Holocaust Memorial Day 2009

I am grateful for this opportunity to say a few words to the very people who survived the atrocities of the Holocaust, and the more recent tragedies in Rwanda and Kosovo. If anything the latter shows that there are still many lessons to be learnt, both in international and individual terms.

Recent events have surely brought this home.

No-one could be left unmoved by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But the sad fact is that there are people seeking to take advantage of the events in Gaza. People who use the suffering there to try and justify bullying, intimidation and violence on our own streets.

There is a clear line between legitimate protest and cruel and criminal acts. Every decent citizen will be alarmed by the rise in antisemitic incidents. I am sickened at the sight of a swastika daubed on a synagogue in Hertfordshire: outraged that there are children in British cities afraid to go to school in case they get attacked on the way. These incidents are absolutely unacceptable, just as the attacks on Muslim communities that we saw after 9/11 - women wearing the hijab being abused in the street, attempted arson on mosques - were absolutely unacceptable. The UK has some of the toughest legislation on hate crime in the world and we will use it to the full to punish cowardly and despicable acts.

Holocaust Memorial Day is about commemorating all of the communities who suffered as a result of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution, and demonstrating that the Holocaust is relevant to everyone in the UK today.

I feel honoured to be part of a commemoration which shows the tenacity of the human spirit to survive against the odds.

The work that Beth Shalom does particularly with our young people is inspiring and I believe it is the beginning of a journey to understanding why we all have a duty to stand up to hatred.

We need to remember all victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution; Jews, Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), East European civilians, Russian prisoners of war, trade unionists, communists, political opponents, disabled people, Jehovah's Witnesses, gay men and lesbians and Black Germans.

We need to reflect upon those affected by more recent atrocities - for instance in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Finally, we need to remain vigilant and motivate people both individually and collectively to ensure that the horrendous crimes, racism and victimisation committed during the Holocaust are neither forgotten nor repeated whether in Europe or elsewhere in the world.