The University of Toronto Faculty Association recognizes the critical importance of acknowledging today, January 27, 2022, as the United Nations International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. Moreover, UTFA calls for actions across all levels of Canadian society to eliminate antisemitism in all its forms and manifestations whether that be through acts of religious intolerance, vandalism, harassment, incitement to violence or acts of violence against persons or communities and condemns any attempts to deny or minimize the catastrophic impact of the Holocaust. UTFA also recognizes that acts of antisemitism and Holocaust denial have occurred within the University of Toronto community and condemns these actions and events unequivocally. UTFA supports the efforts of the University of Toronto administration to address antisemitism within the University of Toronto community and supports the recommendations contained within the Report of the University of Toronto Anti-Semitism Working Group.
As former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stated in January 2008, “We must also go beyond remembrance, and make sure that new generations know this history. We must apply the lessons of the Holocaust to today’s world. And we must do our utmost so that all peoples may enjoy the protection and rights for which the United Nations stands.”