International
International Jewish AIDS Memorial Day since 2 May 1998
without names
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 has not affected the Jewish community, Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein and Norman L. Sandfield, Co-chairs of the International Jewish AIDS Network announced a date for Jewish AIDS Memorial Day: Lev B'omer, starting in 1998.
Lev B'omer is the 32nd day of the Omer, traditionally 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 are hoping that it is also a part of the spirit of Lev B'omer today that this plague, HIV/AIDS, end immediately.
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 unending epidemic.
We are urging all synagogues and religious institutions in our Jewish communities to observe Jewish AIDS Memorial Day with special prayers of comfort and hope, and the opportunity to remember the people whose lives have touched our own, and to empower those who live with the virus now. People throughout the world are urged to light candles at 6:00 P.M. the day before.

Future dates are: Wednesday, May 9, 2012; Saturday, April 27, 2013; Saturday, May 17, 2014; Wednesday, May 6, 2015; Wednesday, May 25, 2016; Saturday, May 13, 2017; Wednesday, May 2, 2018; Wednesday, May 22, 2019; Monday, May 11, 2020.

International Jewish AIDS Network