More than 1,200 people gathered in Hyde Park on Sunday to commemorate the Holocaust.

The annual Yom HaShoah event marked the 75 anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and the speakers included London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Israeli Ambassador to the UK Mark Regev and Cheif Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

The event was free to attend and was run by Yom HaShoah UK. The theme for 2018 was “Defiance” and the programme included songs, readings and performances from combined male voice choirs and well as the choirs of Jewish primary schools.

The full video of the occasion is below:

Chief Rabbi Mirvis said:

“Responsible leadership is always necessary to fight against the scourge of anti-Semitism and all evils within our society. We are witnessing a worrying increase of anti-Semitic sentiment and activity throughout the continent, including here in Britain.”

“The call of the hour is for strong, solid and responsible leadership to take on anti-Semitism. To send out the right tone of message, that will strive to get rid of this evil in our society.”

He called on “every political leader to send a clear and unequivocal message that anti-Semitism in all of its forms will not be tolerated any more.”

Ambassador Regev said:

Those who “profess solidarity with the victims of the Holocaust… who claim to stand against anti-Semitism and oppose racism in all its forms.”

He said it’s “all too easy to express pity for the oppressed Jew”, and asked whether “some people have a problem with the fact that the Jews have decided to be the victim no more.”

“To all those who call for Israel’s destruction, whether it’s the regime in Iran, or its terrorist proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, or those who express solidarity with them in this very country, I say this: we will protect ourselves physically.. verbally.. and will continue to call out those who turned a blind eye in the face of anti-Jewish bigotry.”

Mayor Khan said:

“We must confront the reality around the world, anti-Semitism and hate crime is on the rise again.”

“Jewish communities are feeling unsafe within this very country, within this very city. This is completely unacceptable and mustn’t go unchecked”

“If we’re not careful, we can go backwards when we allow intolerance and hatred to fester.”

Holocaust Survivor Gena Turgel MBE said:

“Ignorance must not be tolerated, hatred must be abhorred and let us never forget those less fortunate than us; let us light a candle for many years to come.”

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