Arizona U.S. Representative Greg Stanton hosted a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on Jan. 31 to officially launch Six Million Voices, the East Valley JCC’s new global nonprofit and immersive Holocaust education initiative.

In the past two years, more than 100,000 people, including 25,000 high school students, have taken the EVJCC’s “Auschwitz Virtual Live Tour,” led by Jerzy Wojcik, a certified Auschwitz guide and educator.

As Rabbi Michael Beyo, EVJCC CEO, told Jewish News, after hearing glowing feedback from participants and researching the viewing data, he realized the potential to make an even greater impact. “With our own platform we will be able to leverage all the new technologies — 3D visualizations, augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), camera drones — to offer the best learning experience in multiple countries and in multiple languages,” Beyo told Jewish News. “It’s a long path but I believe we can be a revolution, not only in Holocaust education but in empowering people to better understand the choices they make and helping people appreciate the beauty of Judaism.”

Read the Jewish News article, “Six Million Voices echoes the past while pointing to a better future” to learn more about Six Million Voices and learn more about the tours at sixmillionvoices.org. 

Pictured, from left, at the reception in Washington, D.C., are Rep.  Tom Kean of New Jersey;Ilan Greenfield, owner of Gefen Publishing House; Rep. Paul Tonko of New York; Rabbi Michael Beyo, CEO of EVJCC and Six Million 
Voices; and Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona. The book that is being held up is “And Every Single One Was Someone,” a book by Phil Chernofsky that lists the word “Jew” six million times. 

Pictured, from left, are Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz  of Florida; Rep. Dan Goldman of  New York; certified Auschwitz guide and educator Jerzy Wojcik; and Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona.