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| You are here: 2000 / Opening Session: Messages and speeches / Message by the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak | |||||||||
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Message by the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak Barak, Ehud Message by the Prime Minister of Israel at the Ceremonial Opening Your Majesties,Prime Minister Persson,Presidents,Prime Ministers,Foreign Ministers,Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have opened my address in Hebrew, the language of the prayers of the six million who were lost in the Holocaust, and with the words of Avraham Shlonsky, a poet from the land of Israel, the land they dreamed of reaching – and never did. The poem is called "The vow." "On behalf of my eyes, which have seen the grief and laden my sagging heart with lament, on behalf of my mercy, which bade me to forgive until the days of dread beyond pardon, I have taken a vow: to remember it all,To remember – and to naught to forget "
I, Ehud Barak, the grandson of Frieda and Reuven Brog,who were murdered in Pushelat, Lithuania, and of Elka and Shmuel Godin, taken from their home in Warsaw to their deaths in Treblinka, I am proud to be standing here as the Prime Minister of a strong and independent Jewish state, the state of Israel. All along the millenia of our history – we recited on passover night: " In every generation, a man must regard himself as though he had come out of Egypt." That became our ultimate historic counter to Auschwitz.I regard myself as though i had been there. With my friend, Speaker of the Knesset, Avrum Burg, a second generation refugee from Germany, my friends Dov Shilansky and Shevach Weiss, who survived to become Speaker of the Knesset; with Knesset member Yosef Lapid, who was saved due to the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg; with my friend comrade-in-arms Yossi Peled, the child who escaped and grew up in a Christian family to become a leading general of the Israeli defense forces; with the journalist Noah Klieger, a survivor of Auschwitz; with Emil Brig, who twice escaped the train to Auschwitz to become a legendary hero during our war of independence; and of course, with my friend, Nobel Prize laureate, Eli Wiesel. They are all here in this hall today, as are the people of Israel and Jews all around the world. I am proud to be standing here as the leader of the Jewish people. And the Prime Minister of Israel, Israel that was created to ensure that – never again. I feel as though i myself had been in the valley of slaughter at Babi Yar, in Auschwitz and Treblinka, in Majdanek and Bergen Belsen, and all the other killing fields – with those condemned to death, because they were Jews. I feel as though I myself had been with the one and a half million children, at their last station in life, whose utter bewilderment echoed Job’s heart-rending cry: "O earth, cover thou not my blood." Ladies and Gentlemen, the duty to remember must be passed on to the younger generation, to all mankind. "In every generation, every human being must regard himself as though he had survived Auschwitz." For Auschwitz is not another planet . It is here, in the heart of Europe that the Nazi ideology emerged, not far away in an ancient, savage tribe. It flourished at the forefront of cultural achievement, in the land of Goethe and Schiller, of Heine and Beethoven. And it shattered the illusion that the cultivation of the arts and philosophy, of science and technology would render man immune to racism, to blood lust, to intoxication with power, to brutal, insatiable tyranny. Auschwitz was a real, living horror, a fact from which mankind’s conscience cannot divorce itself. The American philosopher George Santayana wrote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned repeat it." We must carry this warning to our hearts, especially as mankind has just crossed the threshold of a new millennium. The twentieth century is behind us. It was a revolutionary century that propelled mankind to unprecedented achievements. But it was also marked by mounds of ashes from two world wars and the most ghastly atrocities in human history, which cost the lives of scores of millions of people of all nations. Man’s rush to progress holds the promise of a great blessing, but may equally harbor a terrible curse. The choice is in our hands, in whether we bequeath to our children, aggressive egocentric xenophobic materialism, or humanism that incorporates technology with a code of ethical and social values. Time passing by… In another few years, the generation of the Holocaust, the living witnesses, will be gone. Even today, when the survivors are still among us, we are already plagued by despicable Holocaust-deniers and Neo-nazi, racist groups which operate openly. Can we afford to be complacent? The answer being given here today, in Stockholm, is education, commemoration, and remembrance. It is the "vow," as Shlonsky wrote in his poem, "to remember – and naught to forget." My dear friends, Stockholm is bound up in our national memory with the extraordinary figure or Raul Wallenberg, foremost among the "righteous gentiles" who stoked the embers of humanity in their hearts in an age of great darkness. He stood boldly and sacrificed himself to do the seemingly simple and obvious thing: not to remain silent, but to save human beings in mortal danger. Under the black bleak heavens, he lit the candle of man’s soul. On behalf of the Jewish people and the state of Israel, I wish to express profound appreciation to the people of Sweden, and particularly to Prime Minister Persson. Mr. Prime Minister, we salute you for spearheading the educational project of "Living History" and for forming the "Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research". Your initiative has earned you a place of honor in the hearts and minds of the Jewish people. We hope that other countries will follow in your footsteps and emulate theSwedish example. This conference sends forth a universal message: Never again to tolerate, anywhere on the face of the earth, a regime of evil and murder and discrimination among human beings on the basis of their religion, race or color. The presence here of so many Heads of State, Ministers, Leaders, and intellectuals attests to a global commitment to the brotherhood of man and the triumph of justice and peace. Ladies and Gentlemen, for the past fifty-five years, the Jewish people has been living in the shadow of the Holocaust. The wondrous transition from destruction to rebirth was very swift: just three years after the Holocaust, the state of Israel came into being. In our struggle to rescuer national independence, and to defend it, we have known much suffering. And suffering has been inflicted on others as well. Now is the time to heal the wounds, to seek paths to reconciliation and compromise, to end the conflict with our neighbors, and bring peace and security to our land. The Holocaust left us with many acute, unanswerable questions, but one lesson if fully clear. The Jewish people will never again be homless and unable to defend itself. I still get shivers down my back remembering entering under the sign in Auschwitz, "Arbeit macht frei". I strive to achieve a comprehensive peace with all our neighbors, a peace that will provide a secure future for generations of young Israelis to come. I truly believe, that it can be achieved this year. On this journey, we are not alone. We are joined by all people, imbued with the spirit of peace of justice, and striving for stability, security and prosperity for all. Thank you. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches
Workshops, Panels and Seminars Closing Session and Declaration Other Activities |
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| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||