We'll move on now to a statement by the Minister for Social Justice on Holocaust memorial. I call on the Minister for Social Justice—Jane Hutt.

Diolch yn fawr, acting Presiding Officer. Saturday was Holocaust Memorial Day, and here at the Senedd we marked this day by illuminating our building in purple. In the darkness, this light reminded us of the millions of people who were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. At 8.00 p.m. on the same day, people across the UK joined in with the 'light the darkness' moment by lighting candles and placing them in their windows. Other buildings and landmarks across the UK were also lit up in purple during this national moment of solidarity. Many places across Wales took part, including the bandstand and Canolfan Alun R. Edwards in Aberystwyth, and County Hall in Carmarthen.

Alongside the First Minister, many of us attended the Wales Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony on Friday, 26 January, at the Temple of Peace, which provided an opportunity to reflect on a part of history that we and future generations must never forget. It was a very moving ceremony, with addresses by John Hajdu MBE, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, and Isam Agieb, who had fled the genocide in Darfur. The South Wales Jewish Representative Council, Disability Wales, Stonewall Cymru, Romani Cultural and Arts Company and the Equality and Human Rights Commission all participated in the service, which highlighted some of the different communities of people targeted during the Holocaust. Current conflicts in the middle east and Ukraine, the thousands of lives lost in those conflicts and the suffering still being endured, were uppermost in the minds of those who attended the ceremony. I know people across Wales will join the Welsh Government in showing solidarity with all those who continue to suffer persecution and violence.

Numerous events took place across Wales, including Father's House Sabbath Congregation in Flintshire, who held their annual Holocaust memorial service, themed 'no escape'. The memorial was presented by Pastor Michael Fryer, along with guest speakers Mark Tami MP, Carolyn Thomas MS, Jack Sargeant MS, and a pupil from Queensferry C.P. Primary School.

The Josef Herman Art Foundation commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day in partnership with the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. On 27 January a special film screening took place of The Silent Village, a 1943 British propaganda short film. The film is based on the true story of the massacre of the Czech village of Lidice, retold as if it had happened in Wales.

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 is the 'fragility of freedom'. In their introduction to this year's theme, the Holocaust Memorial Trust highlighted that freedom cannot be taken for granted and we must not be complacent—we must fight to ensure it is never lost. They emphasised that the erosion of freedom is often a subtle, slow process and the impact is far-reaching:

'Not only do perpetrator regimes erode the freedom of the people they are targeting, demonstrating how fragile freedom is, they also restrict the freedoms of others around them, to prevent people from challenging the regime. Despite this, in every genocide there are those who risk their own freedom to help others, to preserve others’ freedom or to stand up to the regime.'

The theme this year underlined the numerous ways in which freedom is restricted and eroded. It shone a light on the individuals who risked their freedom to save others and emphasised that liberation does not necessarily mean to be completely free. Ordinary people find themselves having to move to a new country; they are often separated from their families and are required to rebuild their lives. All of this whilst simultaneously trying to overcome the trauma resulting from their persecution.

The Welsh Government funded the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to employ a support worker in Wales who, for the past few months, has been working with communities and organisations to plan and support commemorative activities across Wales.

The Welsh Government continues to fund the Holocaust Educational Trust to run the Lessons from Auschwitz project in Wales. This is a unique four-part course, comprising two seminars, a one-day visit to Poland, and a next-steps project through which students pass on the lessons they have learned. Much more than just an excursion, it's a powerful journey of learning and exploration about the history of the Holocaust and the world we live in. In 2023 110 students from 55 Welsh schools took part in the project. This included six schools who took part in the programme for the first time. The next Lessons from Auschwitz course for Wales is expected to take place this year, in February or March.

Tackling antisemitism remains a high priority for Welsh Government. In July I met with the UK Government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, to discuss his report on 'Tackling Antisemitism in the UK 2023' and how we as a Government will support the implementation of the recommendations in Wales. Lord Mann welcomed the Curriculum for Wales and its focus on helping children and young people to develop as ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world, recognising it as a platform to address antisemitism in Wales.

In December I issued a joint letter with the Minister for Education and the Welsh language to all headteachers in Wales to provide guidance and support to schools and education settings on how to effectively address antisemitism and Islamophobia, including ways of supporting learners and their families. While it is important to reflect on the past, it's equally vital to consider what we can do now and in future to ensure that Wales is, and will remain, a compassionate, globally responsible nation. In an increasingly unstable world, individuals need to be supported to achieve integration and acceptance, regardless of their background or circumstances. In the face of these challenges, Wales must be vigilant in our resolve to tackle the latent and blatant forces that drive the persecution of minorities at all levels in our society, whether that be institutional, social or cultural.

The theme for National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2023 was faith-based hate, with a focus on antisemitism, which provided an opportunity to raise this issue to a range of audiences via many collaborative events that took place across Wales. The Deputy Minister for Social Partnership spoke at a national event, organised by the Wales Hate Support Centre, to mark the week. We remain grateful to the centre, which is funded by the Welsh Government and run by Victim Support Cymru, for the support it provides Jewish and other faith communities in Wales, and for working closely with police as part of this work.

The faith communities forum, which was established in the wake of 9/11, is co-chaired by myself and the First Minister. Through the forum, the Welsh Government has worked closely with faith representatives on matters affecting the social, economic and cultural life of Wales. This forum also has a vital role in promoting good relations between people of different faiths and beliefs. These strong relationships are so important now as a way for us to work together to build a safer world in the future. 

So, I will close this statement by thanking the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Holocaust Educational Trust for their vital work. We condemn the vile hatred expressed by individuals who seek to create a climate of fear and aim to fragment our communities. Today and moving forward we have a duty to ensure that Wales continues to stand up to all forms of hate, to help create a safer and more equal nation, where difference is accepted and embraced. Diolch.

I call on Mark Isherwood.

Diolch. Well, Holocaust Memorial Day takes place, as we've heard, on 27 January each year—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, on 27 January 1945; remembering the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and in the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur; and educating generations of young people about this terrible history and the need to stand up against acts of bigotry and hatred today. In addition to the 6 million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust, Nazi authorities also targeted and killed other groups, including children because of their perceived racial and biological inferiority, Roma and Sinti Gypsies, disabled Germans, LGBT people, and some of the Slavic peoples, especially Poles and Russians. Other groups were persecuted on political, ideological and behavioural grounds. So—and I'm sure she will—will the Minister agree that the past informs the future and that those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat its mistakes and atrocities?

Auschwitz initially served as a detention centre for political prisoners. However, it evolved into a network of camps, where Jewish people and other perceived enemies of the Nazi state were exterminated, often in gas chambers or used as slave labour. I visited the rightly unsettling Holocaust museum, when in Israel, and last September I made a moving visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps. The empty barracks, the barbed-wire fencing, the solemn exhibits, the telltale chimneys—all these vestiges left a strong impression. But what struck me most was the sheer vastness of the sprawling memorial to history's most notorious death camp. I also made an evocative visit to Oskar Schindler's factory in Krakow. So, how can the Welsh Government hardwire education about the Holocaust, including the horrors that happened in Auschwitz-Birkenau and other death camps, into our schools and wider information sources for each generation? 

You state that the Welsh Government funded the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to employ a support worker in Wales. You also shared this with us in your statement on Holocaust Memorial Day last year. What update can you provide on their activities since then? 

Several of my own children who attended Castell Alun High School in Flintshire benefited from a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau with the school. They happened to be one of those schools that recognised how important it was that this was given attention, but there are many others that don't. How can we ensure that this becomes embedded on a more mainstream basis, not just in those schools that are at the forefront of this sort of issue, but those that perhaps need to be helped further along the way? How will this also embed the new resource for secondary schools in Wales about the Romani Holocaust, or porajmos, launched by the Romani Cultural and Arts Company with funding from the UK Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities? And how will this ensure public awareness of the close to 0.25 million disabled children and adults who were also murdered under the Nazi regime? 

North Wales Police recorded a rise in religious hate crime in the weeks following the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict last year. The number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded by several of Wales's police forces have also seen similar rises. Does the Minister agree, and I'm sure she will, that this is a grim wake-up call? Therefore, what further action is the Welsh Government taking to counter this rise in religious and racial hate crime? 

I attended the moving 2023 Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham, organised by the Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham, when the theme chosen by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust was 'ordinary people'. As you stated, the theme this year is the 'fragility of freedom', reminding us of the slow and subtle erosion of freedoms that create the circumstances that allow genocide to take place. It also urges us not to take our freedoms for granted and to be mindful of our own responsibility in defending and strengthening freedoms in our communities. Would you therefore join me in endorsing the recent statement by Pope Francis that

'Saturday, 27 January, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. May the remembrance and condemnation of that horrific extermination of millions of Jews and people of other faiths, which took place in the first half of the last century, help everyone not to forget that the logic of hatred and violence can never be justified, because it denies our very humanity.'

I'll close by quoting how he closed, in encouraging, as he did, us all to pray for peace across the world. Diolch yn fawr. 

Diolch yn fawr and thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, for your contribution to this statement, and it is an important contribution. As you say, we have a duty to stand up against hate and persecution, and commemorating the Holocaust is important to ensure that we'll never forget how divisive hateful narratives can be and what can happen if people in communities are targeted and dehumanised because of who they are. Thank you for sharing your experiences and your learning as a result of your visits and your engagement. Of course, the Holocaust didn't happen overnight; it began with the gradual erosion of human rights, and, of course, this divisive rhetoric against people who were different or perceived to be different to others. And it was very powerful on Friday—and I know others who were there on Friday and, indeed, last Wednesday, when we had an event in the Pierhead building—the fact that we had contributions during the prayers from Disability Wales, Stonewall Cymru and the Romani Cultural and Arts Company—Isaac Blake also participated. It was really important it came through, that strong message of the erosion of human rights and that rhetoric against people, which of course the Holocaust drove out with stigma and hatred.

So, I think the investment that we’ve made has been important. I’ve only mentioned some of the events that took place over the weekend, and some more to come in terms of our support for community events and the 'light the darkness' national moment. We’ve got some good other reports of what happened from the community engagement, for example, Tredegar Town Council lighting candles at Aneurin Bevan memorial stones, Tredegar—the Member Alun Davies may be mentioning that—also, just recognising voluntary services, Glamorgan Voluntary Services adding information to their website, e-bulletins; the office of the future generations commissioner arranging a webinar on 18 December about Holocaust Memorial Day to the future generations department; Love Your Library Monmouth group—. There are many others—Neath Port Talbot standing advisory council on religion, values and ethics. And also in north Wales, you mentioned the police—North Wales Police had marked the day as well. And Bangor University held an event in Powis Hall main arts building, College Road in Bangor.

But I do want to turn to the important points about education particularly and the role of the Holocaust Educational Trust. Those of us who attended either the event last week in the Pierhead building, or indeed on Friday, will have heard from the young people, the young ambassadors, who gave such important contributions at those events. We have to be so proud—we are so proud—of our young people when they speak up about their experiences. And I just want to make the point about the role of the Holocaust Educational Trust, which of course we’ve been funding, as I said, since 2008, and the participants learning about pre-war Jewish life and the former Nazi death and concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, before considering the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust. They become ambassadors, and they indeed were, the young people who spoke last Wednesday, and indeed on Friday—such strong, powerful ambassadors inspiring us, and inspiring them of course, the experience, to share their knowledge in their communities. I think one of the ambassadors was talking about sharing it in the primary schools. Of course, the fact is that they're learning, they're understanding, and meeting, indeed, as they did, some of the survivors—the power that that had for those young people.

I think this does reflect in our curriculum, has been recognised, because diversity is now a cross-cutting theme in the Curriculum for Wales, and this does help and equip our young people to understand and respect their own and each other’s histories, cultures and traditions—and that’s very important, that our new curriculum does reflect that true diversity of the population and learners—and understand how diversity is shaped.

Just finally, also, I want to comment on your point that has been made particularly about addressing hate crime, and this is something that I spoke of in my statement, but just to again reflect on the fact that it is important to recognise that the issue around hate crime—. We are actually the first—. The Wales Hate Support Centre is the first service of its kind in the UK to offer as well a children and young people-friendly hate crime service, and we have our Hate Hurts Wales communications campaign, but are also trying to understand ways in which we can reach out to those who are particularly affected by race hate or sexual orientation or religion hate crimes, and I’ve already commented on the focus last year.

It is important that schoolchildren learn about the wrongs and consequences of contemporary antisemitism, and I’ve mentioned the letter that I and the Minister for education sent to all headteachers, raising that awareness about antisemitism and, indeed, Islamaphobia. This is all about the ways in which we, through education, and the ways we intervene and support Holocaust Memorial Day. And the Holocaust Educational Trust can actually live up to that very important point, which I do understand, agreeing that the past informs the future. Diolch yn fawr, Mark.

As you reflected in your statement, Minister, at the heart of our acts of remembrance, in response to the horrors of the Holocaust, is a reflection on humanity's ability to cause such suffering to fellow humans, and also humanity's ability to remain silent in the face of such suffering. A refusal to remain silent in the face of a state's atrocities against a specific group of people, such as the Jews of Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, can require a great deal of bravery—incredible acts of personal bravery, as in the case of people such as Sophie Scholl in Nazi Germany. It also takes a great deal of political bravery on Governments' behalf to oppose the oppressive actions of powerful nations. 

I'd like to quote, in this context, a tribute written for one of the most prominent philosophical minds of the twentieth century, and one of the leaders of the civil rights movement in the United States, namely Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. The tribute is by a scholar of philosophy from Wales, W.D. Davies, and it was read by him at Rabbi Heschel's funeral in 1972. W.D. Davies was the son of a miner and his wife in Glanamman, a few miles away from where I live in the Swansea valley. He had a glittering career here and in the United States, including holding chairs at Princeton and Duke universities. And his words of tribute to a fellow scholar are particularly relevant to the act of remembrance, and its nature.

'I recall once, at his home, that he referred to the silence of decent people in Germany, and elsewhere, in the presence of the monstrous and unspeakable deeds of Hitler, and spoke of the need to make public protest against such.... That he very publicly marched to Selma and very publicly opposed the Vietnam war...all this was no accident. It was his passionate reaction against the craven silence of decent people in the presence of wrong unendurable. More than one great jurist has said that it is important not only that justice be done, but that justice be seen to be done. Abraham Heschel felt that it was important not only that one protest against evil, but that one be seen to protest, even at the risk of being misinterpreted and misunderstood. That he was seen to protest was, in his mind, a necessary part of his resolve not to be guilty of a compromising silence.'

The Holocaust, therefore, demands that we take a stand. It calls publicly for an end to prejudice and hatred or violence on the basis of race, religion, sexuality or gender, or any characteristics that are used as grounds for oppression, injustice or limited freedoms, as grounds for causing suffering, as grounds for causing famine, as grounds for driving people from their homes, as grounds for merciless killing. I'd like to remember today those Governments that have stood against powerful nations to prevent such actions, from the second world war to this day. I'd like to remember the people who have taken a public stand against this, calling for peace and for justice.

I'd like to know, Minister, how the Welsh Government is ensuring that your act of remembrance this year is not simply a passive one. How are you pressing the UK Government to stand against oppression and violence and to call for peace and justice on these isles, and in their relations with Governments worldwide, specifically at present in thinking about the interim judgment by the International Court of Justice that there is a credible case, under the 1948 genocide convention, against the Government of Israel, and that the Palestinian population of Gaza is at genuine risk of irreparable harm?

You mentioned that the conflict in the middle east was at the forefront of your mind during the remembrance ceremony last week. How is the Welsh Government trying to tackle the increased levels of antisemitism and Islamaphobia in our communities, which have been intensified by the actions of the Government of Israel in Gaza and the Hamas attack on the citizens of Israel? Do you agree that the Westminster Government must call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for the safe return of Israeli hostages, and that this would help to decrease tensions and, therefore, levels of hate crime in Wales? And if so, are you willing to add the Welsh Government’s weight to calls for an immediate ceasefire to achieve this?

The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is the fragility of freedom. Do you agree, Minister, that the Welsh Government should urge the Westminster Government to respect international law, ensuring that human rights are protected without exception in Wales and the United Kingdom, and that sanctions are applied to nations that contravene conventions and international law by restricting people's freedom to have the right to life, freedom from torture and inhumane or degrading treatment, and the right to safety?

Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to safeguarding peace and human rights in today’s world. Do you agree, Minister, that we should never remain silent in the face of injustice and suffering, that a Government should not be guilty, as Rabbi Heschel said, of compromising silence—even if there is a risk that we are misunderstood and misrepresented in so doing? 

Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. And thank you, again, for your contribution to this statement, and also for just drawing attention to the courage of people who've stood up and not stayed silent, very much following on from the point of Mark Isherwood's about agreeing that the past can inform the future. But the refusal to stay silent—. You've spoken of those people of courage across the world and in our history, and, of course, I think this also reflects back to the importance of our curriculum and the fact that developing informed and ethical citizens is about history. It's also about learning about the diversity about today's people and, actually, I'm very proud, as I'm sure the Minister is, and all of you are, that human rights is a key part of the curriculum. 

But thank you for also remembering that tribute to Rabbi Joshua Heschel and making the connection to Wales with W.D. Davies. It's important, of course, and many of us recognise, that public protest is an important way in which we can express our views. It's part of our thriving democracy that we play our part in that. But I do think that the expressions of solidarity and support that we saw last Wednesday in the Pierhead building, where, across party, we were coming together and hearing not just our young people, but also the testimony and life experience of Eva Clarke, was really important. 

Yes, we have acknowledged, and I did in my statement, that conflicts across the world are at the forefront of our thoughts. And, of course, just in terms of the situation in the middle east, we need a sustainable and lasting ceasefire in order to ensure that we get urgent humanitarian relief, warding off famine, and also freeing hostages, and provide the space for a sustainable ceasefire so that fighting doesn't restart. And, obviously, we acknowledge and look at the situation in terms of the international court of justice's interim ruling. But I think, just in terms of our role and the points that we make, we have to be responsible, as I said, for community cohesion, for the compassionate and caring and ethically-informed Wales that we want to see in our young people and indeed in all our citizens. And so I think it was very important that on the day of Hannukah and a very powerful event on the steps of the Senedd, the First Minister and I were also meeting with Muslim leaders as well. 

Minister, can I thank you for your statement this afternoon? In your statement you recognised the work of Pastor Michael Fryer and those at Father's House in my own Constituency in Queensferry. They play an incredibly important role in making sure that we remember and we never forget the Holocaust and those tragedies across the world. And they play an important role in making sure that our future generations never forget. 

Minister, you said the event over the weekend was supported by Mark Tami, and Carolyn and I have had the privilege of speaking there on many occasions—not just on Holocaust Memorial Day, but right across the year. I wonder if you could join me in thanking Pastor Michael and the team at Father's House for all of their work, and perhaps talk further about how we can support these organisations, like Father's House, in the role that they do in educating and enlightening the people of Wales, year round. Diolch.

Diolch, Jack Sargeant. I have acknowledged that important event that took place at Father's House Sabbath Congregation in Flintshire. I think that the important point, not only in terms of your contribution and the guest speakers who attended, but the memorial: it was a memorial that wasn't just a one-off memorial. I would certainly like to come and visit Father's House and meet the congregation, because I can see that this is imbued in everything that they do, not just on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Minister, can I thank you for your statement? I think that it is important that Holocaust Memorial Day is marked in the Senedd in this way with a ministerial statement every year, in the same way that, on an annual basis, we mark the event in the Senedd, as was the case last week. I, of course, unfortunately, was not able to be present at that event, but I believe that Eva Clarke spoke very clearly about the impact of the Holocaust, not just on her and her immediate family, but of course on the Jewish people and all of the others who suffered at the hands of the dreadful Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s.

It is important that we celebrate these things locally as well, and I'm pleased that a number of events have been held around Wales remembering the Holocaust, including one that I attended over the weekend in Llandudno, where the Christian Friends of Israel in north Wales get together with the local Jewish community in order to host an annual event at which young people, old people, Holocaust survivors always take part.

I was particularly struck this year by the impact of the Lessons from Auschwitz programme on the young people who shared about their visit to Auschwitz at that particular event. I would be grateful if you could confirm the ongoing commitment of the Welsh Government to that programme, in order to ensure that many more young people can have the opportunity to become ambassadors for those who have experienced the horrors of the Holocaust, particularly at Auschwitz.

In addition to that, there was a book that was talked about at the event over the weekend by one of my constituents, Andrew Hesketh, who has written a book, Escape to Gwrych Castle. It's about the 300 Jewish refugees who came across as part of the Kindertransport programme, and were at the castle—the largest single centre of Kindertransport arrivals and refugees in the whole of the United Kingdom at the time. I didn't know that that was the case. I knew that there had been some Jews that had taken refuge at the castle during the war, but had no idea that it was the largest single centre. I would commend that book to anyone with an interest in the events of the war, the Holocaust, and indeed in the generous response of the Welsh public to those individuals in need.

Just finally, Minister, if I may, I'd like to thank those universities in Wales that have done work in trying to promote awareness of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and have adopted it—both Bangor now and Cardiff. There is still more work to be done among our higher education institutions, and I would be grateful if you could continue to work with your colleague the Cabinet Minister for education to address those shortcomings in some parts of our education institutions across Wales. Thank you. 

Diolch yn fawr, Darren Millar. Thank you, again. I know that you were hoping to be at—. You helped organise the powerful event last Wednesday with the cross-party group and Jenny Rathbone. It was extraordinary hearing about the life story and circumstances of Eva Clarke and her family, and also hearing from the young ambassadors.

I have mentioned many local events, but it is good that we have heard on record about the event in Llandudno, and the contribution of the young people who have benefited from—. Clearly, their whole life experience will benefit from the Holocaust Educational Trust, which we have funded since 2008—I believe I was actually the education Minister then—and I know we'll continue to fund it. It's interesting that we had an online situation during the pandemic and the Lessons from Auschwitz in-person and online project reached 1,957 students and 226 teachers from across Wales.

It is important that you've mentioned the work that we're doing in terms of the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which, of course, we adopted in May 2017, and the work that we continue to do with further and higher education institutions. We did write in December to all the further and higher education institutions to ask them, for example, to ensure that they're supporting students, looking at issues, learning about antisemitism and, indeed, Islamaphobia and discrimination. And thank you, also, for reporting on some of the developments that have taken place in higher education. It is something where the Minister has been very clear about respecting universities' autonomy, but keen to adopt the IHRA definition, which is an important matter of principle. And they must carry out their functions in full recognition of their obligations under the public sector equality duty as well.

I've got five speakers and we're over time, so if I could respectfully ask people to keep to time, I know that you all want to speak and we all want to hear you. Delyth Jewell.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about the Holocaust was how easily it was allowed to happen. It wasn't only fanatics who rounded Jewish people up or expected them to sew stars of David into their clothes. It was made possible by the terrifying indifference of the people who chose to look the other way—chose to look the other way as the lorries trundled past and the railway wagons clattered through the night. We can't just passively remember the Holocaust, we have to sear into our souls an awareness of the hideous easiness with which the murder of millions was carried out—the Jewish, disabled, gay lives ended because people decided they didn't deserve to exist.

Minister, I'm deeply troubled by the rise in antisemitic attacks that have been prompted, it seems, by what's happening in the middle east. It is incomprehensible to me how anyone could blame Jewish people or expect them to be answerable for what's happening on another continent. Jewish people living in Wales are our brothers and our sisters; they are a people of peace. Would you join me, Minister, in reaffirming this point and extending a hand of friendship and solidarity to them?

Thank you. Diolch yn fawr, Delyth Jewell, for those very important comments. We're extremely concerned about reports of increases in hate crime targeting Jewish communities, and we do encourage members of those communities to report any hate incidents. They can be reported to the Wales Hate Support Centre, as I've said, or by contacting the police. We are actually monitoring any spikes with the Wales Hate Support Centre, and I have to say, any spikes in the reporting of antisemitic and, indeed, Islamaphobic hate crime at this time, because we need to ensure that we understand the impact of this. Again, the Welsh Government stands with the Jewish community in condemning the hatred expressed by individuals who seek to create that climate of fear, aiming to fragment our communities. But we will overcome that with statements and contributions and the commitment of the Welsh Government, as I've outlined today. 

The 'fragility of freedom' is a remarkably powerful statement. The fragility of humanity was something that I reflected upon a few weeks ago in Dachau concentration camp, where you look around the normality of an industrial estate on the edge of Munich and reflect upon what happened there a lifetime ago, and the fragility of humanity that allowed that to happen. And, of course, we all know that Dachau wasn't simply the consequence of Goebbels's words in November 1938, spoken just a few miles away in the old town hall in the centre of Munich. It was the consequence of hatred, hatred that had been driven by a Government intolerant of people and who sought to blame others for the issues facing Germany at that time—the fragility of civilisation.

Jenny Rathbone, Llyr Huws Gruffydd, Darren Millar and I walked through Yad Vashem in Jerusalem some years ago. We walked through the history of the Holocaust, and it didn't start in Dachau, it didn't start on Kristallnacht; it started with individual acts of hatred and intolerance. I'm glad the education Minister is in his place this afternoon, and I hope that, as we teach children tolerance and humanity, we teach them the consequences of inhumanity and intolerance. We all know that if we look on social media this evening, we will see the fragility of freedom, the fragility of humanity, and we will see the fragility of the common humanity that unites us all. I hope that all of us, in remembering the events of the Holocaust, will also remember that we need to call out hatred when we see it in the world today.

Diolch yn fawr. Your statement stands on its own strength: the fragility of freedom; your experiences, as well, are on the record. They're important, and we respect them and your engagement. I just want to mention one point, as well as the curriculum and what we're doing in education, we do have our 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan'; it is providing a cross-Government framework that will embed anti-racism into our education system. Teachers are telling me about how they're learning just by learning to learn this with their pupils. I think the fact that that plan includes goals and actions to tackle antisemitism, Islamaphobia, including our ongoing support for victims of hate crime, will have a powerful influence, we hope.

Last week, Minister, I was honoured to stand in the place of Darren Millar at the Holocaust Memorial Day event in the Pierhead, and I must commend the Member for Clwyd West for the work that he's undertaken as a Member here in advocating for Holocaust memorial and the work he's done with the Holocaust Educational Trust. Listening to Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke BEM and her powerful testimony, it, indeed, was one of the most important events that I've been privileged enough to be involved with in my time in the Senedd. 

Another important event in my life was when, as a pupil of Ysgol Bro Gwaun, I visited Auschwitz, and that is an experience that lives with me to this day. It's incredibly difficult to put into words what one experiences when they visit Auschwitz. One thing that I heard and saw repeatedly during my visit to Auschwitz, when I visited the Jewish ghetto in Krakow and the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, was the phrase by George Santayana:

'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'

So, let us remember the Holocaust for what it was: the murder, the systematic eradication of 6 million Jews, two thirds of Europe's Jewish population. But have we truly remembered the past if the cancer that is antisemitism is still far too common in our country and around the world? Have we really remembered the past if Jews continue to be targeted in conspiracy theories and painted as scapegoats for issues that are not their fault? So, Minister, in remembering the words of George Santayana, how is the Welsh Government helping to remember the evil of the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews to ensure that today's and future generations are not condemned to repeat it? Diolch.

Diolch yn fawr, Samuel Kurtz. Thank you for the role that you played last Wednesday, and, indeed, again, I repeat and recognise the important contribution that was made, the testimony by Eva Clarke. Your visit to Auschwitz, as everybody has expressed the impact it has had—. I think I've already spoken about our commitment as a Welsh Government. Supporting Holocaust Memorial Day and the Holocaust Educational Trust, our 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan', and, indeed, our Wales centre for tackling hate crime, I think are all indications of our commitment to this. I think it is important, acting Presiding Officer, that we do spend our time, we do listen to all the contributions today, because it's is not just today that we’re remembering the impact of this, but every day.

Thank you to Darren Millar for getting Eva Clarke to come here and give us such an extraordinary account of her mother’s ability to survive.

On Sunday, I attended a performance of 'Stumbling Stones', which on the one hand was a vibrant group of musicians called Klezmer-ish, which includes Thomas Verity, the principal clarinet in the Welsh National Opera. They performed a mixture of klezmer, Sephardic, Yiddish and tango music, a wonderful celebration of both what was lost and what has survived of the vibrancy, joy and poignancy of Jewish culture. It was mixed with the story of my friend Julia Nelki’s German-Jewish family, who found, on the one hand, asylum here, as well as those who were sent to the extermination camps.

As the double bass player said, it’s not only about remembering the past; it is about exploring the relevance of the past to the present and the future. So, it was extremely important that 'Stumbling Stones' included the participation of a Malawi asylum seeker who’s been living in England for the last seven years and still waiting for refugee status, and Qais Attalla, a Palestinian from Gaza who’s lost 40 members of his family in the last couple of months. Together, the combination of this wonderful celebration of Jewish culture and a recognition of the mistakes we are destined to repeat if we don’t understand was a really powerful moment. I want to bring this performance to south Wales, and with Thomas Verity’s help, I hope we will bring it here, maybe to the Merthyr synagogue, and maybe I’ll be tapping up the Welsh Government for some money.

But this is the sort of thing we need to do; not just to repeat the stories, but to also give it a modern relevance. I’m so glad that you have chosen, with the Holocaust Educational Trust, 'fragility of freedom', because that is absolutely the case.

Thank you very much, Jenny Rathbone. That’s an important contribution in itself, because you are talking about the impact culture can have on us in terms of that experience you had with 'Stumbling Stones', the contributions that were made at that concert, but also to link that to the contributions from the sanctuary seeker from Malawi, and indeed the experience of the Palestinian who was there. This is about us working together cross-culturally, and learning.

I actually was able to attend at the weekend the film—and I was going to mention this in response to Darren Millar—One Life, about the amazing work of Sir Nicholas Winton, and if anyone hasn’t managed to see that film in terms of the Kindertransport from Prague in those last days before the war broke out—. I think we must recognise that culture is crucial to this as well.

And our last Speaker on this is Vikki Howells.

Thank you, Minister, for your important statement. As you say, it is inherent on all of us, if we’re to create a safer, more equal nation, to call out hate, bigotry and the evils that are inflicted in their name, and never let the suffering that they cause be forgotten. One really good example of this is provided by St John Baptist Church in Wales High School in Aberdare, who hold multiple Holocaust memorial assemblies in the week leading up to memorial day. I believe the school has been running these for 20 years since they visited Auschwitz and met a Holocaust survivor, to whom they pledged they would do all they could to ensure we never forget.

Ms Bell, her colleagues and students do a tremendous job, also inviting in representatives from the local community to these assemblies, and I’m sure they would welcome someone from the Welsh Government maybe attending to see what they do, and perhaps finding out how similar examples of best practice can be promoted across Wales. It’s good to hear about the increasing numbers of Welsh schools taking part in the Holocaust Educational Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz project. By my calculations, though, that still represents only about one in three schools in Wales. I appreciate the project is run on a first come, first served basis, but has any work been done to identify barriers that may prevent schools taking part, and, if so, what can be done to overcome them?

Thank you very much. I think this needs to be fed back to the Holocaust Educational Trust, and, indeed, the community support worker who we funded to help reach out, and we'll do that. I'm very conscious of the fact that I got some indications of contributions and ways in which this was recognised and celebrated in terms of the richness of those young people's contributions, but marking the horror of the Holocaust. For example, in terms of 'fragility of freedom', I see Bedwas High School also have pupils taking part in this in terms of that focus. But I'd like to follow it up in terms of, Vikki Howells, your school, which has obviously now embedded this into the curriculum and learning for all the pupils of that school.

Thank you. I know that we've overrun, but I thought it was important that we extended that debate.