“Antisemitism is Rampant, Diversity is Viewed as a Threat,” UN Human Rights Chief Says

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Antisemitism is “rampant” as Jews worldwide face increasing “intimidation, threats and physical violence,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said Monday during an address marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In addition to representing Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27 this year also represents the 80th anniversary of the 1945 liberation by Allied forces of around 7000 prisoners from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration and extermination camps in Poland.

“Exhausted, emaciated, terrified, and sick, those 7,000 were all that remained of 1.3 million men, women and children who had been deported to Auschwitz,” Türk said. “They, in turn, were a small part of the six million Jews, the Roma and Sinti, people with disabilities, gay people, and so many others who were persecuted, hunted, and killed by the Nazis.”

Remarking on the importance of memorializing this evil period in history, Türk continued: “On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we bear witness to the darkest, most monumental of crimes. We honor the victims, we pay tribute to the survivors, and we remember that the world vowed never again to allow such atrocities to be unleashed on humanity.”

Türk went on to say that the scourge of Jew hatred remains to this day. “Antisemitism is rampant, on our streets and online. Jews face increasing intimidation, threats, and physical violence,” he noted. All too often, discrimination and dehumanization are winning out over solidarity and compassion; diversity is viewed as a threat rather than something to be treasured; and many leaders are undermining and weakening the rule of law.”

“I fear that we are sleepwalking into a grim future where human rights and dignity are denied, stripped away, or forgotten,” Türk said. “Holocaust Remembrance Day must jolt us from this stupor. It is a wake-up call to the dangers of indifference, complacency, and apathy, Türk warned. And it reminds us that we have a duty to stand against intolerance. And we must celebrate diversity.”

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