Wednesday, April 13, 2016 New York, NY… Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, spoke at the memorial ceremony for the “International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda,” in the United Nations General Assembly Hall on Monday, April 11, 2016. The ceremony was organized to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi.
Hoenlein spoke alongside United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President of the United Nations General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft, and others, including Frida Umuhoza, a survivor of the massacre, in delivering remarks to commemorate the genocide, which claimed one million lives in 1994.
In his remarks, Hoenlein stated, “We remember the lessons of twenty-two years ago, as we do the Holocaust of seventy years ago, not just for us, but for future generations. Twenty-two years ago, more than 800,000 Tutsi were killed in 100 days with little reaction from the international community.
We now live in an age of indifference where the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent children, women and men hardly even has a response. Those responsible act with impunity with little fear of consequences for their evil acts.”
Hoenlein cited Moses’ biblical warning that the greatest dangers are apathy, indifference and ignorance. “We are about to celebrate Passover, which recounts the exodus of the Jews from years of slavery in Egypt. The central theme, as with most Jewish holidays, is remembrance. For us, history is about the future. We look back in order to look forward to learn the lessons of the past to spare future generations those trials and tribulations.”
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