News

Monday, January 27, 2025

Girona commemorates the International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The event took place this evening in the City Hall's Plenary Hall and featured the intervention of the journalist specialized in international politics Ofer Laszewicki Rubin

The city of Girona commemorated this eveningthe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Once again, Girona City Council and the Patronat Call de Girona have organised an institutional event in the Plenary Hall of the town hall, chaired by the Mayor of Girona and President of the Patronat Call de Girona, Lluc Salellas i Vilar. This year the motto is “Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights”.

The activity began at 7:30 p.m. with a presentation by the director of the Museum of JewishHistory, Sílvia Planas i Marcé. Then, the journalist specialized in international politics Ofer Laszewicki Rubin spoke. Laszewicki is a former correspondent in Israel and Palestine and collaborates with several media outlets, where he publishes articles and analyses on the conflict in the Middle East. Among other tasks, he is co-creator of the podcast Alhayam and author of the book Israel fuera del foco: retratos de la sociedad más allá del conflicto.

The proposal was closed with a few words from Mayor Lluc Salellas i Vilar and with the lighting of candles in memory and tribute to all the victims of the Holocaust and all fascisms. The deputy mayor and councilor for Economic Promotion, Gemma Geis i Carreras, also participated. Finally, the choir Ciutat de Mataró, under the direction of Jordi Lluc, performed several pieces of Jewish liturgical music.

With this commemoration, Girona reaffirms once again its commitment to condemning all manifestations of hatred and rejection based on ethnic origin, cultural and gender identities or religious beliefs, which provoke intolerance and incite violence against people or communities. This commitment also implies adherence to the proclamation that urges states and governments to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust and to educate in order to prevent racism in all its manifestations.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated every year on January 27th. The date, proposed by the United Nations General Assembly 19 years ago, corresponds to the day that the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp (Poland) was liberated during the Second World War, in 1945. The anniversary has become a day of reflection, memory and conspiracy against forgetting.