Chief Rabbi calls for end to surge in anti-Semitism
HOLOCAUST VICTIMS LAID TO REST
THE remains of six Holocaust victims murdered at Auschwitz have been buried as the UK’s Chief Rabbi urged an end to an “increase in anti-Semitism”.
Around 50 Holocaust survivors joined hundreds of other members of the Jewish community at the United Synagogue New Cemetery in Bushey, Hertfordshire, for the funeral service yesterday.
During an address, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that anti-Semitism was on the rise and unchecked hate speech “can easily be translated into hate crime”.
The ashes and bones of the six unknown victims were sent from Auschwitz to the Imperial War Museum in London in 1997.
Scientific tests later discovered they were five adults and one child, but nothing else is known about them. The funeral service was the first for Holocaust victims to be held in the UK.
After a 40-minute service a small coffin, which held the remains of all six victims, was carried to its plot where it was buried with earth from Israel.
Rabbi Mirvis said the funeral was a reminder “to confront all forms of racism and discrimination”.
He added: “The message that you convey through the presence of your remains before us today is that if anti-Semitism exists, and it goes by unchecked, then hate speech can easily be translated into hate crime.
“And when anti-Semitism is allowed to thrive, some people can do anything and some people can reach the lowest end of human conduct.”
Communities Secretary James Brokenshire MP, who joined the ceremony, said: “We must continue to challenge racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry and where hatred can lead.
“That’s why I think this has been such a unique occasion to be able to give some dignity, some respect, some acknowledgement to those six souls who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
“And how, I hope, it will bring people together and underline that message of never again, never forget and that none of us can simply stand by the side and allow this to happen.”