The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted the annual civic interfaith Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration for the London Borough of Haringey.

Those involved in this important event included Rabbi Sandra Kviat of Crouch End Chavurah and Louise Heilbron of Finchley Reform Synagogue.

Rabbi Sandra said: “This was a poignant and thoughtful commemoration of the Holocaust with speakers from many backgrounds highlighting the importance of the work of the Multi Faith Forum Haringey, Haringey Council, and local places of worship and other groups.”

The event commemorated the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, as well as all those persecuted by the Nazis and those killed in subsequent genocides.

Speakers included Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP (via video message), Catherine West MP, Bambos Charalambous MP, Deputy Mayor of London Joanne McCartney, Cllr Mark Grosskopf, Cllr Peray Ahmet, Cllr Sheila Peacock and Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt.

The keynote address was given by Helen Stone – the daughter of Holocaust survivor Emmy Golding – who told her mother’s story and gave a presentation titled Courage, Kindness and Candles.

Helen carried a menorah with her, which was rescued on the day after Kristallnacht from the ashes of the synagogue in her mother’s village of Kommern in Germany. Its rescuer was an 11-year-old non-Jewish girl called Maria Klee, who kept it hidden under her mattress and was able to track down Emmy in London 70 years later in order to return it.

The event will be followed by a special workshop for school pupils at Wightman Road Mosque in Turnpike Lane.

During the workshop, students from a local Haringey Jewish School, two local state schools with a significant number of Muslim pupils, and the local police will come together to discuss the importance of Holocaust Memorial Day.

Louise, one of the dedicated volunteers behind the project, said: “Our event gives the pupils a unique opportunity to engage with both an Imam and a Rabbi, and together they will light candles in a symbolic act of unity and remembrance. It’s a glimpse of what the future should be —interfaith harmony and mutual respect.”