The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has called for bridges to be built between Jewish people and others to prevent antisemitism taking hold. Speaking at Yad Vashem, Israel\u2019s memorial to the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, Welby said the museum\u2019s art revealed \u201cthe depths of human evil\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWithin European culture, the root of all racism, I think, is found in antisemitism. It goes back more than 1,000 years in Europe. Within our Christian tradition, there has been century upon century of these terrible, terrible hatreds in which one people \u2026 [are] hated more specifically, more violently, more determinedly, more systematically than any other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jewish people had advanced science, art, music and had founded economies. \u201cYou would have thought we would rise up together in gratitude,\u201d he said. Now, with antisemitism on the rise, he added: \u201cWe must dedicate ourselves afresh \u2026 to building and maintaining bridges and friendships, understanding, tolerance, unity and peace.\u201d <\/p>\n