The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day was A Better Future, which encourages education as an opportunity for people to come together, learn both from and about the past, and to take actions towards a better future for all.
The council was glad to welcome Rabbi Irit Shillor, Sabit Jakupovic MBE, Sarah Feldman-Brummer (a professional singer from Bishop’s Stortford), Ysmene Pentelow (Vicar of St. Mary’s in Ware), Deputy Liutenant of Hertfordshire Fergus McMullen and Josh Dean MP, as well as councillors and other esteemed guests, to the event at Wallfields.
At the ceremony organised by by Cllr Jonathan Kaye (Hertfordshire County Council - a former Executive Member for Communities at East Herts Council), Sabit Jakupovic MBE, a Muslim from Bosnia now living in Hertford, touched the room as he reflected on his horrific experiences in two Bosnian concentration camps during the 1990s.
Alex Daar, Executive Member for Communities, said, “Holocaust Memorial Day acts as an important, annual reminder that our local and global communities must continue to stand up for the rights of the vulnerable. We can all play our part in building A Better Future by expressing empathy for past travesties and for those affected, by raising awareness and by becoming better informed about humanitarian challenges being posed to us in 2025 and beyond. The council is immensely grateful to those who attended the ceremony and made the commemoration so special.”
