Indianapolis — The State of Indiana will be presented with the prestigious Domont Award for the Enhancement of Jewish Life by the Jewish Federation Wednesday, June 19, 2013 in Indianapolis. The award is for their 15th Annual Holocaust Day of Remembrance and Youth Summit program held on April 10, 2013.

“This is a great honor, and I am pleased to accept it, along with the Honorable Clayton Graham, on behalf of the State of Indiana,” said Jamal L. Smith, Executive Director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. “This program, and ones like it, is vital to ensure issues of human and civil rights are always remembered.”

The 15th Annual Holocaust Day of Remembrance, titled “Honoring the Rescuers,” involved a Youth Summit, where over 300 students from across the state took part in interactive learning sessions developed by the Bureau of Jewish Education. The students then proceeded to the Indiana Statehouse for the Holocaust Observance ceremony which included a special presentation by students at the Hasten Hebrew Academy.

We were pleased to invite students from the Hasten Hebrew Academy to participate in this year’s program,” said Lindsey Mintz, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. “Their personal connections and stories of relatives and loved ones who lived in the period of the Holocaust moved the entire audience.”

The Holocaust Day of Remembrance is held annually during the National Holocaust Week of Remembrance. The program is organized by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Indiana Holiday Commission, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the Bureau of Jewish Education and the Jewish Community Relations Council. For more information about the State of Indiana’s Holocaust Day of Remembrance visit www.in.gov/mlkihc or call 1-800-628-2909.