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US ambassador Kavalec: The duty to remember the Holocaust is more pressing than ever
US ambassador in Romania Kathleen Kavalec on Wednesday said that the duty to remember the Holocaust is more pressing than ever.
"Each time I visit this Memorial I am reminded of the vital importance of its lessons. Following the horrific October 7 attack unleashed by Hamas against Israel, the duty to remember the Holocaust is more pressing than ever. Antisemitism has surged throughout the world, including in the United States. The October 7th attack brought to the surface painful memories left by millennia of hatred and violence against the Jewish people. As President Biden said, 'we cannot remember all that Jewish survivors of the Holocaust experienced and then stand silently by when Jews are attacked and targeted again today,'" Kavalec said in her remarks at a Holocaust commemoration in Bucharest.
"It is our duty to protect Jewish communities around the world, and to speak out against antisemitism. We must recognize that antisemitism is not only a threat to the welfare of Jews and the Jewish community but also a threat to democracy and the fabric of our diverse societies. All of us must stand united against antisemitism and against hate in all its forms. We must also push back against attempts to ignore, deny, distort, and revise the Holocaust. We must be vigilant against attempts to rehabilitate Holocaust perpetrators and their accomplices or to glorify them as heroes, saints and martyrs. Hate and lies cannot be rewarded. They should be condemned and countered with truth and facts. On this somber day, we stand together in solemn remembrance of the Jews, Roma, and all others who were stripped of their rights, persecuted, and murdered during the Holocaust in Romania. Let us commit to carrying forward the lessons of the past, and fighting against antisemitism and against hatred."
The ambassador also said they are grateful for the important efforts by the Romanian government to expand Holocaust education.
"The planned Museum of Roma Culture and History and the introduction of a mandatory course on the Holocaust in high schools will teach new generations about the past...and the horrors to which hate can lead. We welcome the Romanian government's project to establish a Museum of Jewish History and the Holocaust. We hope the museum will quickly receive all the necessary approvals so that construction can start as soon as possible," the ambassador concluded.