Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli has issued a formal appeal to the UK’s Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson warning of a sharp decline in British high school participation in International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on January 27.
According to figures cited in Chikli’s letter, participation has plummeted nearly 60% in just two years, following Hamas' October 7 terror attack. Data from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, released earlier this week, shows that while over 2,000 British high schools held commemorative events in 2023, that number fell to fewer than 1,200 in 2024, and just 854 in 2025 — representing only 20% of UK high schools, compared to nearly 50% two years earlier.
Chikli expressed concern that Holocaust education is becoming politicized, with dangerous consequences: “The historical and moral message of the Holocaust is fading among the younger generation,” he wrote. “One of the most prevalent and dangerous forms of antisemitism is Holocaust denial — and a decline in Holocaust education cannot be accepted, neither in schools nor in higher education institutions.”
He called for Phillipson’s personal and immediate intervention to ensure the Holocaust remains a national educational priority in the UK, emphasizing that silence and withdrawal from remembrance are not neutral acts, but part of the problem.
The letter is part of Chikli’s broader campaign against antisemitism. On Monday, he will host an international conference on combating antisemitism, attended by lawmakers and leaders from Europe and around the world. The agenda will include legislative efforts to promote Holocaust education and remembrance.