World Leaders Fighting Anti-Semitism
by Eli Yissar, High School Intern
On Thursday, January 23, 2020, Israel hosted an International Holocaust Forum, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. There were approximately 700 attendees, including Knesset members, Ministers, and Holocaust survivors.
The original plan was to have a small summit with about ten foreign ministers attending, but it ended up becoming the largest diplomatic event in the history of the State of Israel, with 46 political leaders attending from all around the world.
The ceremony was presented by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, President of the World Holocaust Forum Moshe Kantor, Director General of Yad Vashem Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, and the leaders from the allied powers who fought against the Nazis during the second world war: President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and Prince Charles of England. The President of Germany also spoke, and he opted to speak in English instead of German in consideration of the Holocaust Survivors in attendance.
Some other countries that were represented in the event were Australia, Italy, Ukraine, Argentina, and Canada. The presidents of the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament also attended.
The event opened with a video that documented antisemitic events that have occurred around the world and presented the importance of remembering the Holocaust and fighting against racism and hatred. Following that, President Reuven Rivlin stood up and gave a speech about the horrific events of the Holocaust and, of course, the liberation of Auschwitz. He thanked those that came from around the world as a show of solidarity with the Jewish people and against antisemitism, a topic that has sadly become more prominent in recent months.
After that, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke about the threats of antisemitism, the importance of learning from our history, and always having the ability to stand up for ourselves. “Although we value our friends’ support, it is important that we have the power to defend ourselves on our own. Israel must always remain responsible for its fate,” he told the audience.
The main message of each subsequent speaker was clear: everyone was there to acknowledge the Holocaust and prompt people to stand up the the rising antisemitism around the world. Everything was done very respectably.
The biggest surprise must have been when the President of Germany, Frank Walter Steinmeyer, started his speech with a Hebrew blessing, “Blessed be the Lord our God the King of the world, who we lived and existed and arrived at this time. What a blessing, what a gift, it is for me to be able to speak to you here today at Yad Vashem.” He then continued to express his sorrow and guilt for the Holocaust and his gratitude for the path to reconciliation that the Jews have offered in order to have peace. Like the rest of the political leaders who spoke before him, President Steinmeyer also brought up the current global antisemitism problem and pleaded that there should not be an end to memory and that this evil must stop.
This incredible and unexpected turnout proves that, in a time where it seems that antisemitism is spreading in every direction that one may look, there are still those who are aware of the truth and fight for it at every chance they can. There are also those who decide to ignore or learn only half of the truth. At the end of the day, it is all about choices. People are choosing to learn from history, people are choosing to remember, people are choosing to stand up and fight for the truth. It is your choice, so what do you choose?
