Community news and events….

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

The Representative Council is proud to be at the forefront of HMD commemorations in the North East:


Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme is ‘Ordinary People’, and our film reflects this with guest speaker Marta Josephs who talks about her own father and family’s experiences during the Holocaust; ordinary people with an extraordinary story. Marta heard her father’s story of survival for the first time only when she was a middle-aged woman, and since then has been talking to schoolchildren, faith groups and many others, in the strong belief that information and education is the key to overcoming destructive ideologies.

We are delighted to have local schools across the region taking part, performing ‘Ordinary People’, a song specially written by Marta Josephs and Agi Gilbert, and composed by Fiona Lander. The morning the children spent rehearsing at Newcastle Reform Synagogue was enhanced with a short talk by Linda Scott about the lasting impact of the Holocaust on our own community.

The Rep Council have also commissioned a photographic exhibition entitled ‘A Place on Earth’ on the 1st floor of City Library, curated by Harris Clarke. This unique and moving series of images held by Yad Vashem is the only known visual documentation of the process of absorption and selection of Jews deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, taken by members of the SS. It will be exhibited until 10th February and is free of charge.


Holocaust Memorial Day 2022

Holocaust Memorial Day Logo

The Representative Council is proud to be at the forefront of HMD commemorations in the North East:

North Tyneside Council introduce the start of their holocaust memorial week to coincide with the lighting of Whitley Bay Lighthouse in memory of holocaust victims. Keira Edwards, a young person and member of Newcastle Reform Synagogue is the keynote speaker alongside the Mayor Norma Redfearn in the video below.


Sunderland Interfaith Forum are currently streaming their commemoration which you can access by clicking on the video below


Srebrenica Memorial Week 2021

4th July - 11th July 2021

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Remembering Srebrenica is, a charitable organisation funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Their aim is to raise awareness of the genocide in Bosnia and bring people together to tackle hatred and help build safer, stronger communities here in the UK. Since its creation in 2013, Remembering Srebrenica has educated 130,000 young people on the lessons from Srebrenica, organised over 8,500 community actions right across the country and created 1,450 Community Champions who pledge to stand up to hatred and intolerance in their communities. 

Each year, they raise awareness during Srebrenica Memorial Week by collaborating with councils, schools, faith groups and other organisations with over 1,700 acts of commemoration taking place in 2020. This year’s Srebrenica Memorial Week will commemorate the 26th anniversary of the genocide, where over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim Men and Boys were murdered, simply because of their faith. 

The theme for 2021 is ‘Rebuilding Lives’. In albeit very different ways the COVID-19 pandemic has brought loss and difficulties to millions, shattering individuals and communities, who are now looking to rebuild their lives. As we move forwards to rebuilding our communities in the wake of the many health and economic challenges which people with divisive agendas are all too keen to exploit, we will  remember the spirit of survivors who, despite the horrendous hatred and destruction they were subjugated to themselves, have been rebuilding their lives with dignity, humanity and without calling for retribution or promoting division or hatred.

Further information and resources including a personal challenge which you may like to participate in, can be found here.

Newcastle Reform Synagogue will be marking this during a shabbat morning service. Details TBC

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Holocaust Memorial Day 2021

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The Rep Council is proud to be at the forefront of HMD commemorations in the North East:

In Newcastle this year in place of our usual live event we have commissioned a short film on the national theme of ‘Be The Light in the Darkness’.

This unique film includes contributions from keynote speaker, historian Trevor Avery on ‘the Windermere Children’, Rabbi Aaron Lipsey of the UHC, Rabbi Sybil Sheridan of NRS, portraits of Holocaust survivors and refugees, as well as a virtual schools’ choir bringing children together from across Newcastle to perform a specially written song.


Be The Light in The Darkness

Please note the film contains images some viewers may find distressing.

Approx running time: 30 minutes


For more information about Holocaust Memorial Day visit https://www.hmd.org.uk/