EAJC President speech at Victory Day 70th Anniversary Ceremony at Netanya's Victory Monument

As we stand here today before this beautiful and haunting monument symbolising the journey through the darkness to light we cannot but reflect on the terrible price that was paid to stop the Nazi slaughter in Europe. It is estimated that on the Eastern front, during a period of less than 4 years, over 10 million soldiers of the Red Army lost their lives and over 15 million civilians were murdered. The cost in human life is unfathomable. It is more than 3 times the entire population of the State of Israel, it is over 17 000 people killed every day for four years on the Eastern front. All because of a hateful ideology which sought to dominate the world and would stop at nothing.
The role of the Red Army in stopping the Nazi advance and eventually pushing back the Nazi forces until their defeat was one of history’s most important military victories. We dare not imagine the fate of Europe or Asia without that victory. It is hard to determine how many Jewish lives were saved by the allied forces in the final weeks of the war but when the Red Army liberated Auschwitz they found around 7500 survivors. Another 20000 survived the death march to Bergen Belsen and were liberated there by the British.
The numbers of survivors are undoubtedly small in comparison to the scale of the destruction wreaked on Europe’s Jews. But the Talmud teaches us that he “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” The Nazi forces destroyed a world of Jewish life, whole families, entire communities, centuries of tradition and learning.
By contrast the actions of the Red Army and the western allies provided us with the opportunity to rebuild our world. Each survivor became a world unto themselves, they rebuilt families, they helped build the State of Israel and they made an invaluable contribution to humanity.
Today, Jewish culture in Europe is thriving once more. Jewish cultural centres, synagogues, film festivals, art exhibitions and community events are flourishing. In the darkest parts of Europe where the Jewish flame was all but extinguished and only a flicker remained, the survivors set about rekindling the fire. Here in Israel a whole new world was built with a culture that combines the old and the new. Our history transformed into a modern nation state at the forefront of science and technology. None of that would have been possible without the defeat of Nazi Germany and without the sacrifice of the Red Army. We are eternally grateful for their contribution.
The past 70 years have been a time of rapid change. Europe was rebuilt and eventually united, technological development has brought us closer together and allows for information to be shared in quantities and at speeds few of us ever imagined. The evil ideology of fascism has passed from the continent even though pockets of support for it remain. But not everything has changed. The victimisation of Jews which has been so sadly prominent throughout European history is rearing its ugly head once more. The consequences are the most violent we have seen since the end of that terrible war.
Jews are once again preparing for the worst and beginning to ask one another whether there is a future for our community in Europe. Whether a suitcase should be packed and ready by the door should we need to flee once more in the night.
The anti-Semitism of 2015 comes from radical Islam and from the far right. It is expressed through outlandish and disproportionate criticism of Israel combined with classic conspiracy theories. 70 years ago we were blamed for being in Europe, today we are blamed for being in the Middle East. The pattern is sadly familiar and only the context changes.
A Jew in Europe today walks their child to a school which is under armed guard, prays at a synagogue with security guards outside and many hide their identity when talking through the streets of the continent’s capital. Jews are shot and killed as they shop for the Sabbath and their gravestones are smashed and daubed with messages of hate. Once more Jews are targeted for the crime of simply being a Jew.
As we stand here today we cannot settle for remembering. That is the first step, we must remember, we must educate future generations and as more voices challenge the events of history we must be prepared to counter them in every sphere. But remembering must be followed by action. Action against racism, against hatred, against violence. And in that we look again to our friends and ask that we all stand together because that is our true victory and our salute to their sacrifice.