Brussels, January 27th, 2025 – As world leaders gather in Auschwitz today to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and celebrate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps, Founding Director of the European Coalition for Israel Tomas Sandell calls for a “renewal of Holocaust remembrance.“
“Holocaust remembrance which only focuses on the horrors of the past and does not take an interest in the future of Jewish life misses the mark,” he said. “Failing to connect the loss of six million Jewish lives during the Holocaust with the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 misses the biggest redemptive story of the 20th century, the miraculous rebirth of the Jewish state out of the ashes of the Holocaust.”
The history of European Coalition for Israel is intimately connected with Holocaust remembrance. Already twenty years ago, in January 2005, ECI initiated and hosted the first ever Holocaust memorial in the European Parliament. The groundwork had been laid by a number of courageous Members of European Parliament who already in 2004 had called for a European day of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust, while the UN General Assembly on 1 November 2005 passed a unanimous resolution 60/7 calling for an International Day of Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust.
But looking back at the last 20 years one cannot but wonder how at the same time as Holocaust remembrance has been institutionalized across Europe antisemitism has never been more widespread. How can this be?
Tomas Sandell believes that the answer partly lays with the generalization of the messages in many Holocaust memorials which fails to point out the Nazi obsession to exterminate the Jewish race altogether and rather emphasizes the need for democracy and tolerance in general. Only a few years ago the keynote speaker in one of the most important Holocaust memorials in Europe called climate change a much bigger threat to mankind than antisemitism. This misses the point.
Holocaust memorials in general do not mention the failure of the international community to establish a national home for the Jewish people before the Holocaust and are equally hesitant in mentioning the role of the modern State of Israel as a safe haven for Jews today. This may explain why we have seen a rise in antisemitism after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Many young people no longer see any connection between today’s attempts to exterminate the Jews with its ultimate expression in the Holocaust between 1939 and 1945. Consequently, after October 7 many elite universities around the world have become some of the worst superspreaders of this new form of antisemitism.
A new and extensive survey by the Anti-Defamation League reveals that antisemitism is most widespread among those under the age of 35. In this age category more than forty percent agrees with the statement that Jews are responsible for all wars in the world.
“Every new generation has to be vaccinated against this deadly disease of Jew hatred,” Sandell points out. ECI has doubled down on its efforts to reach emerging young leaders by initiating a special ECI Youth Academy where young leaders get basic training in combating antisemitism.
Although ECI will also this year participate in Holocaust memorials around Europe the most important event will be an Open Academy webinar on Thursday where Tomas Sandell will discuss Holocaust remembrance amidst the current rise of antisemitism with legendary American-Jewish leader, David Harris who is currently the Executive Chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy.
You can join the webinar on Thursday 30 January at 19.00 CET by registering on this link.