King Charles will be announcing a new Holocaust memorial and other governmental efforts in the annual royal speech on November 7, according to the Jewish Chronicle (JC).
In Britain, a speech given by the ruling member of the royal family is an annual tradition. The speech’s role is to provide an outline of government priorities for the upcoming year.
The bill for the new national Holocaust memorial was sponsored by the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities, led by Michael Gove. The construction of the memorial has relied on Victorian-era laws being overturned so that the site may be placed in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Palace of Westminster.
The purpose of the memorial
A government spokesman said, according to the JC, that the memorial will serve as a "powerful reminder to the whole of society of the unique evils of the Holocaust, and its victims."
“The government has always understood the importance of Holocaust memorial and has supported a National Holocaust Memorial Day since it was established. The memorial will honor the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered, and other victims of Nazi persecution.”
Despite the bill passing in its second reading without any opposition, not everyone is supportive of the memorial. Baroness Deech and Sir Simon Schama asked the government to reassign the £102 million project in favor of establishing a new Jewish museum.