Holocaust Remembrance Day to see procession through Oxford

The gathering, to mark the event known as Yom HaShoah by Jewish communities, will be part of the global March of Life campaign that spreads across 25 countries and 500 cities.

Initiated in Germany in 2007, March of Life has the motto "Remembering – Reconciliation – Taking a Stand Against Antisemitism".

There will be a public memorial event in Bonn Square following the procession (Image: Newsquest)

The annual processions represent a platform for Holocaust survivors, encourages reconciliation between descendants of victims and perpetrators, and rallies against present-day antisemitism.

On May 6 at 3pm, the Christian community in Oxford will start from the mediaeval Jewish cemetery outside the Botanic Garden, walk up High Street, and conclude the march at Bonn Square.

It will be the first time the event has been held in Oxford but it is hoped it will become an annual fixture.

London, Cardiff, High Wycombe, Bristol, Belfast and Bournemouth are a few of the other UK cities set to hold memorial processions this year.

Displaying the flags from various nations, marchers will publicly denounce antisemitism, racism, and discrimination.

Dr James E Patrick, Oxford March of Life coordinator, said: "Two years after the national Anglican service of repentance in Christ Church Cathedral on the 800th anniversary of the antisemitic Synod of Oxford, it is more urgent than ever that Christians produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

"It is not enough to express sorrow for indifference or hostility towards the Jewish people in the past. We must be leading the rest of our community in resisting antisemitism today.

"We will not turn a deaf ear to the slander and misrepresentation of our Jewish friends and their remarkable nation of Israel."

Pastor Phil Herklots of Cornerstone Church Oxford said: "As the survivors grow older, frailer and fewer, we are gathering publicly to say, ‘we remember, we will honour, we will not forget and we will do all in our power to prevent it from happening again'.

"The March of Life is an ideal opportunity to remind our nation and our churches of our immense debt to the Jewish people."

Len Grates from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, added: "The memories of the tragic past are being relived again after the inhuman attacks of October 7, 2023, against more than 1,200 defenceless Jews living in Southern Israel.

"We are here to remember those who lost their lives and those who are still held hostage in terror tunnels beneath Gaza, including women and children.

"We choose to act instead in solidarity with the Jewish community as they face ever-increasing hatred both at home and abroad."