"Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th Jan will give an opportunity for our towns to reflect" say Medway Liberal Democrats

Saturday 27th January 2023 marks the 79th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Every year on that day Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place, a day that will give an opportunity for people from our towns and across the country to reflect on the tragic events of the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2024 is 'Fragility of Freedom'

Alan Wells, spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats said, “ Even at a local level, we have witnessed recently attacks aimed at different faiths around our towns with acts of vandalism at the Chatham Memorial Synagogue. Like many residents, I was appalled at the attacks on the Synagogue last August, which left the whole community shocked. The Synagogue has been marred by anti-social behaviour over the past four years with attacks seeing the front door covered in excrement, its CCTV vandalised and the desecration of its cemetery, the fifth such attack.

Acts of this kind challenge the values of free, democratic and inclusive societies and has no place in Medway. Medway council, formally adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of Anti-Semitism, demonstrates the Council’s commitment to engaging with the experiences of Jewish communities, to support them against the contemporary challenges they face, and sends a clear message that anti-Semitic behaviour will not be tolerated in Medway.

Medway Liberal Democrats welcomed the Medway Council’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of Anti-Semitism. Not only as a resident in the High Street, but having campaigned in the area, I know there is strong community agreement that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. Acts of this kind challenge the values of free, democratic and inclusive societies and has no place in Medway”.

We recognise the above definition as an invaluable tool for public bodies to understand how anti-Semitism manifests itself in the 21st century. Liberal Democrats are committed in tackling the appalling rise in hate crimes in all its forms and will continue to fight against prejudice and discrimination, to ensure equality and protection for people of all backgrounds and beliefs. We will continue to condemn the attacks on the synagogue, as with any attacks on a religious building.

Medway Liberal Democrats stand in solidarity against these acts of racism, which we will not tolerate. Saturday 27th January will give local people the chance to reflect, not only the past but the present also. As the Holocaust moves from living history, to just history, it becomes ever more important that we take the time to remember the victims and also pay tribute to the survivors who work tirelessly to educate young people today.

ENDS

ADDITIONAL NOTES & LINKS FOR EDITORS:

The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, is as follows: ‘Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.’

Holocaust Memorial Day Trust | Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 Theme Launch (hmd.org.uk)

Freedom means different things to different people. What is clear is that in every genocide that has taken place, those who are targeted for persecution have had their freedom restricted and removed, before many of them are murdered. This is often a subtle, slow process. The ten stages of genocide, as identified by Professor Gregory Stanton, demonstrate that genocide never just happens.

There is always a set of circumstances which occur, or which are created, to build the climate in which genocide can take place and in which perpetrator regimes can remove the freedoms of those they are targeting. Not only do perpetrator regimes erode the freedom of the people they are targeting, demonstrating how fragile freedom is, they also restrict the freedoms of others around them, to prevent people from challenging the regime.

Despite this, in every genocide there are those who risk their own freedom to help others, to preserve others’ freedom or to stand up to the regime. HMD 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. 49 years after the Holocaust ended, 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, the world stood by as Hutu extremists shattered the fragile freedom in Rwanda, following decades of tension and violence, culminating in the murder of over one million Tutsis in just one hundred days.