We regularly comment on current events that overlap with the IHRA's mandate. Statements can come from the IHRA Chair, IHRA Secretary General, or, when consensus is reached among all Member Countries, by the IHRA in the form of an IHRA Statement.
IHRA Secretary General Dr. Kathrin Meyer states:
“Three weeks ago, Hamas launched an unprecedented lethal attack on Israeli civilians, murdering 1,400 and taking over 200 hostages. With this act of terrorism, Hamas also called for the murder of every Jewish person in the world, unleashing an unparalleled surge in antisemitism that has been felt far beyond the Middle East. What began shortly following the events of 7 October with deplorable demonstrations around the world ‘celebrating’ the slaughter of innocents, has quickly taken on a violent character – and shows no signs of slowing.
With all cornerstones of Jewish life and identity under threat of attack, even in countries with negligible Jewish populations, Jewish people increasingly hide their identities for fear of being physically assaulted. The protection of Jewish schools, community centers, and synagogues is no longer a precautionary measure, but a response to firebombing, riots, and the hate-filled intentions of antisemites, professed on social media and graffitied across building facades. Around the world, those blaming Jews for Israel’s actions seek to push Jewish people out of their respective societies, and increasingly turn to violence to do so.
This situation poses an existential threat to Jewish people everywhere. It is deeply shocking, despite Jewish communities around the world, supported by monitoring organizations and the IHRA, having warned for years of rising antisemitism. Hamas lit the match, social media provided the fuel, but the tinder behind this wave of antisemitism is regrettably homegrown in all our societies. All of us have a responsibility to work against hate and unequivocally denounce all incidents of antisemitism. This goes to the core of IHRA Member Countries’ commitment to combat antisemitism at the source.
We stand in solidarity with all those affected by this increased hatred.
I call on the relevant authorities and stakeholders around the world to ensure the protection of Jewish people, homes, and institutions against violence and hate speech.”
These resources provide a helpful starting point for combating antisemitism:
The IHRA Troika states:
“Following the terrorist attacks that started on 7 October, the IHRA stands united and in solidarity with Israel, one of our Member Countries. We condemn Hamas’s murder of civilians, the brutal use of sexual violence, and the abductions of Israeli civilians, especially women, children, and the elderly, including a Holocaust survivor.
We mourn the loss of life and grieve with our friends and colleagues who have lost their loved ones. We hope for the swift recovery of the wounded, the bodies of the dead, and the release of hostages.”
Following yesterday’s attack by a Member of the Polish Parliament against Holocaust historian Prof. Jan Grabowski, Dr. Kathrin Meyer, IHRA Secretary General, says:
“I strongly condemn the increasingly violent attempts in Poland to silence researchers like Jan Grabowski and Barbara Engelking, who, even in the face of threats and intimidation, have the courage to uncover the truth of the Holocaust, no matter how uncomfortable. IHRA Member Countries and our expert community share an understanding that research on the Holocaust must be built on facts, cooperation, and openness to the challenges of history.
Remembering the victims, countering Holocaust denial and distortion, and safeguarding the historical record is the responsibility of us all. I therefore call on the Polish government to protect freedom of research, and to actively promote education, remembrance, and research about the Holocaust in all its dimensions and to address their past by dealing openly and accurately with the historical facts.“
IHRA Co-Chairs Ambassador Terezija Gras and Sara Lustig state:
“Following the conclusion of the first Plenary Meetings under the Croatian IHRA Presidency, we express our deepest concern about IHRA experts’ reports of rising antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, which threaten the fabric of our pluralistic societies and the very existence of Jewish communities around the world. However, we are equally motivated by the impact of the IHRA’s collaborative, cross-cutting approach to addressing these threats, and are convinced of its effectiveness.
Seven years ago, the IHRA’s adoption of its non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism was a watershed moment. The question is no longer whether antisemitism exists in societies, but how it can be combated and monitored. As IHRA Co-Chairs, we note with satisfaction the large number of countries who have adopted the non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism, referred to it in their national action plans, and used it to inspire the appointment of Special Envoys on the issue. At various levels of government, as well as in countless organizations around the world, the working definition has proven to be the tool that made the difference, driving action against antisemitism.
The illustrative examples listed in the IHRA’s working definitions, though by no means exhaustive, include forms that are deeply rooted in our societies, making them all the more difficult to recognize and address. The IHRA’s working definitions make it easier to take the first step, and then the second and third as well. They make it possible to broach the difficult subjects of antisemitism and Holocaust denial and distortion and have uncomfortable conversations, which promote open dialogue that helps us come to terms with the truth of the Holocaust, while guiding us through present and future challenges.
We are not alone in wanting to have these difficult conversations. We underline the IHRA’s work with the European Commission, the OSCE/ODIHR, the United Nations, and UNESCO – steadfast partners in our campaign to #ProtectTheFacts and raise awareness of Holocaust distortion, a significant, but often overlooked, threat to democratic values and pluralistic societies. This campaign was inspired by the IHRA’s working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion, which serves as a throughline in our work.
We commend all who embrace the critical task of humbly and persistently combating antisemitism and Holocaust distortion. Securing the future of global Holocaust remembrance requires no less.”
IHRA Chair Ambassador Ann Bernes states, “In my first act as IHRA Chair, I wish to echo yesterday’s United Nations General Assembly resolution and I condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine. By its illegal military actions, Russia is grossly violating international law and the principles of the UN Charter. I am shocked and deeply saddened by the violence and loss of life that have occurred in various parts of Ukraine over the past days.
“I reject the inaccurate and inappropriate use of the term ‘denazification’ to justify this aggression. By comparing and equating Ukraine’s democratically elected government and their actions with the murderous policy of Nazi Germany, the history of the Holocaust is being grossly distorted and misused. Such distortion erodes our understanding of the Holocaust, disrespects its legacy and undermines democratic values.
“I also deplore the damage caused by air strikes carried out in the direct vicinity of Babyn Yar. Babyn Yar is a gravesite and place of memory for around 100,000 Jews, Roma, Ukrainian civilians, and Soviet prisoners of war who were brutally murdered by Nazi Germany and their collaborators. The preservation of authentic sites like Babyn Yar is essential to safeguard evidence of these crimes, to honor the victims and to allow space to grieve as well as learn.
“As IHRA Chair, I underline the importance of the international community’s ongoing efforts to counter Holocaust distortion and safeguard remembrance of the Holocaust. The IHRA contributes by strengthening Holocaust education, remembrance and research and by countering the influence of historical distortion, hate speech and incitement to violence and hatred.”
Babyn Yar was the site of one of the largest mass shootings of Jews in German-occupied Europe. It occurred on September 29–30, 1941. Germans continued to perpetrate mass murders at this killing site until just before the Soviets re-took control of Kyiv in 1943. During this period, Germans shot Jews, as well as Roma, Ukrainian civilians, and Soviet POWs.
On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, IHRA Secretary General Kathrin Meyer has recorded a personal message in which she stresses the importance of honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and the role that remembrance plays in countering Holocaust distortion, the greatest contemporary threat to the legacy of the Holocaust. She concludes by calling upon others to share their reasons for remembering the Holocaust with videos on social media using #WhyWeRemember.
Today, we commemorate the victims and survivors of the hatred that was the driving force of a totalitarian, criminal regime and its collaborators.
Absolute responsibility and duty of all of us, who choose to be called heirs of humanitarian and democratic values is to honour the victims and survivors, to reflect upon their legacy and to act with this in mind.
Today, we commemorate the Jews, as well as the other victims of the Nazi Regime who suffered and died cruelly, inhumanly, all of them victims of an absurd, unthinkable, targeted hatred. We commemorate six million Jews of all ages, six million innocent people, who had committed no crime.
Today, it is also an opportunity to remember the survivors, who have never ceased to remember, for the rest of their lives, the terror and the extreme violence they experienced.
Our remembrance today is an elementary imperative.
Equally elementary is our duty to reflect and rethink about the conditions under which the unthinkable happened. So that we will never have to admit again that “I was first seeing the dead and then the murder occurred”, as the Greek Nobel laureate poet, Odysseus Elytis, cautions.
Taking over the annual Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), about a year ago, Greece proposed Education as the leading thread of its mandate. Education is the primary weapon in combating hateful ideologies. With Education we honor the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust in a way which will ensure rethinking on the causes that let it happen and promote taking action against future threats born of totalitarianism.
New threats are more than obvious today, mainly on the digital battlefield, with hate speech, racism, discrimination, antisemitism and Holocaust denial and distortion.
The IHRA has identified Holocaust distortion –the systematic attempts not to question whether the Holocaust happened but to excuse, misrepresent, or minimize its history– as a priority issue; as the greatest contemporary menace to the legacy of the Holocaust.
We need a zero-tolerance approach to distortion and we are all responsible to raise awareness.
The Holocaust challenges understanding in a unique way: How can the unthinkable be understood? How can moral judgement be cultivated in the benefit of freedom and democracy, in order to impede the way to totalitarianism, ensuring that the unthinkable will not happen again?
Deeply and strongly believing that Education is the onset of our moral commitment for a world with no more genocide, the Greek Presidency of the IHRA took action devoting the highest of its efforts with the aim of broadening and deepening of initiatives in this field.
Today, honoring the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we enhance our commitment; because we must not only be ambassadors for Holocaust remembrance. We have to go beyond that. We need to rethink, raise awareness and take action against new threats, like distortion.
In light of the grave acts of antisemitic violence that have occurred in many places worldwide, the IHRA Plenary condemns the illegal hate speech which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, and supports the statement issued by the IHRA Chair, Ambassador Chris J. Lazaris, on 14 May:
IHRA Chair, Ambassador Chris Lazaris, states: “We strongly condemn the antisemitic violence and hate speech that has taken place in response to the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East. While freedoms of speech and protest are essential pillars of all democracies, nothing can justify hate speech. We must unequivocally oppose all attacks targeting Jewish places of worship as well as antisemitic rhetoric, including holding Jews collectively responsible for events now developing in the Middle East. In a world where antisemitism is on the rise, we must stand together and clearly denounce this as an attack on the cornerstones of a free and democratic society.
We call on the relevant authorities to ensure the protection of Jews and of Jewish places of worship against violence and hate speech.”
