by Dominic Hauschild and Louise Eccles, The Times
Hundreds have stopped hosting events — charities say some fear backlash from parents
More than 2,000 secondary schools around the UK had signed up to events commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day in 2023, which takes place on January 27, according to data from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Until that year, those taking part had increased annually since 2019.
But since the terrorist attacks by Hamas, the number of participating schools fell to fewer than 1,200 in 2024 and 854 in 2025 — a reduction of nearly 60 per cent. There are about 4,200
Commenting on the figures, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, said he feared for the country’s education system as teachers were following “the path of least resistance” by choosing to not mark Holocaust Memorial Day in the face of opposition from parents and pupils.
Writing in The Sunday Times, he said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is not a platform for political debate. It is not an endorsement of any government, perspective or conflict. It is an act of human memory.”
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Read also: Phillipson to investigate anti-Semitism in schools by Camilla Turner, Sunday Telegraph