Sunak confirms legislation for Westminster Shoah memorial

Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the construction of a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in the heart of Westminster will go ahead, write Lee Harpin.

Yad Vashem will inaugurate its Book of Names – a monumental installation containing the names of 4,800,000 victims of the Shoah – at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Among those taking part in the opening ceremony will be UN secretary­general António Guterres; Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations Gilad Erdan; and Yad Vashem’s chairman, Dani Dayan, a former consul general of Israel in New York.

The Book of Names will be on display at the United Nations for a month. Afterwards, it will be transferred to its permanent location at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, where it will be open to public viewing in time for Yom HaShoah, the Israeli and Jewish Holocaust remembrance day, in April.

The new version, which contains 500,000 additional names, is almost 7ft high and approximately 3ft wide. Its total length is 26ft.

In an announcement at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, he gave the green­light to the £100m project to be built in Victoria Tower Gardens, a public park next to Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster.

He said: “As we prepare to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, I’m sure the whole House will join me in paying tribute to the extraordinary courage of Britain’s Holocaust survivors, including 94­year­old Arek Hersh who is with us here today.

“This government will legislate to build the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre next to parliament so that testimonies of survivors like Arek will be heard at the heart of our democracy by every generation to come.”

In comments released later, he added: “This important Bill brings us one step closer to delivering a national Holocaust Memorial and

Learning Centre at the heart of our democracy in Westminster, where it rightly belongs.

“The memorial will honour the memory of those who were so cruelly murdered and preserve the testimonies of brave survivors so that future generations will never forget the horrors of the Holocaust.

“As the remaining survivors become older and fewer in number, it is vital that we push ahead with the Memorial which is supported by all major political parties.”

Sunak’s confirmation that the controversial project can proceed came ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow.

Manfred Goldberg, who was held in Stutthof concentration camp, Poland, said: “Several years ago survivors were promised a Hol­ ocaust Memorial in close proximity to the Houses of Parliament. I am a 92­year­old survivor who would be so grateful to be alive when this project comes to fruition.”

The Board of Deputies also welcomed Sunak’s announcement. In a statement it said: “Locating the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in the heart of Westminster will serve as a powerful reminder of the impact of the Holocaust on the Jewish people and others, and will stand as a testament to the many British soldiers and civilians who liberated Europe, enabling thousands of survivors to rebuild their lives in the UK.”

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove added: “We are committed to building the memorial next to parliament, a site which reflects its national significance and is close to other important memorials including the Cenotaph.

“We owe it to Holocaust survivors, to the British people and future generations to remember where hatred can lead.”

 Editorial comment, page 22

Baddiel Speaks At Anne Frank Trust Lunch

Comedian David Baddiel expanded on the thesis of his bestselling book Jews Don’t Count – that antisemitism is deemed a less legitimate form of racism – at the Anne Frank Trust UK annual lunch, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

In conversation with political presenter Jo Coburn, he reflected on his own family history, in particular the story of his grandfather, sent to Dachau after Kristallnacht.

The family managed to get him out and just three weeks before the war started, they reached the UK, leaving behind their entire family who were murdered by the Nazis.

Baddiel said his grandfather was “in and out of mental hospital all his life” with depression and his “grandparents never stopped being German. My grandfather went to his grave saying Gotter was a better playwright than Shakespeare.”

His book emerged from the realisation that in UK identity politics “Jews rank quite low”, and people are “less bothered about Jewish offence, Jewish inclusion and Jewish representation than about other forms of discrimination”.

It crystallised for him that many people treat antisemitism differently from other forms of racism and discrimination. He said the “mythic association between Jews and power, and Jews and money, continues to be stereotyped in a very deep way across the political spectrum. It tends to rob people’s sense of Jews as victims, despite the fact there is much else beside the Holocaust in our history that suggests that Jews are continually victimised by history.”

At the Hilton Park Lane on Tuesday, guests were welcomed by chair of trustees Daniel Men­ doza, who said: “For the first time, I really am scared by what I can see coming down the track if we don’t take action. It’s a race against time.”

The lunch included a candlelighting ceremony with guests Annabel Schild, daughter of survivor Mala Tribich, Uyghur artist and activist Rahima Mahmut and Rabbi Rafi Goodwin from Chigwell and Hainault United.

Having reached 92,438 young people in 2022, Anne Frank Trust UK’s CEO Tim Robertson said: “Our impact is proud, across the board and long­lasting.”