Andrew provided the following update on Facebook yesterday regarding Holocaust Memorial Day.
Andrew said,
Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day which falls on the day in 1945 the Auschwitz death camp was liberated.
We held our Holocaust Memorial Service in Brigg online this past Sunday. Although unable to gather in person, we were still able to remember together all the victims of the holocaust and subsequent genocides.
My thanks go to Brigg Town Council for organising the event and also to Rabbi Thomas from my synagogue who shared some moving words of his memories growing up as the son of a parent interred in one of the camps.
It is so important we never forget the horrendous events of the holocaust and I am so proud that in Brigg we have a permanent memorial to the holocaust.
Stories like the one below must not be forgotten as the survivors of the holocaust leave us.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-55816309
Andrew also took part in the Holocaust Memorial Day debate in the House of Commons earlier this afternoon. You can read his speech below:
I want to begin with the name of Hilel Gruzin. His name was provided to me with the Yellow Candle I received for Yom HaShoah earlier this year. Hilel was one of the victims of the holocaust, dying at the age of just 21 in 1944 in Latvia, and I hope we can remember his name today. His memory is a blessing.
I want to thank Brigg Town Council for the memorial day ceremony we undertook on Sunday. We were unable, of course, to meet in person this year, but I thank the town council for organising what was anyway a very moving memorial day. I also pay particular tribute to Rabbi Thomas Salamon from my synagogue, who provided some words to us on that day, particularly recounting his story—of his family and of growing up as the son of a mother who was interned in one of the camps.
I want briefly to talk about the work of the APPG against antisemitism, of which I am proud to be co-chair. The work we have been doing this year has largely focused on online antisemitism, which we know is a growing problem in this country. It is something we have to get a grip on, and get a grip on quickly, given the prevalence of social media and the growth of it.
We hear a lot about Facebook, and a lot about Twitter and TikTok, but one platform we have heard less about is Amazon, a company that many of us would herald for helping get us through these past few months—it has many strings to its bow—but, sadly, one that has taken a very long time to remove antisemitic content. Only recently, 92 books were removed from its platform because of holocaust denial material. At the end of last year, my co-chair and I had to write to Amazon about antisemitic responses that came in the form of Alexa—quite appalling responses—and we have had to write to it again regarding the content it has on its site from the notorious conspiracy theorist and antisemite David Icke, which although provided by a third party, is accessed via Amazon.
In the final seconds I have, my plea to all these platforms is to act responsibly. They cannot contract out their responsibility in regard to antisemitism. This is an area that, sadly, is growing, and they have to do more. I hope that the online harms Bill will provide an opportunity for us to ensure they do more.
PHOTO - Andrew signs the Holocaust Educational Trust's Book of Commitment during a previous Holocaust Memorial Day.
