World Jewish Congress launches Int’l Holocaust Day remembrance campaign
“With levels of antisemitism, xenophobia and Holocaust-denial rampant and rising... it is imperative that the memory of the Holocaust be shared more widely than ever"-WJC president Ron Lauder
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: JANUARY 8, 2019 06:21WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS President Ronald Lauder holds a #WeRemember sign(photo credit: SHACHAR AZRAN)
The World Jewish Congress has launched its annual #WeRemember campaign ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.Now in its third year, the campaign urges people to photograph themselves holding a #WeRemember sign and post it to social media in an effort to combat antisemitism and all forms of hatred, genocide and xenophobia. The campaign, in partnership with UNESCO and other organizations, reached more than 650 million people last year – more than one out of 11 people – in 50 countries and 20 languages.“With levels of antisemitism, xenophobia and Holocaust-denial rampant and rising across the world, it is imperative that the memory of the Holocaust be shared more widely than ever to ensure that the atrocities we witnessed just seven decades ago never repeat themselves,” said WJC president Ronald S. Lauder.“A concerning report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights last month found that nine out of 10 European Jews said they believed antisemitism was getting worse, and a shocking CNN poll released shortly before that found that more than one-third of Europeans know little to nothing about the Holocaust. With fewer survivors among us, it is the responsibility of the next generation to keep their stories and memories alive. Together, we must remember the past to protect our future for generations to come.”In addition to the social media campaign, interviews with survivors and messages from participants will be projected on the walls of Auschwitz-Birkenau and live-streamed from January 24 until January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1945.Together with UNESCO, the WJC has launched a website on Holocaust education (aboutholocaust.org). Roberta Grossman and Nancy Spielberg, the filmmakers of the Holocaust survivor documentary Who Will Write Our History, and their distributor Abramorama, are supporting #WeRemember by screening their film in over 200 venues over the next three weeks.“Education is the key to combating the spread of antisemitism and hatred, and given today’s digital sphere of influence, social media is the best tool to reach the masses. Since the #WeRemember initiative began, it has become a grassroots movement of wide impact,” said Lauder.
