Over two thousand people gathered in central Manchester yesterday, 19 October, to voice their concerns over the rise in Anti-semitism.
The crowd heard from many speakers, including MPs Ivan Lewis and Jim Murphy, holocaust survivor Henry Ferster, and Rabbis Amir Ellituv and Daniel Walker.
Kurds, Christians and Arabs were also represented at the rally, alongside a broad presence drawn from across the whole Jewish community, with some travelling from as far as Glasgow and Brighton.
Amir Ellituv has published the text of his speech. So here it is to read…
Our faith is stronger than our fears, with our hope lies our strength, with our pride lies our confidence, and with our identity lies the foundation and bedrock of everything that we stand for, our greatest power.
We stand here today to show that we will not tolerate anti Semitism, that we will not accept scenes reminiscent of 1930’s Germany, but we also come here to show that we are proud to be Jewish, proud to stand side by side with Israel, proud to be associated with the country that has achieved more in its short history than any country in the world.
A few weeks before Rosh Hashana we had the privilege to host for Shabbat services and Shabbat lunch the Preston Council Chairman, together with the Preston Councillor responsible for flying the Palestinian flag together with their respective wives. They came to see what real Jews are about, and not what they read in the media. They saw the beauty of the Shabbat services, how we as a religion and community pray for the Queen and country showing our loyalty to this country, they saw the strength of our community coming together, and then over the cholent, or Chamin with nice Israeli wine, we could have a meaningful discussion over Israel. Their hearts were opened due to the strength of our identity through the Shabbat, their prejudices were shattered with the dialogue that took place.
Everyone who experienced that visit learned that if we want to counter Anti Semitism, then show people what we really are about, strengthen our identity, we may not be able to change everyone but we can change ourselves, show how we are a peace loving people, educate ourselves in our remarkable and miraculous history and religion and then teach it to others. We have always held our heads high, we have never been frightened to speak the truth and share it with others, because we are the light unto the nations. When we take off our Kippah, or we are frightened to wear our magen davids, or fail to turn up at communal events or Israel rallys, then we are playing into the hands of our enemies, and they will forcibly remind us through their own devices as we have seen throughout our history.
In our darkest times when the pain and pressure around us mounted, our community taught us that we all have the ability to rise to the challenge, and we can all become leaders, you just need desire, pride, guts, and an immense heart. Let us all be those leaders, sharing our pride of our faith, pride of our country, pride of our identity, and ensure through our example that where ever we are and where ever we live, and who ever we meet, and whatever situation we are faced with, that Judaism, Israel, our families, and our community will never leave our heart, minds, and our lips.
Henry (Chaim) Ferster is a Holocaust survivor. Here is the text of his speech:
“MY NAME IS CHAIM FERSTER, NOT B10924….
My name is Chaim Ferster. I am 92 years old and I survived the horrors of the Holocaust.
I was 17 when the Nazis came to my hometown in Poland, and by the time I was 21, I had been through 7 concentration camps. In that time, I witnessed the true depths to which man can sink and the speed with which others can rush to join him there.
In Sosnowiec, where I was born, I was given a yellow star to wear, and later in Auschwitz I was given a number (reveal tattoo and read number B10924).
Why, because I was Jewish – a problem that needed a solution, a final solution!!
It is easy to think that this was a more primitive time, that it was not a surprise to a people used to pogroms and forced migrations, but Poland was my home, as Britain is now, and the idea of the Holocaust was as unfathomable to us then as it is now.
Nobody can tell me that anti-Semitism is imagined or a product of our own paranoia. I am not here to scare you, or to suggest that the recent upsurge in anti-Semitism means we are headed for the same fate. I do not think that we are.
Our government and those of France, Germany, and Italy, have been quick to denounce the abhorrent events that we have read about. The burning of synagogues, physical attacks on religious Jews, and chanting of “Jews to the gas chambers” in the streets.
I am grateful to the leaders of Europe, for their leadership, but we must never be complacent. We need to stand up for ourselves, and that is what we are doing today in a way that could not be imagined in my youth.
This country has been good to me, to my children, my grandchildren, and by the grace of G-d my great-grandchildren. Its people are liberal and tolerant, and the vast majority see anti-Semitism and racism for what they truly are.
But anti-Semitism has evolved, it now has Israel firmly in its sinister cross-hairs. Zionism has become a dirty word used to beat us with. We need to reclaim it. Zionism is simply the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in Israel.
As all of us here know, Israel is a vibrant and modern democracy, in which self-criticism is a crucial and important part of the political process, indeed of Zionism. Criticism of Israeli policy does not frighten me, it engages me. But to demonize and delegitimize Israel is to let in an old and dangerous foe.
In the words of the historian Simon Schama, “Israel does not cause anti-Semitism, Israel was caused by anti-Semitism.”
We need to speak out, and educate others about the darkest days of our past, to ensure that anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination have no place in the modern world. Education is the only way to beat ignorance.
My name is Chaim Ferster, not B10924.
Our name is B’nei Yisrael, the children of Israel, and we must not let anyone replace it with a number, a daubing on a wall, or an insult chanted in the streets.”
