Sharp decline in Holocaust Memorial Day participation among schools after Hamas attacks
HMD is 'an act of human memory' said Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
The number of UK schools commemorating the Holocaust dropped by nearly 60% since the October 7 attacks on Israel.
In 2023, more than 2,000 secondary schools across the UK signed up for Holocaust Memorial Day events, held annually on January 27, according to data from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Participation had been rising each year since 2019.
However, in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks, the number of schools taking part fell to fewer than 1,200 in 2024 and just 854 in 2025—a reduction of almost 60%. There are about 4,200 secondary schools in the UK.
Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, said he was concerned for the country’s education system.
He warned that teachers were taking “the path of least resistance” by opting not to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, fearing 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.”
Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, emphasised the importance of schools marking the occasion and encouraged teachers to organise lessons, activities, and assemblies.
The trust, established by the government in 2005, promotes and supports Holocaust Memorial Day, when the six million Jews murdered under Nazi persecution are remembered across the UK.
Each year, the trust updates its resources for schools based on a new theme; the theme for 2026 is “bridging generations”. After the event, the trust collects data from multiple sources, including partner organisations, to track school participation.
The Holocaust Educational Trust, a separate charity founded in 1988, said teachers were increasingly “anxious” about teaching Jewish persecution and concerned about possible backlash from parents.
On October 7, 2023, more than 1,200 people were killed when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.
“I fear for what will happen this year,” Mirvis wrote. “For if we cannot teach our children to remember the past with integrity and resolve, then we must ask ourselves what kind of future they will inherit.”
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