Protestors removed from Holocaust commemoration as President Higgins speaks about Gaza ceasefire

LAST UPDATE | 26 Jan

A SMALL NUMBER of people were removed from a Holocaust commemoration event this afternoon after standing in protest during a speech by President Michael D. Higgins. Several others left the commemoration at the same time. 

The event to remember the six million Jewish people and other minority groups who were murdered in the Holocaust during World War Two took place in the Mansion House in Dublin.

President Michael D. Higgins delivered the opening speech at the commemoration, speaking about the importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust, educating new generations about its atrocities and the need to strive for peace in the world today, including in Palestine and Israel.

“We must ensure that every generation understands how the horrors of the Holocaust came to be, and we must draw from what that teaches us, 80 years on,” President Higgins said.

The President’s speech and the rest of the commemoration event was viewable through a livestream this afternoon. However, organisers Holocaust Education Ireland refused access to most media into the event in person, except for RTÉ and the Irish Times.

RTÉ has reported that during President Higgins’ speech, about six people quietly stood with their backs to the President and others walked out, with some removed by security and gardaí.

Most left during a point in the President’s speech when he spoke about suffering in Palestine and Israel and the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, according to RTÉ.

Some members of the Jewish community in Ireland had criticised the decision to invite the President to speak due to previous comments he has made regarding Gaza and Israel.

However, Holocaust Education Ireland stood by its decision to invite the President, stating ahead of the commemoration that it was “grateful for the support and participation of the President and of a number of Taoisigh and government ministers on behalf of the state over the years”.

When he arrived at the commemoration, President Higgins spoke with Holocaust survivors Tomi Reichental and Suzi Diamond, whom he has also met on several previous occasions.

Children and grandchildren of survivors are also in attendance and were photographed with the President.

Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe, Labour leader Ivana Bacik, Senator Michael McDowell and Lord Mayor of Dublin Emma Blain are among politicians to attend the commemoration today.

National Holocaust Memorial Day is marked each year at the end of January to remember the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust by Nazi Germany.

The event included readings, recollections from survivors, a reading of the Scroll of Names, candle-lighting and music.

This year marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on 27 January 1945.

In his speech, President Higgins spoke about the importance of education in countering Holocaust denial and also in striving to prevent such a devastating atrocity from ever occurring again.

The President addressed the current situation in Gaza, outlining his hope that the ceasefire agreed in Gaza can lead to lasting peace.

“Those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble in Gaza will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire for which there has been such a heavy price paid,” he said.

“The grief inflicted on families by the horrific acts of October 7th, and the response to it, is unimaginable – the loss of civilian life, the majority women and children, their displacement, loss of homes, the necessary institutions for life itself. How can the world continue to look at the empty bowls of the starving?”

He said that the “current agreement must end the killing, but, as a matter of urgency, deliver the massive scale-up in humanitarian aid which is urgently needed to save more lives” and that it “is important that all remaining hostages are released and that all phases of the agreement are fully implemented”.

“It is to be hoped that the agreement will not only bring an end to the horrific loss of life and destruction which has taken place, but that it will also mark the beginning of meaningful discussions, and that the sustained diplomatic initiative which has been missing from the international community, with tragic consequences, will commence, may bring a meaningful peace and security to Israel, Palestine and the greater region, a peace that will address the root causes of the conflict as well as its aftermath, and be premised on the upholding of human rights,” President Higgins said.

Ahead of the commemoration, Professor Thomas O’Dowd, chairperson of Holocaust Education Ireland, which organises the event, said in a statement that the organisation is “grateful for the support and participation of the President and of a number of Taoisigh and government ministers on behalf of the state over the years”.

“The commemoration cherishes the memory of all of the people who perished in the Holocaust and recalls the millions of innocent Jewish men, women and children and all of the other victims, who were persecuted and murdered because of their ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliations or their religious beliefs,” Professor O’Dowd said.

“It is a solemn and dignified occasion.”

After the commemoration this afternoon, Oliver Sears, the founder of a separate group called Holocaust Awareness Ireland who has been critical of President Higgins, said he was “deeply disheartened and disappointed” by the President’s speech.

He said the President should not have “politicised” his speech and that the commemoration “belongs to the sanctity of the victims and their families”.