It’s a new year but we face the same fight against antisemitism
King Charles III meets members of the community during a visit to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, in Manchester, England, October 2025 (Chris Jackson / Pool Photo via AP / Alamy)
4 min read
One year ago, I wrote for this magazine on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau, reflecting on the importance of keeping history alive. Today, that responsibility is greater still.
With a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors able to share their testimony each year, the responsibility to tell their histories, to remember what they experienced, and to confront rising hatred and prejudice increasingly rests with all of us. We must become the guardians of their legacies, carrying their experiences forward with care, honesty and resolve.
Over the past year, that responsibility has felt painfully urgent. We have witnessed horrific antisemitic attacks here in the UK at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, and abroad on Bondi Beach in Sydney. In each instance, people had gathered together to mark significant moments in the Jewish calendar – occasions rooted in faith, family and community. Instead, they were met with violence and hatred. These attacks were not random or indiscriminate: individuals were deliberately targeted and murdered simply because of their Jewish faith.
Such atrocities are a stark reminder that extremist ideology and antisemitism are not relics of the past but are painfully present within our society. Their impact extends beyond those directly affected, exposing how fragile community cohesion can be and leaving Jewish communities across the UK living with heightened fear and uncertainty. One of the lessons of history is what happens when prejudice becomes normalised. More than 80 years ago, when the Nazis came to power, they did not invent hatred out of nothing, but exploited and legitimised existing prejudices. That lesson matters more than ever today. Prejudice has not disappeared, and the recent rise in antisemitism should concern all of us.
Yet alongside these acts of hatred, we have also witnessed joyful moments of solidarity and compassion. Following the attack at the Heaton Park Synagogue, leaders from across public life, including our patron His Majesty The King, visited worshippers to listen and stand in support of Jewish communities. In London, the Prime Minister hosted a Chanukah celebration – a powerful expression of unity and respect at a time when symbolism matters deeply. These acts cannot erase the harm caused, but they send a powerful message: that hatred will be met with solidarity and that Jewish life in Britain will be defended, celebrated and protected.
As we approach this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, I have been reflecting on the importance of community engagement in confronting antisemitism. Solidarity cannot be confined to kind words or formal statements. It means spending time with those affected by recent attacks and with survivors of the Holocaust who share their testimony. It requires listening carefully to their experiences, and allowing these encounters to inform our own actions: speaking out, educating others and challenging antisemitism and prejudice wherever it is found.
One of the most common questions I hear is how to engage people who do not see this history as relevant to their own lives. My experience of this is that when people do engage with histories and testimonies, they find it profoundly significant. At HMDT we work in prisons and young offender institutions, with different faith groups and with workplaces across the country. Time and again, people join these activities and discover that reflecting on the past helps them better understand the world today. In prisons, for example, participants from our programmes have gone on to show markedly lower reoffending rates – evidence of how learning from history can shape behaviour in the present.
This responsibility extends to younger generations in particular who may feel like the atrocities of the Holocaust are confined to the pages of history. While the government has rightly placed strong emphasis on youth engagement and education, this alone is not enough. Bridging generational divides is just as important. Bringing together young people with those who carry lived experience – survivors and witnesses – is essential to ensuring that lessons from the past are not lost but carried on.
This is why initiatives that empower young adults to engage seriously with history are so important. MPs can support us in doing this by speaking to their constituents about our Next Generation Ambassador Programme and nominating young and emerging leaders between the ages of 18 and 25 in their communities to get involved. It also ensures that Holocaust remembrance is not just an event that happens in January, but takes place throughout the year. Only by building this into our day-to-day lives will we combat the rise in antisemitism.
Everyone has a role to play in combating antisemitism. This year, we are asking people across the country to 'bridge generations' and ensure that we, the generation who hear these testimonies of survivors, pass on what we learn to future generations. We can build a bridge between memory and action; between history and hope for the future. It is we who can forge links to build stronger, safer communities for everyone.
Olivia Marks-Woldman is chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
