Given that he’s probably going to be subjected to shaking Donald Trump’s hand, the Prince of Wales has decided to share his thoughts on persecution while at an annual fundraising dinner for World Jewish Relief.
As a patron of the organisation he delivered a speech where he highlighted that we are “at a time when the horrific lessons of the last war seem to be in increasing danger of being forgotten.”
He declared that he was proud to be involved in a charity that embodies “true compassion and true friendship” by reaching beyond its community to help those in need, regardless of their faith.
He added that:
“In my own life, I have always tried to reach across the boundaries of faith and community; to extend a helping hand wherever one might be needed.”
He also spoke of Ben Helfgott, who suffered through the Buchenwalk concentration camp but went on to captain Britain’s weightlifting team in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games:
“To me Ben and others like him who have endured persecution are a reminder of the danger of forgetting lessons of the past.”
While Prince Charles’ comments were viewed as ‘thinly-veiled criticisms of Donald Trump’, there was no speculation about what Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth) had to say:
“There are so many millions of refugees are receiving no hope from countries closing their borders to them – and not much hope from the United States of America of all countries, where President Trump appears to have signed an executive order which seems to discriminate against individuals based totally on their religion or their nationality.
"We as Jews perhaps more than any others know exactly what it is like to be the victims of such discrimination and it is totally unacceptable."
According to The Telegraph The World Jewish Relief was founded in 1933 to support people fleeing Nazi Europe.
It created the Kindertransport, which brought thousands of Jewish refugee children to Britain from Germany between 1938 and 1940.
It now supports vulnerable people in 18 countries through activities including disaster relief, employment skills and providing older people with food, medicine and companionship.
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