Holocaust Memorial Day: Support the call Never Again!

As people marked Holocaust Memorial Day this week, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin has urged people to support for the call, Never Again!
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Jan 2021, 11:50 BST
Updated 28th Jan 2021, 11:55 BST
Shoes taken from those brought to Auschwitz (Photo: Brendan McDaid/ Derry Journal)Shoes taken from those brought to Auschwitz (Photo: Brendan McDaid/ Derry Journal)
Shoes taken from those brought to Auschwitz (Photo: Brendan McDaid/ Derry Journal)

‘Never again’ is a phrase or slogan which is associated with the Holocaust and other genocides and it also appears on many Holocaust memorials.

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin is bringing a motion to Derry and Strabane Council Full Council on Thursday.

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The motion is that: “Council stands in solidarity with everyone commemorating International Holocaust Memorial Day 2021; Be the light in the darkness.

People arriving in Auschwitz as displayed in one of the photos at the Auschwitz site (Phot Brendan McDaid/ Derry Journal)People arriving in Auschwitz as displayed in one of the photos at the Auschwitz site (Phot Brendan McDaid/ Derry Journal)
People arriving in Auschwitz as displayed in one of the photos at the Auschwitz site (Phot Brendan McDaid/ Derry Journal)

“Council believes the Holocaust was a barbaric crime against the Jewish people in particular and millions of others across Europe.”

The motion also expressed alarm at the emboldening of antisemites, white supremacists, fascists and neo-nazis in the US, here and globally.

“To ‘be the light in the darkness’, Council will oppose attempts to scapegoat Jewish people, the Traveller community, migrants and the vulnerable for inequality, homelessness and the crisis facing our public services,” it also states.

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The Council is also being urged to welcome the launch of Le Chéile: Diversity Not Division and to invite representatives from Le Chéile, Jewish Voice for Just Peace, United Against Racism, North West Migrants Forum and Foyle Racial Equality Forum to a special meeting so the various groups can present on their work challenging antisemitism, racism, sectarianism, Islamophobia and other forms of scapegoating in our communities.

By Gillian Anderson

Local Deomcracy Reporter

Related topics:EuropeDerry