Levy, who had been scheduled to speak at the annual HMD event, stood up and left upon hearing the comments.
“I have never been put in that position before,” Levy told the JC, adding that he felt he had no choice but to walk out.
Labour councillor Akhtar Zaman had been speaking about the Nazi Holocaust before turning to contemporary violence around the world. He referred to the situation in Sudan and the Rohingya crisis, before stating that “some international experts” had called the war in Gaza a genocide.
Gaza, Zaman said, had been “flagged under a genocide emergency by some international experts and UN bodies, with immense civilian casualties and the systematic destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure raising grave concerns under international law”.
Levy said: “I just thought I had to make a stand. It is wholly inappropriate to start bringing Gaza – an incredibly complex and nuanced conflict – into HMD.
“Speaking frankly, I am so sick of people looking to hijack the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust for their own political gain,” he went on, adding that “everything seems to be constantly diluted.”
Protesters outside the Sheffield event[Missing Credit]
In Sheffield and Leeds, HMD commemorations were accompanied by pickets protesting over the situation in Gaza.
At Sheffield, one person approaching the event described walking past “half a dozen” protesters from “Sheffield Jews Against Israel Apartheid”.
The group, which was directly outside the door to the event, handed out leaflets about the “Gaza genocide” to people leaving the commemoration. The flyer featured an image of an elephant covered in the Palestinian flag, and the statement “an elephant called GAZA”.
Meanwhile, in Leeds, three people from a group calling itself “Jews of Justice for Palestinians” stood outside the event.
A flier handed to people leaving the Sheffield HMD[Missing Credit]
Levy said the remarks at Bolton were particularly jarring in light of comments made earlier this month by Sir Sajid Javid, chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, who warned against the “weaponisation” of the word “genocide” in relation to the conflict in Gaza.
“We live in strange times. Having been so reassured by Sir Sajid Javid and what he had said about how inappropriate it was to reference the conflict in the Middle East, it was unacceptable for this to happen,” Levy said.
Levy added that the councillor’s comments “might have been slightly more palatable if he had mentioned October 7”.
He said he was now in email communication with Cllr Zaman and noted that he had previously had “excellent relations” with Bolton Council.
When approached for comment, Cllr Zaman referred the JC to his previous remarks on the matter, saying: "I can’t possibly comment on how somebody perceives it. When I make reference to anything that is happening in the world, I want to bring into focus different aspects of violence and bring into perspective atrocities that are going on in the world. It’s not to target any particular community, it’s to make sure that everybody is included in events like this.”
A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “As a council we are always proud to host the annual Holocaust Memorial Day service, organised by a team of volunteers from across the community.
“Remembering the Holocaust, and the murder of six million Jews, is always at the very centre of the event.
“However, it is also an opportunity to consider the historical lessons from this atrocity in a modern context.
“This modern context was especially relevant given this year’s theme of ‘Bridging Generations’.
“With this in mind, speakers at our annual service will often reference current conflicts and call for peace across the world.
“In recent years, this has included mentions of Ukraine, the Middle East and other conflicts, reflecting the cross-community nature of the event.
“We are deeply sorry that Mr Levy could not stay for the full event and we have already reached out to him to continue a dialogue about his concerns.”
