Last night, the world watched in horror as rioters stormed the US Capitol building.
Like everyone, we were appalled and dismayed as the tragic events unfolded. But these shameful events did not happen in a vacuum. They were a culmination of division, mass disinformation, conspiracy theories and the rhetoric of hate that had been able to flourish online and in society. They are also a painful reflection on those who through their words or actions fuelled the situation, or those who through their silence or inaction have stood by and allowed this to happen.
At the Holocaust Educational Trust we work to ensure that everyone, from every background, knows what can happen when hatred is allowed to go unchecked. Words matter. It is our shared duty to defend democracy and the values and institutions that underpin it. So today, once again we promise to speak out wherever hatred rears its head; to never turn a blind eye when division is sown; to always protect and respect our shared humanity.
It is incumbent on all of us to play our part.