On behalf of the Holocaust survivors in the congregation this morning I extend a warm welcome to you, Secretary General and Mrs. Ban, and the diplomatic corps who have joined us in remembrance of the Holocaust. Your presence this morning is an act of remembrance and resolve to never again remain silent in the face of genocide.
I invoke the memory of Congressman Tom Lantos, my fellow Holocaust survivor from Budapest, our mutual friend. It was my sad task to inform you about the memorial service at the Capitol. At short notice you cancelled all your appointments and were the first to arrive early in the morning in Nancy Pelosi’s office. You showed care and compassion to the bereaved family. For years I have known you as a distinguished South Korean diplomat and dedicated public servant. In the words of the prophet Micah, “you walk humbly, love mercy and do justly”. Above all you are a mensch!, a man of decency and honor.
2009 will mark the 70th anniversary of World War II. The plans for World War II that claimed the lives of millions and made Europe a blood soaked continent were imbedded long before September 1, 1939 by Hitler and his Nazi cohorts and brought about the Holocaust of the Jewish people. In my birthplace, Vienna, on Kristallnacht 1938, I witnessed the burning of my Synagogue. What started with the burning of books and Torah scrolls led to the burning of human beings. The liberation of Auschwitz in January 27, 1945 came too late to save the millions of men, women and children who were gassed there and in other extermination camps (including my grandparents and other members of the family.)
As a survivor I learned to take the words of tyrants at face value. They mean what they say. While scarred for life remembering the horrors of the past, we can’t be paralyzed by it. We value life not death. From the ashes in the Valley of Dry Bones we have rebuilt our lives and witnessed the reemergence of Israel.
70 years later the world is still beset with strife and conflict, ethnic cleansing, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Many of our fellow human beings face the threat of genocide. Complacency and impotence in the face of genocide are a blemish on the world. There must be a clamor and outcry for a consensus policy by all nations of the world to prevent acts of genocide. Holocaust education can be a call to conscience and awaken us from our slumber of indifference.
History has taught us that every conflict comes to an end. It is our responsibility to hasten that day in a quest to save human lives and spare needless human suffering.
Let each one of us shoulder the responsibility of helping spread the canopy of peace and preserve our planet and civilization for the future of our children and children’s children.
Please join me in welcoming the Secretary General.
Address By Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
Thank you very much, Rabbi Schneier, for that kind introduction.
I especially appreciate your for calling me a “mensch”.
With apologies to those of you who do not speak Yiddish, I have to say: thank goodness he didn�t call me “meshugenah”.
To all, I wish you Shabat Shalom.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today we mark the International Day of Commemoration honoring victims of the Holocaust. This is a most important and solemn occasion.
As you know, my friend Tom Lantos died shortly after last year�s observance. Some of you may have met him when he came to this Synagogue.
He was dear to me, as he was to you.
He made an extraordinary journey from a Nazi labor camp to the halls of Congress. He became a leading champion of truth and justice.
Like those of you who also lived through the Holocaust, he was never defeated by the unspeakable horrors that he survived.
I can only imagine what he endured. Yet I, too, have witnessed man�s inhumanity to man. I have seen it as Secretary-General, traveling in places torn by war. And I saw it as a six-year old child fleeing to the mountains to escape fighting in my own country.
The UN helped South Korea to recover. Like Tom Lantos, like many of you, I came to believe in the transformative power of the United Nations.
Today, the UN is on the cusp of a great transition.
Never have global challenges been so large.
Climate change, terrorism, the global financial crisis � these troubles transcend borders. They affect all countries, rich and poor. They will be overcome only when all countries come together in response.
That�s why we have a United Nations.
Yes, the UN has its imperfections.
From the first day I took office, I have pushed to change it. I have insisted on a new culture of transparency and accountability. I have worked to make the UN more efficient, effective, modern. In short, we have tried to make it a better instrument to serve mankind.
We are here to mark the Holocaust. Like you, the United Nations is determined to tell its timeless lessons.
Precisely two years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning, without reservation, any denial of the Holocaust. I quote: �Ignoring the historical fact of those terrible events increases the risk they will be repeated.�
With you, I stand in saying: never again. Never.
Memory speaks. That is why it must be preserved and passed to future generations.
Our Holocaust Outreach Program sponsors exhibits, workshops and panel discussions. The aim: to confront deniers, or those who would minimize the importance of the Holocaust.
When President Ahmadinejad of Iran declared that Israel should �disappear,� or be �wiped off the map,� I condemned his remarks � twice.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s remarks at Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony at Park East Synagogue News Headlines Understanding Faith Communities ACF delegation hosted an Indonesia delegation Meeting with H.E. Vuk Jeremic International U.N. Holocaust Commemoration Rabbi Schneier meets once again with His Holiness Jan 24, 2009 — (New York) Thank you very much, Rabbi Schneier, for that kind introduction. I especially appreciate your for calling me a “mensch”. With apologies to those of you who do not speak Yiddish, I have to say: thank goodness he didn�t call me “meshugenah”. To all, I wish you Shabat Shalom. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we mark the International Day of Commemoration honoring victims of the Holocaust. This is a most important and solemn occasion. As you know, my friend Tom Lantos died shortly after last year�s observance. Some of you may have met him when he came to this Synagogue. He was dear to me, as he was to you. He made an extraordinary journey from a Nazi labor camp to the halls of Congress. He became a leading champion of truth and justice. Like those of you who also lived through the Holocaust, he was never defeated by the unspeakable horrors that he survived. I can only imagine what he endured. Yet I, too, have witnessed man�s inhumanity to man. I have seen it as Secretary-General, traveling in places torn by war. And I saw it as a six-year old child fleeing to the mountains to escape fighting in my own country. The UN helped South Korea to recover. Like Tom Lantos, like many of you, I came to believe in the transformative power of the United Nations. Today, the UN is on the cusp of a great transition. Never have global challenges been so large. Climate change, terrorism, the global financial crisis � these troubles transcend borders. They affect all countries, rich and poor. They will be overcome only when all countries come together in response. That�s why we have a United Nations. Yes, the UN has its imperfections. From the first day I took office, I have pushed to change it. I have insisted on a new culture of transparency and accountability. I have worked to make the UN more efficient, effective, modern. In short, we have tried to make it a better instrument to serve mankind. We are here to mark the Holocaust. Like you, the United Nations is determined to tell its timeless lessons. Precisely two years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning, without reservation, any denial of the Holocaust. I quote: �Ignoring the historical fact of those terrible events increases the risk they will be repeated.� With you, I stand in saying: never again. Never. Memory speaks. That is why it must be preserved and passed to future generations. Our Holocaust Outreach Program sponsors exhibits, workshops and panel discussions. The aim: to confront deniers, or those who would minimize the importance of the Holocaust. When President Ahmadinejad of Iran declared that Israel should �disappear,� or be �wiped off the map,� I condemned his remarks � twice.
We at the United Nations stand for human rights.
We stand for democracy and the rule of law. By working for economic and social development, we build the foundations for peace.
We have a new instrument in our hands. It is called the Responsibility to Protect � the idea that every nation has a legal obligation to protect its people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Where nations fall short, the international community has the right to take collective action.
Yes, it is difficult in practice. But I assure you. This is a major advance in safeguarding mankind from crimes against humanity.
My friends,
Today is not simply a time for remembering. The Holocaust has lessons for us, here and now.
Let us heed them.
My job can sometimes be terribly painful. I see unbelievable hardship, the worst human suffering.
You are familiar with the grim catalogue of names and places: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur, Somalia and, of course, the Middle East.
I am just back from the region. I went to push for a cease-fire. More, I went in search of a lasting peace.
The recurring violence between Palestinians and Israelis is a mark of collective political failure � by both sides and by the international community.
I saw first-hand what most people saw on television. I met a child and his family in Sderot, traumatized by falling rockets.
Never for one moment have I forgotten that a million people in southern Israel live in a daily state of terror.
In Gaza, I saw the most appalling devastation. I saw the UN compound, still burning.
I said to all I met, on both sides: This must stop.
I left the region more determined than ever to work toward a world where two States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security. War can be no answer. We need to strengthen the forces of peaceful coexistence and dialogue.
No one sees this more clearly than your own Rabbi Schneier. He has devoted his life to overcoming hatred and intolerance.
You all know him as the founder and president of the Appeal for Conscience Foundation. What you may not know, and what I am very grateful to him for, is his pioneering work for the UN�s Alliance of Civilizations.
He knows first-hand that no one man or nation has all the answers. He knows the sacred value of tolerance. He has survived the greatest trials that life can hurl at a man or a woman and emerged not only with his humanity and spirit intact but stronger.
He survived the Holocaust.
Like others among you, he never lost sight of man�s essential humanity, our capacity for good, our inherent dignity.
So, let us be frank.
We must recognize the limits of power and goodwill.
We here know that we can never entirely rid the world of its tyrants and its intolerance.
We cannot turn all extremists to the path of reason and light.
We can only stand against them and raise our voices in the name of our common humanity.
Tom Lantos was fond of saying that even the littlest actions, the smallest of our daily deeds, can do much to leave this earth better, less evil, less selfish, less monstrous than we found it.
And he stressed that doing these things, even in a modest way, gives you the energy to keep moving forward.
On this day of days, that seems to me to be good advice.
As we remember the victims of the Holocaust, let us reaffirm our faith in the dignity of humankind and our extraordinary resilience � our moral strength � even amid history�s darkest chapters.
Thank you.