Shedding light on victims of Shoah

THE GREY skies over Hyde Park were a suitably solemn backdrop for Britain’s national Yom Hashoah commemoration.

Holocaust survivors, religious leaders and politicians were among more than 1,200 people at the moving ceremony in central London on Sunday.

Speeches from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Israeli ambassador Mark Regev were interspersed with candle-lightings, musical pieces and prayer.

In recent years, the national commemoration has taken place at Allianz Park in North-West London, enabling a larger attendance.

But the move back to Hyde Park — enforced by a rugby fixture at Allianz Park — ensured a more intimate atmosphere. The 90-minute ceremony opened with remarks from Henry Grunwald, who told the crowd that this year’s theme was “defiance”. This week is the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and Sunday was the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen.

A statement was read out on behalf of survivors by Gena Turgel, who, amid total silence, described how she survived an Auschwitz gas chamber. During her remarks, a young Muslim girl in a headscarf wiped away a tear.

There was loud applause when the Chief Rabbi called on Europe’s political leaders to condemn contemporary antisemitism.

“The call of the hour is for strong and solid leadership to take on antisemitism and send out the right tone of message… to get rid of this evil in our society,” he said.

“Every political leader must send a clear and unequivocal message that it will not be tolerated any more.”

Memorial candles were lit to remember Shoah victims — with communal leaders and children accompanying survivors to light them. It was one of the many links drawn between older participants and younger generations.

Speakers were introduced by Annie Levy of RSY-Netzer, Hannah Reuben of Bnei Akiva and Kathryn Rose of the Union of Jewish Students.

Mr Khan later told the JC of the importance of younger generations taking up the mantle. His concern was that “as time goes on, there are fewer Holocaust survivors and I want to learn from them, listen to their stories and anecdotes and be inspired to do better”.

The crowd reciting Kaddish in unison was particularly poignant, as was the blowing of the shofar by Rabbi Barry Marcus at the conclusion of a minute’s silence.

Mr Khan received applause for saying it was “vital to take time out of our lives to remember, to reflect and to recommit that our children will learn about the dangers of where prejudice and hatred can lead”.

He said the world was living through “uncertain times” and one of the “difficult lessons we must all learn” was that peace was not an automatic right. “If we are not careful, we can go backwards,” he warned.

The Mayor added: “Jewish communities in this country, in this city, are feeling unsafe. This is completely unacceptable. It must not go unchecked. We must all remain defiant… in our mission to learn the lessons of the past.”

Mr Regev said: “Could it be that some people have a problem with the fact Jews refuse to be victims any more? “We are once again a free and sovereign people in our homeland. To those who call for Israel’s destruction… we will protect ourselves and we will continue to call out those who turn a blind eye in the face of anti-Jewish bigotry. When the Jewish people say ‘never again’, we mean never again.”

Yom Hashoah UK chair Neil Martin said the commemoration was evidence that British Jews had embraced the day.

“Organising this event is both an honour and a privilege.”

I want to learn from survivors’