And on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness on the plain, from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. Joshua 20:8
As part of CUFI’s “For Zion’s Sake” campaign, we have listed 12 principles that we believe the new UK Government should implement, including building the National Holocaust Memorial in Westminster.
- With a rise of anti-Semitism in the UK we need to educate and preserve the lessons of the Holocaust.
- Britain played an important role in the liberation of the concentration camps
- This memorial will honour the memory of victims of the Holocaust and teach future generations.
We live in a time of rising anti-Semitism in Britain with an increasing number of people who have never heard about the Holocaust. We must educate future generations and preserve the lessons of history. This is why we believe the next UK government must ensure that the planned National Holocaust Memorial in Westminster goes ahead.
Six million Jews were murdered at the hands of Hitler’s Nazi regime throughout Europe and hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers also lost their lives fighting against that same hatred.
Britain played an important role in bringing about an end to the Holocaust, the worst genocide in history. And Parliament was the stage for British leaders to proclaim their opposition to Nazi Germany and rally the nation against this hatred.
For example, in the House of Lords, Archbishop William Temple spoke of the “massacres and starvation” of the Jews by the Nazis. He gave a powerful speech saying, “We at this moment have upon us a tremendous responsibility. We stand at the bar of history, of humanity and of God.”
We once again have a tremendous responsibility to stand against anti-Semitism.
Today, few people remain who remember those darkest days in history and there are signs that our nation is forgetting the horrors of the past, which is why we must support initiatives like this.
Recent reports show a growing number of people in this country, especially the younger generation, who know “nothing” or “very little” about the Holocaust. And 64% of the country does not know the number of people killed in the Holocaust.
On top of this, 5% of the country don’t believe the Holocaust happened at all, with a further 8% thinking it is exaggerated. We have to educate people with the truth!
Thankfully, the vast majority of Britain sees the importance of Holocaust education with 86% of people saying it is important to teach Holocaust in schools and 76% thinking more should be done to educate people. This memorial and education centre does just that!
It is not political to honour the memory of those murdered in the Holocaust. It is the right thing to do. And this memorial will honour their memory and teach future generations. Therefore, it is right for our nation to have a permanent memorial to the Holocaust and learning centre in the heart of our capital.