RPT: PREVIEW - Fifth World Holocaust Forum To Begin On Thursday In Jerusalem
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 23, 2020 | 10:10 AM
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2020) The Fifth World Holocaust Forum will begin on Thursday, January 23, with dozens of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, coming to the city of Jerusalem to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp and declare zero-tolerance against antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Auschwitz was opened by Nazis in 1940 and remained operational until the end of World War II. It was the largest concentration camp where around 1.4 million people were killed before it was liberated by the Soviet Army in January 1945. The site of the former camp was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. It is now a symbol of the Holocaust.
The event, hosted by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, established in 2005 after the First International Holocaust Forum in the Polish capital of Krakow. The foundation aims to combat the rise of antisemitism across the globe, as well as racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance and bigotry.
This year's forum will be held under the motto "Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism."
The forum will begin at about 13:10 with an by address Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, while the memorial ceremony will start at 15:10 with Holocaust survivors Rose Moskowitz and Colette Avital lighting a memorial torch followed by the heads of delegations laying wreaths at the monument to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising at the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
The foundation lists 47 high-ranking officials, such as President Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, US Vice President Michael Pence, President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, among the forum's participants. The Russian president is scheduled to speak at the event.
According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, Putin had to cut his visit Israel to one day due to the recent change of Russia's government, with the Israeli authorities showing full understanding. This, however, will not present an issue as all key events of the forum are scheduled for Thursday.
Prior to the forum the world leaders wrote letters expressing their deep and ardent commitment to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive as well as fight antisemitism. Their statements have been gathered into a book that will be presented to the forum's participants.
The Holocaust refers to the period from 1933, when Adolf Hitler assumed the position of German chancellor, to 1945, the year the Second World War ended. It involves mass persecution and murder of German and European Jewry, culminating in the ethnic cleansing program dubbed as "Final Solution to the Jewish Question'" which involved Jews being relocated to ghettos, concentration and extermination camps were they were either murdered or died from malnutrition, disease, hunger, and inhumane treatment. Six million Jews died over the course of that tragic period.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
Shahzeb Chachar to hold khuli kachehri on April 26
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
Court adjourns Judicial Complex attack case till May 17
Nasreen Noori’s book ‘Popatan Jahra Khwab’ launched
Wafaqi Mohtasib inspection team visits Excise and taxation office
AJLAC announces 5th Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil ..
Pak-US officials engage to enhance trade, investment ties
IBCC to promote educational excellence, expand regional presence
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leav ..
Putin says plans to visit China in May
More Stories From World
-
Bagnaia and Spanish rivals chase victory at Jerez
55 minutes ago -
Russian, Ukrainian strikes kill at least 10 in frontline regions
1 hour ago -
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
1 hour ago -
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
1 hour ago -
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leave after 20 years of ..
2 hours ago -
Putin says plans to visit China in May
2 hours ago
-
US reinstates open internet rules rescinded under Trump
2 hours ago -
Honda announces US$11 bn EV battery and vehicle plant in Canada
2 hours ago -
Portugal marks 50 years of democracy with far right on the rise
2 hours ago -
Oman, UAE deluge 'most likely' linked to climate change: scientists
3 hours ago -
BHP launches $38.8 billion takeover bid for rival Anglo American
3 hours ago -
Saudi oil giant Aramco agrees major FIFA sponsorship deal
3 hours ago