HERZOG: DONJA GRADINA IS A REMINDER OF EVIL AND A SYMBOL OF THE FIGHT AGAINST SENSELESS HATRED

DONJA GRADINA, APRIL 19 /SRNA/ - The President of Israel Isaac Herzog, said today that Donja Gradina is a reminder of the evil committed in the name of hatred, but also a symbol of the necessity to fight against all forms of senseless hatred and regimes that openly encourage it.

He stated that the only "crime" of the thousands upon thousands of murdered Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the Jasenovac camp system in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ was that they dared to exist. "History has taught us that we must never allow evil and hate speech to go unpunished, because otherwise they can be repeated. Unfortunately, even today there exists a murderous regime that openly threatens peace-loving nations around the world," Herzog emphasized in a video message presented at the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha crime of genocide in Donja Gradina. Herzog stressed that the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran has once again shown that the destruction of Israel is more important to them than the well-being of their own citizens. "For decades, they have built an empire of evil and terror, which is why it is our duty to fight against them and their forces of darkness. Our obligation is to preserve the memory of all those killed in the Holocaust and to ensure the future of the Jewish people by taking decisive steps against those who threaten our nation today," Herzog stated. He called for a joint fight against all forms of hatred and discrimination, as well as for preserving the memory of the past, which must not be forgotten. Herzog's message was read by the Ambassador of Israel to BiH, Galit Peleg. In Kozarska Dubica and Donja Gradina, the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha crime of genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp is being marked today, in the presence of the highest officials of Republika Srpska and Serbia. According to the data of the Donja Gradina Memorial Area, 700,000 victims of Ustasha crimes perished in the notorious Jasenovac camp during World War II, including 500,000 Serbs, 40,000 Roma, 33,000 Jews, and 127,000 anti-fascists. A total of 20,000 children were killed in Jasenovac. The Government of Republika Srpska has declared April 19 a Day of Mourning in Srpska on the occasion of the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site - Donja Gradina in the NDH from 1941 to 1945.