Dear people,
I feel greatly honored that the 4/5 May
Committee Slotervaart has given me the opportunity to hold this Memorial Day
speech. I do realize what this means. As a police officer, I have
safeguarded Memorial Day for many years. As a District Mayor, I used to place
the wreath. And now I have been given the privilege to hold this speech.
Wim Knol always opens his speech
by citing Van Randwijk. I would like to continue that
tradition, so I also start with the famous words:
"A nation that yields to
tyrants,
will lose more than life and
property,
then the light goes off... "
Fellow-residents,
Officially, on May 4th, we remember
all the victims since World War II, the victims of wars all over the world.
Nevertheless, today, I want to focus on the Dutch Jews, gypsies, gays, and
disabled who have been killed, as well as our slain people of the resistance and
our fallen soldiers.
The Shoah is by far the biggest tragedy in our
Dutch history. It has traumatized us till this day. The genocide committed on
Jews has determined how we apply ourselves in defense of universal human rights,
our need for freedom, and our stance towards well-meant multicultural ideals. We
are still preoccupied by it.
I agree with Rabbi Evers that Germany is coping well with its
past atrocities, and that the German government will always be welcome, except
on Memorial Day, May 4th.
We should also remember and honor victims of present day wars
every day, like the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Israel, and Palestine.
However, on May 4th, we remember the victims and the martyrs of
World War II, especially the victims of the Shoah. Many survivors are still
alive today, and as long as the lives of their children and grandchildren are
still affected by it. How big of an impact on the lives of those who were born
after the war, was reflected this past weekend by Ernst Hirsch Ballin, whose
German-Jewish grandmother was killed. The Minister said: "my father has been
sad all his life. I cherish the rare moments when he is cheerful".
Prior to the persecution of the Jews, systematic dehumanization
and discrimination of this entire segment of the population took place
and lasted at least ten years. That is why we are vigilant with regards
to discrimination and especially antisemitism. That is an advantage. In this
sense, we remember the sacrifices people made in order for us to have the
freedom we have today, and we have to do everything possible to combat
antisemitism.
Religious Jews like Rabbi Sebbag and Gideon van der Sluis travel
by foot Sabbath, so on Saturdays, they walk from the "Rivierenbuurt" to the
synagogue in "De Pijp". They tell us that people call them names like "Yahoud",
and throw coins at them. Moroccan youngsters confirm that they have friends who
do this.
It is absolutely unacceptable if Jews in Amsterdam cannot wear a
yarmulke. We cannot play this down in any way shape or form, and we have to make
a firm commitment to making sure that Jews can be themselves, under all
circumstances.
Dehumanizing and alienating entire non-native segments of the
population, however, doesn't work. That is unjust and barbarian. That is what we
have learned from World War II.
Dear people,
From the dead, we have learned something even better. We have to
distinguish the good from the bad, throughout our communities. We have to
publicly express our solidarity with those who are good. Of course we report any
form of antisemitism to the police.
At the same time, we have to fight antisemitism through
education and through the way we raise our children.
First, the upbringing.
As a priority, parents should stop passing on antisemitic
messages to their children, and they should no longer neglect objecting to
antisemitism. It's a matter of empathy: "Do not do unto others as you would that
they should do unto you!"
A crash course on empathy was given to Moroccan fathers from
Amsterdam-Slotervaart in Auschwitz. They were especially shocked when they
learned that Jewish prisoners were forced to take their fellow Jews to the gas
chambers. As soon as they let this horrible atrocity sink in, our Moroccan
fathers weren't able to sleep for days. They often shared this story with the
people in New-West, even during the Gaza-war, when the members of their
community were giving them the cold shoulder.
Men of the SSOP and others who visited Auschwitz, don't stop
sharing this story, share it at schools, at our youth centers, and at the
mosques. Talk about this with the women, because I think that our Moroccan
mothers should also take a trip like that to Auschwitz an pass on their
experience in their children's upbringing.
Then, education.
Teacher Mustapha went to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. The
goal was to find ways in which he could educate his students about this subject.
I receive letters from teachers on a regular basis, who run
into indifference or resistance from their students.
Teachers should not give in to that. It's part of their job to
realize that their students are watching more TV programs via satellite dishes
other than the regular news programs.
Aside from that, I want to suggest that the Shoah becomes a
mandatory subject in school's history exams. Let us, parents and citizens,
fight for that. I am very happy that Louis Bouwmeester Elementary School has
adopted a memorial monument on Sierplein, around which they organize classes.
In facing wrongdoing, such as discrimination we stand courageous; Same
way our soldiers and people of the resistance showed courage. Of course they saw
the danger and felt the fear. Courage is evident when you overcome those. Thanks
to their courage, we are able to celebrate freedom tomorrow.
It was time
he left World War II behind him, that's what Max van Weezel wrote in his column,
during Christmas:
"As a second generation war victim, I was fed up with
memorial services, sad family stories, and holiday visits to memorial
monuments". And then, his mother died. He had to clean out his parental
home. There he found his mother's false identity card. She had to live as though
she was someone else. Max's conclusion: "No matter how much I would want it
to be, the war is not over yet, not by a long shot".
Religious scriptures state that the mourning process lasts for
four generations. With our two minutes of silence, we mourn together.
A community is like a body - if one limb suffers, all others do.
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