Yesterday evening, faith leaders from the Toronto area and beyond arrived at Mel Lastman Square for an interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration hosted by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center to publicly stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in remembering the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and spreading the message of “Never Again.”

The more than 25 faith leaders, who represented numerous communities – including First Nations, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh and Baha'i – joined dozens of community members, government officials and Holocaust survivors.

The evening commemoration included a reading of names of Holocaust victims, during which members of the Jewish and non-Jewish communities not only read and acknowledged a small fraction of the countless individuals who died in the Holocaust, but told the stories of their own families – some of whom lost everyone they loved.

“One of the critical messages of the Holocaust is antisemitism. It was antisemitism that created the largest genocide in human history. We’re seeing a resurgence of antisemitism, and it’s quite shocking,” said FSWC president and CEO Avi Benlolo, who hopes the commemoration inspires people to stand against antisemitism as well as hate and intolerance against all communities.

An interfaith prayer service followed the reading of names, led by Reverend Zenji Nio who called upon the leaders to light a candle and perform a silent prayer for the victims.

“Never again will we not rise to the challenge of stopping antisemitism and fighting it with everything we have,” said Nio. “Never again will we shy from the responsibility.”

The candle-lighting ceremony concluded with a haunting and beautiful performance by Cantor Simon Spiro of the Song Shul as the crowd stood with lit candles in remembrance, followed by messages from several MPs and MPPs.