News

UNESCO sensitizes Indian educators to act against antisemitism

11 February 2022

Last update:20 April 2023

UNESCO in partnership with the Embassy of Israel, the Embassy of Germany and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), organized an online workshop for over 500 Indian educators on 10 February 2022. The main objective of the workshop was to provide them with the knowledge, capacities, and approaches needed to effectively tackle antisemitism and other forms of intolerance within their classrooms.

Eminent speakers and experts from across the world, including, among others, Dr Robert Rozett, Senior Historian in the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, and Dr Elke Gryglewski, Director of the Holocaust Memorial Site Bergen Belsen, addressed the workshop helping to shed light on key concepts and practical strategies to tackle anti-Semitism and address Holocaust distortion through teaching and education.

People aren’t born antisemitic, they aren’t born racist, and they aren’t born hating; they learn it. Therefore, we have come together for this workshop with the realization that it is through education that one can make a difference in changing mindsets, attitudes and behaviors.

Eric Falt, Director, UNESCO New Delhi

The workshop helped to demonstrate how within the South Asian context, education can serve as an effective tool to understand the Holocaust and combat anti-Semitism and to strengthen the resilience of societies to intolerance, discrimination, misinformation, and conspiracy theories.

Why is it important to teach about the Holocaust in India? It is important because the murder of 6 million Jews teaches us about where hatred can lead us.

Naor Gilon, Ambassador of Israel to India

India’s National Education Policy presents a unique opportunity for strengthening social cohesion. As educators, we must use it to champion human rights and effectively address antisemitism so that we can fulfil the collective promise of ‘Never Again’.

Dr Biswajit Saha, Director ( Skill Education and Training), Central Board of Secondary Education

The event was organized within the framework of UNESCO’s programmes on Global Citizenship Education and Intercultural Dialogue and complemented the strong priority of these themes within the National Education Policy 2020 of India.

Every year, the world marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. Jewish people remain one of the most targeted groups with respect to hate speech and hate crimes across the world, a trend that has been exacerbated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with reported instances of anti-Semitism having increased significantly.

For additional information, please contact:

Euan Mackway-Jones or Aishwarya Sehgal (shs.NDL@unesco.org)