(Adnkronos) – Nations must make sure the “horror” of the World War II Holocaust in which over six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis “never returns” and must fight the persistent scourge of anti-Semitism, Italy said on Tuesday – Holocaust Remebrance Day.
“Today, on Remembrance Day, we pay tribute to the victims of the Shoah and honour the survivors, to ensure that the horror of the Holocaust never returns,” foreign minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement.
“Remembrance is not a formal ritual, it is a collective responsibility towards the future. It is our duty to hand down to new generations a world free from the virus of anti-Semitism,” Tajani went on.
“No one should ever again have to live in fear simply because they are Jewish,” Tajani underlined.
Anti-Semitism has not disappeared in the more than 80 years since the end of World War II, Tajani warned.
“It is a spectre that is reappearing in our societies, in Europe and around the world, he said, noting that in the current era the anti-Semitism “spreads mainly online and on social media”.
“Cowardly” terrorist attacks such as the one at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia last month are a stark reminder that anti-Semitism “continues to haunt our societies,” Tajani said, calling it “an invisible poison”.
Fifteen people including a 10-year-old girl were killed in an anti-Semitic gun attack on 15 December by Islamic State militants at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia during a celebration of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.
“The government is at the forefront of the fight against anti-Semitic hatred,” Tajani underlined, calling for “the antidote of memory, knowledge and respect”.
“We want to bring it more and more into schools, universities, and our streets,” Tajani continued.
“There is no place for anti-Semitism. It is incompatible with our values, our principles, and our identity,” he said.
The fight against anti-Semitism “is, to me, the battle of a lifetime, both politically and personally,” said Tajani.
“Today, together, we say once again, everywhere in the world: never again!” Tajani concluded.
