Israel’s embassy and Education Dept. remember Holocaust victims, survivors
THE Embassy of Israel recently partnered with the Department of Education (Deped) for the yearly local commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The partnership sought to honor those who perished and overcame the persecution with the theme: “Recognizing the Extraordinary Courage of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust.” The United Nations General Assembly has designated January 27 as the date for the yearly remembrance.
The embassy considers the Holocaust as “the darkest day in history, when 6 million Jews were murdered, which was one-third of their entire population then.”
Ambassador Ilan Fluss shared in his message that the Holocaust was an unprecedented genocide, where Nazis planned to annihilate the entire Jewish people, just because they were Jewish.
“Last year, I spoke at this very ceremony about the growing voices of denial of the Holocaust and increasing antisemitism. I ended my speech by saying that unfortunately, these forces of evil are not history, and that at this very day, we are witnessing them again,” Fluss said while recalling October 7, 2023, when more than 1,200 Israelis were murdered by Hamas terrorists. On that day, more than 240 were kidnapped by Hamas as hostages to Gaza and to date, 136 are still held in captivity.
“We must teach, learn, educate, and say: ‘Never again!’ to Holocaust, to antisemitism, to racism, and to genocide,” the ambassador declared.
The Israeli envoy thanked Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte and her team for leading the Holocaust commemorative event and making January 27th a formal day of Holocaust remembrance in Deped schools and facilities.
Fluss expressed the importance of teaching the story of the Holocaust in the Philippines, especially former president Manuel L. Quezon’s “Open-door Policy” which saved the lives of approximately 1,300 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi regime in 1939. Quezon saved not only those individuals, but also their future families.
The remembrance event featured a photo exhibit and highlighted the lighting of six candles representing the 6 million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. They were lit by Duterte, Fluss, United Nations resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator Guztavo Gonzalez, Assistant Secretary Mardomel Celo Melicor of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Middle East and African Affairs, Mayor Josefina “Joy” Belmonte of Quezon City, and Jewish Community president Salito Malca. Kalantiaw Elementary School in Quezon City hosted the ceremony on January 24.