Member's statement: Holocaust Memorial Day
Member's statement by Ms Paula Bradshaw on .
- MLA
- Ms Paula Bradshaw
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 27 January 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Holocaust Memorial Day
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4758656
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I recognise Holocaust Memorial Day and emphasise how now, more than ever, we must stand united against antisemitism and all kinds of prejudice, hatred, discrimination and violence. This year's Holocaust Memorial Day is particularly significant, as it marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex. It also marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia, part of the appalling and all-too-often-forgotten Yugoslav wars of the mid-1990s.
The theme for this year is "For a Better Future", and I sincerely hope that, amid the rise of autocrats around the world, we can, as democrats, all commit to that. That theme is supposed to offer us some hope. It implores each and every one of us to reflect on the atrocities of the past so that we may prevent anything similar from happening in the future. We need to ask ourselves whether we are truly committed to that in a world that is, seemingly, becoming increasingly divided and where almost any form of conduct is acceptable, provided that it is carried out by "our own side". For example, we need to reflect on the very real concerns felt by the local Jewish community in Northern Ireland at the hatred that is being directed towards them because of the conduct of the Israeli Government. We must be able to separate the two: it is entirely possible to be sympathetic to the plight of the people of Gaza, vehemently opposed to the actions of the Israeli Government and hugely concerned about the day-to-day impact on, and experiences of, the small Jewish community here, which still lives with the appalling trauma of the Holocaust. We can be proud of the role that Northern Ireland has played at crucial stages in offering sanctuary to those who needed it: from Nazi oppression in the 1930s and those fleeing Soviet oppression in the 1950s and 1960s to Ukrainian families that were forced to leave their homes by Putin's aggression in the 2020s. We can take pride in having taken in children who were fleeing Nazi rule, as part of the Kindertransport, so that they could be part of a Northern Ireland that offered them solidarity and safety from persecution. I have had the opportunity to visit Bergen-Belsen and to sense, in that tragic place, the scale of the human loss and of the inhumanity that caused it. We remain capable of such inhumanity, so we must constantly be on our guard against any slide in the direction of its recurrence. We must never take for granted the freedoms that we enjoy today, as we observe populist politics that continue to threaten democracy in different parts of the world and marginalised groups that are being used as scapegoats.
457 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.12 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.86).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.23 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.10 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.12 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.16 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.12 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.14 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.86 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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