Agenda item

Holocaust Memorial Day - Monday 27 January 2014

To consider motions from councillors in accordance with Part B, paragraph 14 of the Constitution.

(a)

Holocaust Memorial Day – Monday 27 January 2014

Proposed by Councillor Penberthy and seconded by Councillor Philippa Davey;

(b)

Public Health Settlement – Plymouth

Proposed by Councillor McDonald and seconded by Councillor Evans.

Minutes:

Councillor Penberthy proposed and Councillor Philippa Davey seconded the following motion -

‘Council recognises that the Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilisation. Council believes that we must make sure that everyone especially future generations understands the causes of the Holocaust and reflects upon its consequences and lessons for today. Council notes that –
?	Holocaust Memorial Day was established in the UK in 2001. It remembers and honours all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust under Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo and Darfur.
?	Six million Jewish men, women and children perished in ghettos, mass-shootings, and concentration and extermination camps before any survivors were liberated by allied troops in 1945.
?	Nearly half a million Gypsies and Travellers were also registered, sterilised and then deported to concentration camps by the Nazis in an event they call the Porajmos (the ‘devouring’).
?	Similar fates met gay men, lesbians and transgendered and disabled people. Between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals, of whom some 50,000 were officially sentenced with 15,000 incarcerated within concentration camps. Figures in relation to lesbians and transgendered people are not known. An estimated 200,000 disabled people were killed by the Nazis.

Over a thousand events will be taking place around the UK today, on Holocaust Memorial Day; and attending these will be Holocaust survivors. Locally, Solly Irving, a holocaust survivor is undertaking his annual visits to our schools to talk about his experiences as well as speaking at a public event in Crownhill. We held our Civic commemorative event yesterday at Mount Edgecombe and today there is a daylong exhibition in the University attended by many of our school children.

We, as a Council, recognise the significance of Holocaust Memorial Day as an opportunity for us all to remember the victims of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. We are grateful that it also gives us the chance to pay tribute to those who survived and to ensure we remain aware of what can happen if prejudice, discrimination and hatred go unchallenged.

Plymouth City Council therefore resolves to –

(1)	promote the importance of today’s and future Holocaust Memorial Days and to support annual commemorative events within our city;
(2)	foster a shared responsibility to create a better present and future for all by recognising that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race, religion, disability or sexuality makes some people’s lives worth less than others;
(3)	support the development and promotion of Plymouth’s Welcoming City plan;
(4)	take a stand against genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, hate crimes and discrimination.’

With the consent of the Council, Councillor Penberthy was granted an extension of time to introduce his motion.

During the debate, the issues raised included that –

(a)	it was important that the work of the Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity continued;
(b)	young people and children in Plymouth had chosen to mark this day through singing and dancing;
(c)	that it was important to contribute at a practical level;
(d)	that parents had a role to play in bringing up children to recognise that we were all the same, and that it was important to teach children to love and not to hate.

Councillor Jarvis also gave a moving personal account of family tragedy as a result of the holocaust.

Following a vote, it was Agreed to –

(1)	promote the importance of today’s and future Holocaust Memorial Days and to support annual commemorative events within our city;
(2)	foster a shared responsibility to create a better present and future for all by recognising that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race, religion, disability or sexuality makes some people’s lives worth less than others;
(3)	support the development and promotion of Plymouth’s Welcoming City plan;
(4)	take a stand against genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, hate crimes and discrimination.

(Councillor Stark declared a private interest in the above item).

Supporting documents: