The RCE has made an official proposal of support to The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (ITF), an intergovernmental body whose purpose is to place political and social leaders’ support behind the need for Holocaust education, remembrance, and research both nationally and internationally. The proposal was made through Ambassador Jacob Rosen, the diplomatic coordinator of the Israeli Chairmanship (2010) of the ITF.

The RCE, an organization dedicated to meeting the needs of Jewish communities in Europe, considers itself excellently placed to impart education about the Holocaust to European youth.

“Many European students, whether in high-school of an institute of higher education, in Europe are either partially or completely unfamiliar with the Holocaust, Jews or the local Jewish community,” said Rabbi Arye Goldberg, deputy director of the RCE. “In many cases this will result in a negative perception of Jews. The RCE rabbis will be able to represent the Jewish identity and what it means to be a recognizable Jew in Europe today, 65 years after the Holocaust.”

“The lessons of the Holocaust are not for the past but for present and future tolerance and prejudice. If these children meet an open and identifiable Jewish leader from their town and city it will break down barriers and allow for a long-term dialogue.”

The RCE feels that as the Holocaust recedes further into history, more Europeans are accepting the denial of aspects of the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism is sometimes a strong part of this, so to meet a Jewish spiritual and community leader with a personal story would demand attention from the students. These rabbis are also cognizant of the local dialect, customs and sensitivities and most importantly, history of the region, especially in relation to the Holocaust.

Rabbi Yitzchak Rubin, member of the RCE board, and Head of “Ohr Shlomo” congregation in Manchester, England, feels that community rabbis are on the frontlines of dealing with current levels of European intolerance. “Many of our rabbis are themselves the children of holocaust survivors and are able to express what the impact of intolerance can have even beyond those directly involved,” Rabbi Rubin said.

Other rabbis feel that the role they can play in talking about the prevalence of Jewish life before the Holocaust is also important. “Before the Holocaust there were over three million Jews in Poland and there were so many Jews in the Greek port of Thessaloniki that they closed the port on the Jewish Sabbath and holidays,” Rabbi Isak Nachman, Chief Rabbi of Stockholm said. “Large parts of European Jewry were openly religious Jews whose lifestyle was an important part of the European fabric. As rabbis, we can paint this picture extremely faithfully.”

While many of the RCE rabbis already visit their local schools and other institutions, it is felt that this could be done in a more frequent and proficient manner with ITF backing, as the organization which has a mandate for Holocaust education.