Lammy pays respect to Stamford Hill’s Jewish community at Yad Vashem visit
Member for Tottenham says visit to remembrance site in Jerusalem as foreign secretary is 'one of the great honours of my life'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
David Lammy has described a visit to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem as foreign secretary as “one of the great honours of my life” as he paid tribute to Stamford Hill’s Jewish community and recalled the persecution they had suffered.
As part of his visit to Israel, which included meetings with political leaders, Lammy toured the Mount of Remembrance accompanied by Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan, UK ambassador to Israel Simon Walters and Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely.
The Tottenham MP also visited the Book of Names, a poignant memorial honouring the millions of Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
This was followed by a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance, where Lammy rekindled the eternal flame and laid a commemorative wreath on a slab under which ashes from the extermination camps are buried.
At the end of the visit, the RT Hon David Lammy MP, signed the Yad Vashem Guest Book and read his message aloud.
He said: “It’s one of the great honors of my life to visit the Yad Vashem as the UK foreign secretary, particularly because in the UK Parliament I represent the historic area of Stamford Hill in North London, one of the historic homes of the Jewish community in London- escaping a series of pogroms in the 19th century and, of course the Holocaust. We honor all that were murdered and we remember the evils of genocide in that period of history.”
Reflecting on the significance of Lammy’s visit, chairman Dayan stated,”One of the lessons of the Holocaust is the imperative to combat and defeat with all the strength the prevalent calls for the annihilation and elimination of the Jewish state, that we hear lately in the halls of power in Tehran, classrooms in Columbia University and unfortunately also in London.”
Since arriving on Sunday, Lammy has held meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as families of hostages being held in Gaza.
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