THE director of research at the UK’s largest anti-fascism organisation will deliver the Island’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day address in 2023.
Dr Joe Mulhall, from HOPE Not Hate, will speak at the ceremony at the Occupation Tapestry Gallery in the Maritime Museum at 1pm on Friday 27 January.
The service will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Lighthouse Memorial on the New North Quay, which commemorates the more than 1,000 Islanders imprisoned by the occupying force and most notably the 21 who died in German camps and prisons.
Dr Mulhall is an author and journalist who has written for The Guardian, Independent and New Statesman and appears regularly on programmes including BBC News, Channel 4 News, Radio 4’s Today and The Moral Maze.
In addition, he has worked on numerous documentaries including Undercover in the Alt-Right, broadcast on Amazon Prime.
He said: ‘I am thrilled to accept the invitation to speak at this Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Jersey.
‘HMD is a time to remember the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
‘It is a time when we seek to learn the lessons of the past and recognise that genocide does not just take place on its own – it is a steady process which can begin if discrimination, racism and hatred are not checked and prevented.
‘The people of Jersey know about the realities of Nazi occupation and it’s also a day to remember their stories of persecution but also resistance and bravery.’
During his stay in the Island, Dr Mulhall will be appearing at Jersey Arts Centre on the evening of 26 January in an ‘audience with’ performance. He will also be visiting two secondary schools to discuss his work with students.
Previous speakers include gay rights campaigner and Labour peer Michael Cashman, TV presenter Michael Portillo – whose father fought against fascism on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War – Beirut hostage Brian Keenan, Holocaust survivor Sami Steigman and Occupation historians Dr Gilly Carr and Dr Paul Sanders.
