The Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Israel:

 We, representatives of the European Union and of the 26 Embassies of EU Member States present in Israel, are bowing our heads today in memory of the six million Jewish men, women and children who were brutally slaughtered during the Holocaust.

We salute those who walked through the valley of the shadow of death and then had the strength to rebuild their lives in Israel, Europe and across the world. As the years pass, we need to treasure the Holocaust survivors who are still among us and heed the lessons of their tragic but often also inspiring tales.

The central theme of this year’s Yom Hashoah is the 80^th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which has become a symbol for Jewish resistance against the Nazi tormentors, and for heroism at large. Today we pay tribute to the courageous who fought back, and mourn those who fell in the battle for freedom.

The history of the Holocaust constantly reminds us that we cannot remain indifferent to violence fuelled by hatred of any nation or group. Any ideology that deprives certain individuals of their human dignity and rights must be met with our unanimous condemnation.

We pledge to speak out forcefully whenever and wherever antisemitism rises. It is unacceptable that today the hatred of Jews is once again on the march. We will not stand idly by when Jews are being attacked or harassed, when false conspiracy theories and stereotypes are spread, when the Holocaust is denied or distorted, when the State of Israel’s right to exist in peace and security is questioned.

Words are not enough. The European Union’s Comprehensive Strategy on Combatting Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life (2021-2030) lists 95 concrete actions we will take. More than half have already been set in motion.

“Nazism arrived via democratic channels and it is because we let certain ideas spread, because we did not know how to denounce this evil, that it went on to become the absolute evil,” said Auschwitz survivor and former European Parliament President Simone Veil. In these difficult times, we Europeans are more dedicated than ever to learn and implement the lessons of the tragedy that unfolded on our continent.

 This is a joint statement agreed by the Ambassador of the European Union to the State of Israel and the Ambassadors of all European Union member states represented in Israel, i.e. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and  Sweden.