European Commissioner Jan Figel calls for educational efforts to prevent history from repeating itself

Brussels 31 january 2007 – European Commissioner for education Jan Figel stressed the importance of education when it comes to fighting anti-Semitism and intolerance inEurope of today.

- “Holocaust is not only a tragedy of the past but something which we must be reminded of again and again in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past”, he said. Figel spoke at the main event of the “Learn from history” campaign which involved hundreds of churches across Europe in commemorating the victims of the Holocaust on Sunday 28 January. The campaign culminated with the European Holocaust Remembrance event on Monday night in Brussels.

Commissioner Figel called upon European citizens to “form a coalition for life and dialogue”, making reference to the upcoming European year of intercultural dialogue in 2008. He quoted Israeli author Amos Oz in stating that “our choice is between the fanatics and those who respect life.” Figel pointed out that “respect for life and solidarity are crucial values in building a new Europe.”

– “These were the values of our founding fathers when they after the war started to lay the foundation for the European Union and we need to rediscover these values if we want the project to succeed.

Dr Ingolf Ellssel from the European Pentecostal Fellowship prayed in German as a symbolic act of repentance for the past.

- “Let me pray in a language which has been perverted by cursing and killing the Jewish people”, he said, and went on to pray for the European nations and their relations to the Jewish people.

ECI chairman Willem Glashouwer from the Netherlands read a letter from the Mayor of Jerusalem, Mr Uri Lupolianski who had sent his personal greetings to the event.

” - When our parents and grandparents cried in the shadow of death and destruction, the world´s voice was silent. The world knew but chose to be silent,” Lupolianski wrote. But he applauded the initiative to organize a Holocaust remembrance day event in Brussels.

Other speakers included MEP:s Ingo Friedrich, Hannu Takkula and Israeli Ambassador Oded Eran. Eran stressed the significance of the fact that the European Commissioner Jan Figel was personally present at the event and also one of the speakers.

- “This clearly shows the genuine interest that the European Commission is taking in this initiative”, Eran noted. He stressed the importance of reaching the youth of Europe with education about the Holocaust.

The co-coordinator of the “Learn from History” campaign, Tomas Sandell from Finland, spoke about the need to bring the message of the Holocaust to churches in order to educate and remind also a younger generation of the horrors of the past but also to prevent it from happening again.

- “When we deny our history and fail to discern the threats to Israel of today we are already in danger of repeating the mistakes of the past”, he warned.

The commemoration event was held in the Van Maerland chapel which is situated just around the corner from the large EU-institutions in Brussels and is today considered the unofficial chapel of the EU.

- “This old medieval chapel was once in ruins”, noted the chairman of the association which oversees the place, senior EU official Jerômé Vignon. He added; “But now it is rebuilt and alive. This could be an image of Europe when we seek to rebuild on our Judeo-Christian foundation. That which once was in ruins can become alive again if we learn from history.”