community, Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein and Norman L. Sandfield, Co-Chairs of the International Jewish AIDS Network are announcing the dates for the 5th International Jewish AIDS Memorial Day: Lev B'Omer, Wednesday night, May 9, and Thursday, May 10.

Lev B'Omer is the 32nd day of the Omer, the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot which has traditionally been a season of mourning for the Jewish people. In the days of Rabbi Akivah a plague ended on Lev B'Omer, leading to the day of Lag B'Omer as a day of joy. We hope that in the spirit of Lev B'Omer, that this plague, HIV/AIDS, will also end in joy.

The Hebrew letters for 32, "lamed" and "bet" spell out the word "lev," which means "heart." A Jewish AIDS Memorial Day "touches directly the hearts and minds of all of us who have loved and lost people to AIDS, and will, we hope, touch the hearts of the people who have tended to ignore this growing, unending epidemic," said Rabbi Goldstein in making this announcement.

This year, Lev B'Omer falls on Wednesday night, May 9, and Thursday, May 10. "We are urging all synagogues and religious institutions in our Jewish communities to observe this Jewish AIDS Memorial Day with special prayers of comfort and hope. This is an opportunity to remember the people whose lives have touched our own, each in their own unique way," announced Sandfield.

In recent years, people in the following cities asked for information and planned events for Memorial Day: Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Gary, Indiana, Tel Aviv, New York, Hempstead, N.Y., Santa Monica, CA, Long Beach, CA, Arcadia, CA, Cincinnati, Gaithersburg, MD, San Francisco, and Chicago. We expect that more groups will join us as we continue to remember.

People are urged to light candles at 6:00 P.M. on the 9th, throughout the country, and when they do, to remember the people whom they have loved who have died of AIDS. "It would be very cool if we could get that happeningall over the place," said Rabbi Goldstein.

Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein, is the former Director of Los Angeles Jewish AIDS Services, a program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, and the author of Being a Blessing: 54 Ways You Can Help People Living with AIDS, published in 1995 by Alef Design Group. Mr. Sandfield is a Co-Chair of Jewish AIDS Network - Chicago, a grass roots organization. They were both Co-Chairs of the first annual International Jewish AIDS Network Conference held in Washington, D.C., in October 1996.

For more information, or to indicate that your community or congregation will be participating in Jewish AIDS Memorial Day, please contact Rabbi Goldstein at (213) 937-7586 or by email at ravrafael@earthlink.net

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