The Labour MP for High Peak continued: “It is with this, at the forefront of my mind, that I accept this role with a solemn commitment. To do all I can to promote understanding of the Holocaust, as this government works to stamp out the rising scourge of antisemitism.”
Lord Pickles told the JC he was “very pleased to hear of Jon’s appointment.
“The UK is a leader in Holocaust Remembrance and Education. He takes over at a challenging time. I wish him well, and I will do everything I can to make his new role a success.”
Similarly, LFI’s director Michael Rubin said he was “delighted” at Pearce’s appointment.
“Since his election to Parliament, Jon has shown himself to be one of the Jewish community’s greatest friends. He has been unflinching in his determination to tackle the evil of antisemitism and I know he will do whatever he can to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten”, he added.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced Pearce’s appointment during a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at the Foreign Office.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosts Holocaust Memorial Day at the Foreign Office, 2026 (Picture by Ben Dance / FCDO)Ben Dance / FCDO
Cooper said she was pleased that plans for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre next to Parliament had been granted royal assent last week.
“A location so close to Parliament is fitting because we must never forget that the road to the Holocaust began in a democracy,” she said.
She said the government stood with the Jewish community “today and every day.
"We will be unbending in our resolve to tackle those who spread the poison of antisemitism online and on our streets. Unrelenting in our determination to stand against antisemitism.”
She also noted that Holocaust Memorial Day was being marked “at a time of successive repugnant attacks on Jews here in the UK and overseas. Jews killed for being Jews. In the 21st century.”
The foreign secretary went on: “The appalling Manchester synagogue attack of October 2 during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. The terrorist murders in December as Australian families gathered at Bondi Beach to celebrate the joyful time of Chanukah. Instead facing an unimaginable ordeal and loss of life.
“And the ever-present, horrific October 7 Hamas attacks – the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. All the grieving families and friends are in our thoughts today. The loved ones of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz and all the congregants of Heaton Park Synagogue.”
The event included a speech from Israel’s Charge d’Affaires Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, who said: “International Holocaust Memorial Day serves as a reminder – not just of the suffering of countless innocent people under the tyranny of Nazi Germany and their collaborators – but also of the strength and determination of the Jewish people not to be beaten.”
She went on to say that the events of October 7 were so shocking precisely because of the State of Israel’s commitment to the phrase “never again”.
“They were a stark reminder that we need to continue to safeguard our people and our state”, she told the crowd.
The Charge d’Affaires also said that the increase in antisemitic incidents across the world, and in the UK, were unacceptable.
Grudsky Ekstein also brought up the vandalism of a memorial bench honouring Holocaust survivor Chaim Ferster in Salford.
“The destroyed bench was found smashed and dumped in the park’s frozen lake, with its audio equipment ripped out. This is an unimaginable kind of cruelty. The antisemitism that we are facing can be truly vicious, and we must do our utmost to continue to stamp it out.
“It is now more important than ever that we show people the disastrous consequences that hatred and extremism can lead to.”
Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE was given a standing ovation after sharing her harrowing story of survival with the assembled crowd of diplomats, civil servants parliamentarians and representatives from Jewish communal organisations.
She warned of “a climate of rising anti-Jewish hatred, with attacks on Jewish communities here in the UK and abroad”.
She added: “It continues to be of crucial importance to understand the very real threat of antisemitism”.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper signs Holocaust Book of Condolence with Mala Tribich MBE. (Picture by Ben Dance / FCDO)Ben Dance / FCDO
The crowd also heard from Holocaust Educational Trust Young Ambassador Meg Davis.
