Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust museum, responded to to covering of a Holocaust memorial in London during an anti-Israel protest over the weekend.
"Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, expresses deep concern over recent reports of Holocaust memorials and monuments being covered in both the United States and the United Kingdom," the museum said in a statement.
"Holocaust memorials serve as solemn reminders of the unparalleled horrors perpetrated, during one of the darkest chapters in human history. They stand as testaments to the millions of innocent lives lost and are beacons of hope so that such atrocities cannot and will never be allowed to occur once more," Yad Vashem said.
The statement continued, "The decision to cover up Holocaust memorials and exhibitions out of fear from the scourge of global antisemitism is deeply troubling. By concealing these historical reminders, we are only addressing the symptoms while ignoring the root cause of the issue. Yad Vashem implores authorities to address the heart of the events: hatred and antisemitism. These are the true issues that are eating away at the moral fabric of our society."
"Yad Vashem calls upon all individuals, communities, and governments to uphold the memory of the Holocaust and to actively work towards a world free from hatred and discrimination. We must remain vigilant in our efforts to combat antisemitism, ensuring that the voices of the victims are never silenced and their legacies never forgotten."
Earlier, the Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial Garden, the first public Holocaust memorial in Britain, was covered for fear that it would be vandalized by anti-Israel radicals. Police officers also stood guard around the memorial to keep demonstrators away from it.
The move was called "shameful" by Noemi Ebenstein, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor, and strongly criticized by Tory peers Lord Pickles and Lord Polak.
The Metropolitan Police have come under criticism recently for their response, or lack thereof, to the antisemitism displayed during anti-Israel marches in London.
In one incident a week ago, a Jewish man was threatened with arrest for being "visibly Jewish," on the grounds that his presence could provoke anti-Israel demonstrators to violence.