The Prime Minister has paid tribute to Holocaust survivors on the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Speaking in the House of Commons almost nine decades after the Nazi pogrom, Rishi Sunak said the government had taken firm action to fight Jew hate.
“Antisemitism has no place in our society and we're taking a strong lead in tackling it in all forms,” he said during Prime Minister’s Questions.
“We became the first country to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and the government's independent advisor on antisemitism regularly provides advice to ministers on how best to tackle this issue.
“And can I just join him, as I know the whole house will, in praising those survivors who so bravely tell their stories so we might never forget.”
Thank you to our friend @BobBlackman for remembering Kristallnacht at #PMQs today and for his and @10DowningStreet's support for the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust and celebrating our beloved and brave survivors. pic.twitter.com/LNZOHWCfmt
— H.E.T. (@HolocaustUK) November 9, 2022
The prime minister was responding to a question from Bob Blackman MP, who called for the antisemitism that led to the Holocaust to always be remembered.
He said: “84 years ago today in Germany hundreds of synagogues were destroyed, torah scrolls were desecrated, thousands of Jewish businesses and shops were destroyed as well.
“91 Jewish people were murdered and later 30 thousand Jewish men were sent to the concentration camps.
“So as we commemorate Kristallnacht let us remember that it was started with anti-Jewish hatred, it became antisemitism, and it’s still prevelent in society today.
“So will my right honourable friend condemn as in all its forms, but congratulate the Holocaust survivors who give their testimony year after year and in particular congratulate the Holocaust Educational Trust [HET] for the brilliant work they do in making sure we will never ever forget what happened in the Holocaust.”
Mr Sunak thanked Mr Blackman for the his question and the “brilliant work” he had done for Holocaust awareness.
HET Chief Executive Karen Pollock thanked the MPs for their “wonderful support” for “our brave survivors”.
Writing in the Times today, Ms Pollock said antisemitism, “didn’t end when the concentration and death camps of Europe were liberated.”
The anniversary of Kristallnacht demonstrated the significance of confronting contemporary hatred, she added.
“In just the last few weeks, we have seen American rapper Kanye West, a man with more Instagram followers than there are Jews in the world, using multiple social media platforms to wish death to Jews and spread antisemitic conspiracy theories…
“That hate was picked up by neo-Nazis in Los Angeles who rally against Jews week in week out, now afforded a national spotlight thanks to their adoption of West as some sort of hero. His words were scrawled on their banners and hung from bridges.”
