Member's statement: Holocaust Memorial Day

Member's statement by Dr Steve Aiken OBE on 27 January 2025.

MLA

Dr Steve Aiken OBE

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

27 January 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Holocaust Memorial Day

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4758640

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. The date of 27 January is chosen because it marks the moment 80 years ago when the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps were liberated. Last week, on BBC Radio 4, Ivor Perl BEM, a camp survivor, spoke of the horrors of the Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews and the need for remembrance. As he said, that need for remembrance has never been greater as the vile scourge of antisemitism has re-emerged with vehemence. I am proud that the Assembly debated and agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in April 2021, that, as an Assembly, we recognise that the scourge of antisemitism has to be combated, and that, all too regrettably, far too many across this island use antisemitic tropes on an almost daily basis, thinly disguised, if at all, under the banner of criticism of Israel. That criticism is without balance and regularly ignores the ongoing violence across the Middle East, eastern Europe and beyond. It seems that, because Israel is involved, it is somehow acceptable to focus wholly on the Jewish community and go for wholesale victim-blaming of that community at every opportunity. For the avoidance of doubt, that is not legitimate criticism but blatant antisemitism. One of the worst examples has come from the Irish state. Across the United States, all over Europe and amongst the Jewish people, Ireland is now seen as a haven of antisemitism. Anyone who saw the disgraceful hauling away of a pregnant Jewish academic, who was making a dignified and silent protest at the Irish president's politicisation of remarks at the Holocaust memorial event in Dublin yesterday, will be in no doubt about the ingrained antisemitism now prevalent on this island. While self-awareness was never a trait that could be laid at President Higgins's door, especially after he blamed the Israeli embassy for leaking his remarks about the leadership of the Iranian regime, we should heed the remarks of the Chief Rabbi of Ireland, who said that the president had:

"neglected even to acknowledge the scourge of contemporary antisemitism in Ireland, let alone do anything to address it."

At the commemoration in Dublin of the 7 October massacre, neither the president, the Taoiseach nor the Tánaiste thought it worthy to attend a Dublin synagogue in solidarity with Ireland's small Jewish community. That was bad enough. However, yesterday's blatant attempt to equate the Holocaust with events in the Middle East is beyond revulsion. That Simon Harris chose to defend Higgins' remarks just reinforces to the world the real state of antisemitism in Ireland. Listening again to Ivor Perl's words about the fear of antisemitism in the so-called civilised West, one does not have to look very far from these Benches to see how many of our fears are being realised.

466 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Qualifying Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice)

Second assessment

Jev’s answers did not settle this record, so a second model, claude-opus-5-5, read the same text (without the MLA’s name or party) and gave its reasons on 21 October 2026. How the second assessment works

Verdict

Qualifying

Public interest or divisiveness

Mixed

Against the published rubric

The statement opens with a genuine Holocaust Memorial Day tribute, and condemning antisemitism and defending a targeted community is legitimate. But most of the text turns into an attack on the Irish state and its leaders, saying that 'Ireland is now seen as a haven of antisemitism' and that there is 'ingrained antisemitism now prevalent on this island'. It adds a sarcastic aside about the president's 'self-awareness' and closes with an insinuation that one 'does not have to look very far from these Benches'. That moves beyond criticising specific conduct to attributing bigotry broadly to a state, an island and, by implication, political opponents in the Chamber. In doing so it maps the Israel–Gaza dispute onto political divisions here.

Public interest or divisiveness

Remembering the Holocaust and highlighting a real rise in antisemitism serves the public interest, and criticism of particular remarks and conduct by named office-holders is fair comment. However, the statement mainly uses the occasion to score points against the Irish state and to imply that fellow members share in antisemitism. That deepens an existing communal and constitutional argument rather than building shared opposition to prejudice. Both elements are substantial.

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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