Holocaust Memorial Day in Yorkshire was a reminder of the need for kindness and tolerance - George Jabbour

In fact, this specific point was made eloquently by Rabbi Kleiman in his sermon at the annual Holocaust Memorial Shabbat in Harrogate on January 27 when he described how those who suffered in the worst atrocities fight to reduce the suffering of others, regardless of their faith, ethnicity or race.

He stressed the importance of remembrance to combat falsehoods and misrepresentations in today’s world of fake news.

One of the heart-warming insights gleaned from Rabbi Kleiman was how critical it is to be respectful of others and not to dehumanise or debase people, particularly those different from us.

I was not the only North Yorkshire Councillor at the synagogue of the Harrogate Hebrew Congregation on Saturday. Members of North Yorkshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) were invited by my friend and colleague Hayden Cohen, the representative for Judaism on our Committee.

SACRE advises the local authority on religious education and carries out a number of sensitive responsibilities, such as monitoring collective worship.

Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, several North Yorkshire libraries displayed posters, books and other educational materials.

During the event on January 27, Hayden Cohen led a discussion with Arek Hersh MBE, a Holocaust survivor of five concentration camps, including Auschwitz.

At the end of his poignant testimony, Arek Hersh, who lost his parents and other members of his immediate family in the Holocaust, was asked about a message that he would like to share on such a significant occasion. His answer was a call for all of us to be kind and tolerant. The Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Mrs Johanna Ropner, Harrogate’s Charter Mayor Councillor Michael Harrison, and the local Member of Parliament for the town Andrew Jones were present and reiterated the powerful theme of respect and peace and of standing up to hatred and bigotry.

Another touching statement we heard during the service was from Robert Phillips, whose grandfather was gassed 80 years ago in the Stutthof concentration camp in northern Poland and his grandmother was also gassed a few months later in October 1944.

He cited a well-known quote that is widely attributed to the Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke. I would like to repeat it here because it is appropriate in this context: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”

How relevant these words are back then, now and throughout history. We all owe it to our fellow humans to speak up even when we are in a minority of one.

George Jabbour is a councillor for Helmsley & Sinnington.