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These Holocaust Survivors Have An Important Message For The World

"Speak up and put down signs of racism, acts of hatred.”
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By 

Religion Reporter, HuffPost

Nine Holocaust survivors have come together for the second year to send the world a powerful reminder to speak up against hatred.

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls each year on Jan. 27, the nine women joined forces in a video calling on people to remember the horror of the Holocaust and to pledge to make sure such atrocities never happen again. 

“Today, we plead with you again speak up and put down signs of racism, acts of hatred,” the women said in the video posted by the World Jewish Congress on Tuesday. “Show your commitment to honor the past and protect our future.”

International Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The annual day of commemoration, established by the United Nations, honors the the 6 million Jewish people who perished during World War II. 

The Holocaust survivors’ video is part of a larger social media campaign by the World Jewish Congress, an international coalition of Jewish communities and organizations. This is the second year the WJC has led the initiative, which asks supporters to post photos of themselves holding a #WeRemember sign to social media.

Contributions for 2018 were pouring in on Wednesday. The WJC aims to reach 500 million people through this year’s campaign. 

“Around the world today, anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, and hatred of others continue to rear their ugly heads. We must remember because there are fewer and fewer survivors among us, and within just a few decades, all will have passed. We must remember because ‘never again’ seems to happen again and again,” WJC President, Ronald S. Lauder said in a statement. “It is now the responsibility of the younger generation to teach their friends about the horrors of hatred, and to spread the message that never again must mean never again.”  

Last year, the call for contributions elicited responses from Jewish leaders and politicians, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). People from other faiths also participated, including Muslim leaders from Germany and France. 

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Before You Go

Jewish Social Justice Organizations
Jewish Farm School(01 of08)
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The Jewish Farm School is dedicated to teaching about contemporary food and environmental issues through innovative trainings and skill-based Jewish agricultural education. We are driven by traditions of using food and agriculture as tools for social justice and spiritual mindfulness. Through our programs, we address the injustices embedded in today's mainstream food systems and work to create greater access to sustainably grown foods, produced from a consciousness of both ecological and social well being. (credit:Jewish Farm School)
Repair the World(02 of08)
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Repair the World works to inspire American Jews and their communities to give their time and effort to serve those in need. We aim to make service a defining part of American Jewish life. (credit:Repair the World)
Challah for Hunger(03 of08)
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Challah for Hunger brings people together to raise money and awareness for social justice -- through challah bread. Our more than 40 chapters, on college campuses throughout the U.S. and beyond, engage young people in community, tradition, hands-on baking, activism and philanthropy. (credit:Challah for Hunger)
Uri L' Tzedek(04 of08)
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Uri L'Tzedek is an Orthodox social justice organization guided by Torah values and dedicated to combating suffering and oppression. Through community based education, leadership development and action, Uri L'Tzedek creates discourse, inspires leaders and empowers the Jewish community toward creating a more just world. (credit:Uri L' Tzedek)
Leket Israel(05 of08)
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Each year, with the help of 40,000 volunteers, Leket Israel rescues over 700,000 meals and 21 million lbs of produce and perishable goods, and supplies more than 1.25 million (7,500/school day) volunteer-prepared sandwiches to underprivileged children. Food, that would have otherwise gone to waste, is redistributed to hundreds of nonprofit partners caring for the needy. (credit:Leket Israel)
Yad Sarah(06 of08)
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Yad Sarah's mission is to keep the ill and the elderly in their homes and out of institutions as long as possible. Home care in the natural environment of the family is most conducive to healthy recuperation, both physically and emotionally. It also costs both family and state much less. Thirty years after it was founded, Yad Sarah has 103 branches throughout Israel run by more than 6,000 volunteers, and saves the Israeli economy about $320 million a year in hospitalization and medical costs. (credit:Yad Sarah)
ATZUM(07 of08)
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ATZUM was established in 2002 to remedy injustices in Israeli society, and encourage individuals to become social activists and agents of change. The organization was founded on the belief that Israel should serve as an example for the rest of the world in regards to combating and resolving social problems and social justice crises. (credit:ATZUM)
Jewish Eco Seminars(08 of08)
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JES engages and educates the Jewish community by revealing the powerful connection between modern Israel, ecological innovation and Jewish values. It works to deliver dynamic, experiential educational programming to a wide range of Jews in Israel and North America. (credit:Jewish Eco Seminars)
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