Toespraak Ambassadeur Shir-On Tijdens de Herdenking OP 30.7.2018 BIJ DE MUUR EN HET JOODS KINDERMONUMENT

Dignitaries, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Once again we are gathered here, at the memorial monument for the children of Rotterdam who were murdered only because they were Jewish. The tragedy of the Shoah is incomprehensible but the murder of young children is beyond anything a human being is able to imagine. We remember here today the 686 young souls that were sent from this place to their death but we bow our heads and we shed our tears remembering also the children victims in other Dutch Jewish communities and all over occupied Europe who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators.
One and a half million boys and girls, babies, school children, teenagers. One and a half million innocent souls who were murdered before they were able to experience and enjoy life. Never again we swore after the Holocaust, after the unbelievable dimension of this horrific genocide was revealed. This monument shouts “Never again” in a more powerful way than all of us together.
Today I am proud to stand here before you as a representative of the independent Jewish State of Israel that still has to fight in order to defend its citizens, is spearheading the struggle against antisemitism but not less important ensures and declares loud and clear: Never again!