Parliamentarians at Auschwitz
In the largest delegation of Israeli politicians ever dispatched abroad, almost half of the Knesset’s members spent Monday at Auschwitz, in honour of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The parliamentarians ranged from the Jewish Home and Israel Beitenu Parties on the right to Meretz on he left – whose representatives included its highest-ranking Arab member, Esawi Frij.
Isaac Herzog, leader of the Labour party, said that the trip was fitting because Israel’s political leaders have a special responsibility to commemorate the Shoah. “There are no words to describe the intensity of our feelings as those who represent the atmosphere and opinions in our democracy,” he said.
In an emotional speech at the camp Herzog spoke of people who want Jews to leave behind “Auschwitz syndrome”. But he said: “Auschwitz is here. Auschwitz happened. Auschwitz is possible. It will forever be a black hole that threatens to swallow up human and Jewish history.”
Jonny Daniels, founder and executive director of Mimaamakim (From the Depths), a not-for-profit that initiated the trip, said the large delegation at Auschwitz from the parliament of the Jewish State made “an unprecedented statement” about commitment to Holocaust commemoration.
Holocaust Remembrance Day was also marked in Israel. The government held a special meeting on anti-Semitism, during which Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharaksky warned of its strength today. He said: “As anti-Semitism – in both its traditional form and its newer mutations – continues to poison minds around the world, it is important that we strengthen those whom it targets and who are at the frontlines of the battle against it: Jewish communities around the world.”
President Shimon Peres urged in his Holocaust Remembrance Day address: “Let us not be satisfied by condemning the Holocaust, but rather join our hearts and hands to ensure that we live in a world where another Holocaust is impossible.”
He said: “Forgetfulness is a menace, we must remember, and remember to love and respect everyone, no matter the colour of their skin or the origin of their birth. Moses taught us that every human being was made in the image of the Lord; no-one has the right to take that away.”
On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation added testimony documents from Yad Vashem to its “Memory of the World Register”.
“There is special significance in the fact that on International Holocaust Remembrance Day itself, Yad Vashem’s collection of the names of the Jews murdered in the Shoah received recognition of its universal importance,” said Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev.
NATHAN JEFFAY
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