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January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp. Over one million people were murdered in this vast complex alone, most of them Jews. You can find essential information about the history of the Holocaust here, and read about the experiences of Holocaust survivors here.

 In its 1995 Statement to the Jewish Communities in Canada our Church painfully acknowledged the anti-Judaic diatribes contained in Luther’s later writings, and deplored their use "by anti-semites as part of their teaching of hatred toward the Jews and Judaism in our own day."  The statement goes on to declare:

Anti-semitism is an affront to the Gospel, a contradiction of its central teachings, and a violation of our hope and calling. We pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry in our own circles and in the society around us.

The horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and subsequent response of the state of Israel has incited fear, vandalism and hate speech against Jews.  We want to commend to you Bishop Susan Johnson's and Archbishop Linda Nicholls joint letter before Easter last year calling on the church to stand against anti-semitism.

Words or actions of hatred, discrimination, prejudice or violence against Jews are offences against fellow children of God and siblings of Jesus. They cannot be tolerated.

We must stand against antisemitism whenever we hear or see it. We stand in solidarity with Jewish people around the world who desire to live in safety and security without fear, as do all people.

For a discussion of different understanding of antisemitim and it's relation to statements concerning the Israeli government click here.   

May the following prayer by The Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) in the UK guide our actions. 

Prayer

Loving God, you care for each
and every human life. All people
are cherished as your beloved
children, no matter how ordinary or
extraordinary their stories are.
Today we come before you to
remember the victims of the
Holocaust.

We lament the loss of the six
million Jews who were killed in the
Holocaust, the millions of other
victims of Nazi persecution, and
victims of all genocides.

May our minds be clear and attentive
to their memory, and our hearts be
moved to bear witness to their lives.

Help us all to turn away from hatred
and division, and to build a world
where genocide is no more.

Strengthen us so that we, in our
own ordinary ways, may show
extraordinary love in the world
today. Amen. 

Photo - Auschwitz by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash