-
Home
-
Diplomatic Events
- Latest News
Diplomatic Events
- Details
- Written by Yad Vashem
.
.At the invitation of the President of the State of Israel, 46 royals, presidents, prime ministers and parliamentary leaders from Europe, North America and Australia, will attend the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism.”
The World Holocaust Forum organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation in cooperation with Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, will take place on 23 January 2020 at the Warsaw Ghetto Square in Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. The Forum marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day, will begin at 13:30.
The event program will include addresses from a number of world leaders: President of the State of Israel H.E. Mr. Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin, Prime Minister of the State of Israel H.E. Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, President of France H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, The Prince of Wales, HRH Prince Charles, President of Russia H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin, as well as a senior leader from the United States of America and the President of Germany H.E. Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Holocaust survivor and Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Israel Meir Lau as well as Forum organizers – President of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation Dr. Moshe Kantor and Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev – will also speak at the event. Interspersed throughout the proceedings there will be several short video clips and musical interludes performed by an international orchestra conducted by world renowned conductor Vladimir Spivakov accompanied by an international choir.
The event will conclude with a memorial ceremony. Holocaust survivors Rose Moskowitz, from the United States, and Colette Avital, Chairperson of the Central Organization of Holocaust Survivors in Israel will light a memorial torch, after which, heads of delegations will commemorate victims of the Holocaust by laying wreaths at the base of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem. Cantor Shai Abramson will recite the El Maleh Rahamim memorial prayer, followed by Holocaust survivor Naftali Deutsch who will say Kaddish, the mourner's prayer. The ceremony will conclude with Israel's national anthem, Hatikvah.
The World Holocaust Forum will be broadcast live via satellite feed worldwide and via Yad Vashem's website and Facebook page. The broadcast will be translated simultaneously to six languages – English, Hebrew, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
Confirmed Leaders of Nations and Heads of Delegations at the Fifth World Holocaust Forum
(As of 15 January 2020)
President of Albania H.E. Mr. Ilir Meta
President of Armenia H.E. Mr. Armen Sarkissian
Governor-General of Australia The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd)
Federal President of Austria H.E. Mr. Alexander Van der Bellen
Chairman of the House of Representatives of Belarus H.E. Mr. Vladimir Andreichenko
King of Belgium His Majesty King Phillipe
Chairman of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina H.E. Mr. Željko Komšić
President of Bulgaria H.E. Mr. Rumen Radev
Governor-General of Canada the Right Honourable Ms. Julie Payette
President of Croatia H.E. Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
President of Cyprus H.E. Mr. Nicos Anastasiades
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic H.E. Mr. Andrej Babiš
Prime Minister of Denmark H.E. Ms. Mette Frederiksen
President of European Council H.E. Mr. Charles Michel
President of the European Commission H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Parliament H.E. Mr. David Sassoli
President of Finland H.E. Mr. Sauli Niinistö
President of France H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron
President of Georgia H.E. Ms. Salome Zourabichvili
President of Germany H.E. Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier
President of the Hellenic Republic H.E. Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos
Representative of the Holy See His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch
President of Hungary H.E. Mr. János Áder
President of Iceland H.E. Mr. Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson
President of Italy H.E. Mr. Sergio Mattarella
Speaker of the Saeima of Latvia H.E. Ms. Ināra Mūrniece
President of Lithuania H.E. Mr. Gitanas Nauseda
Grand Duke of Luxembourg HRH Henri
President of Moldova H.E. Mr. Igor Dodon
Minister of State of Monaco H.E. Mr. Serge Telle
President of Montenegro H.E. Mr. Milo Đjukanović
King of the Netherlands His Royal Majesty Willem-Alexander
President of North Macedonia H.E. Prof. Dr. Stevo Pendarovski
Crown Prince of Norway HRH Crown Prince Haakon
President of Portugal H.E. Prof. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
President of Romania H.E. Mr. Klaus Iohannis
President of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin
President of Serbia H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić
President of Slovakia H.E. Ms. Zuzana Čaputová
President of Slovenia H.E. Mr. Borut Pahor
King of Spain His Majesty King Felipe VI
Prime Minister of Sweden H.E. Mr. Stefan Löfven
President of Ukraine H.E. Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The Prince of Wales HRH Prince Charles, United Kingdom
Vice President of the United States of America H.E. Mr. Michael R. Pence*
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi*
*Awaiting official confirmation
About the Fifth World Holocaust Forum 23 January 2020
Heads of State from Europe, North America and Australia are converging at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, taking place on 23 January 2020. The event, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism,” is being organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, headed by Dr. Moshe Kantor, in cooperation with Yad Vashem, under the auspices of the President of the State of Israel, H.E. Mr. Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin.
As the world marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the message is clear – antisemitism has no place in our global society.
This historic event takes place against the background of the rise in hateful and violent expressions of antisemitism, especially in Europe. Given this alarming situation, efforts to educate about the dangers of antisemitism, racism and xenophobia and foster Holocaust commemoration, education and research have made this event more crucial and relevant than ever.
The Holocaust, aimed at the total annihilation of all Jews everywhere, and the eradication of their culture and history, was fueled by extreme racist antisemitism. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the international community enacted universal principles and instituted international organizations with the express purpose of averting future crimes against humanity. The ways in which antisemitism has persisted since the war and proliferated over recent years need to be identified, studied and understood. World leaders must be alert to antisemitism's current manifestations, and remain resolute in combatting it where it appears. It is the responsibility of all humanity, and especially the leaders that are gathering at Yad Vashem, to work to fight antisemitism, racism and xenophobia.
Yad Vashem works tirelessly to increase the knowledge and awareness of the history of the Holocaust, not only to ensure that its meanings continue to be relevant 75 years after the end of WWII, but also as a lighthouse warning against the alarming racism that is on the rise around the world today.
- Details
- Written by Lithuania Embassy
A unique monument dedicated to hundreds of years of history of Jewish and Lithuanian communities was revealed in Jurbarkas, a small town in Lithuania, on Friday. Synagogue Square Memorial eternalizes friendship, tragedy and hope.
‘The monument is dedicated to many generations of the Jewish people living in this town and the tragic end of this community. Also, this monument is dedicated to those who saved Jews, and thus this memorial is tightly connected to the Litvak history as a whole. It is the first memorial of such kind. I am happy that we have completed the memorial, with the help of so many good-willed people’, says David Zundelovich, world-acclaimed sculptor and the author of the monument.
Jurbarkas was a home to a large Jewish community, with thriving businesses, schools, beautiful synagogue. World War II shattered the fate of Jewish people and Soviet occupation tried to erase history from people’s minds. There are no Jewish people living in Jurbarkas these days.
The mayor of Jurbarkas, Skirmantas Mockevičius, asked H.E. Mr. Amir Maimon, the Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Lithuania to contact Israeli sculptor David Zundelovich and his creative group CAN (New Artists Collegium) with a request to design and create the future memorial. With the help of Israeli embassy in Lithuania, the creative team was established and completed the project with the help of people all over the world.
David, Greg and Anna Zundelovich with the creative team of CAN decided to depict history creating a unique project to commemorate the wooden synagogue, names and professions of Jewish people and Lithuanians who had courage to save their Jewish neighbors during World War II.
The project which has no analogues in the world united descendants of Jurbarkas Jewish community from Israel, USA, South Afrika, United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, along with philanthropists from Lithuania, Germany and Israel, with the help of Good Will Foundation. It took three years to complete the project.
‘This project showcases a new era in Lithuania. Where the people of a country that is highly associated with the Holocaust to every Jew stand strong together, stating "We shall not forget". Where Lithuanians no longer regard their Jewish neighbors as foreigners, but as a part of their own national identity’, said David Zundelovich.
A better definition of this monument is a sculptural space rather than a statue in a square, since the impact of this memorial was set to change the town's landscape. The monument consists of many symbols that demonstrate the historical connection of the Jewish community and the town.
The general layout is based on the image of the river Nemunas (Neman). The River of Memory, near which the town stands. The stone "river waves" that form the monument are covered with almost 2,000 surnames of all Jewish families that lived in Jurbarkas throughout the ages.
The central axis that divides the whole square is oriented towards Jerusalem, the most obvious common principal to both Jews and Christians. The granite axis carries the inscription "If I forget thee, o Jerusalem" and towards its end the names of the local Righteous Among the Nations appear.
Photos courtesy of Lithuania Embassy
- Details
- Written by Silvia G Golan
150 Israeli and Palestinian University and High School Students Negotiate Peace in Largest Ever Israeli-Palestinian Congress of Students in the Region
Organized by Leon Charney Resolution Center, in cooperation with the University of Haifa and Minds of Peace
Tzili Charney: “My initiative is basically to bring students to the table. I want them to realize their responsibilities, to be part of the discussion.”
The Leon Charney Resolution Center today (February 25) organized the largest ever Israeli-Palestinian congress of students to be held in the region - in a peace negotiations format. 100 Israeli and Palestinian university students and 50 Israeli and Palestinian high school students sat around tables to negotiate trust-building measures and solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Congress, held in cooperation with the University of Haifa and Minds of Peace at the Students House in the University of Haifa, was facilitated by Dr. Sapir Handelman, winner of the Peter Baker award in Peace and Conflict Studies, who leads Israeli-Palestinian public negotiating congress assemblies in the USA, as well as in Israel and the PA. According to Handleman, the Haifa Congress “is an important step towards the establishment of a major Israeli-Palestinian Public Negotiating Congress – a powerful peacemaking institution that will operate over a period of time. The Congress is designed to involve the people in the peacemaking efforts and motivate the leadership, on both sides, to conclude agreements.”
Tzili Charney, the founder of the Leon Charney Resolution Center which organized the congress, explained the importance of facilitating dialogue and discussion between Israeli and Palestinian students. “My initiative is basically to bring students to the table. I respect the young ones, I want them to know that we are for them and we consider them as partners. I want them to realize their responsibilities, to be part of the discussion.”
According to sociology student Alaa Amro from Hebron, 23, who participated in the negotiations and was visiting Haifa for the first time, the Israeli and Palestinian students agreed on the importance of finding a solution, but the issue is how. “If we expand our horizons and expand these types of conversations, we can find peace, because we are talking about the young generation. We are the leaders for the future, we can learn from past mistakes and we can create a better future for both sides. We have dreams and hopes for the future and being in such an environment helps us reach these dreams.”
The Israelis and Palestinian students, all from different fields of study and holding different political views, discussed, debated and negotiated trust-building measures and solutions to the conflict. The participants included 50 University of Haifa students and 50 students from West Bank cities, including Ramallah and Hebron, as well as 25 Israeli 11th graders from Ort Binyamina and 25 Palestinian 11th graders from several locations throughout the West Bank.
Their assignment was to conclude two agreements by the end of the day. The first agreement related to Trust Building Measures and the second related to a conclusive peace pact. Participants were given two ground rules for the negotiations: not to demean others and not to enter into a historical debate about the origin of the conflict and the past. The students were encouraged to focus upon improving the present situation, to visualize a peaceful future, to draft language that works for both parties, to think about creative ideas that can progress the negotiations and to make demands by peaceful means.
This Israeli-Palestinian congress of students came just days after the Leon Charney Resolution Center marathon “peace talks” at the Eastern Mediterranean International Boarding School (EMIS) at Kfar Hayarok (Feb 20/21), with the participation of 90 Israeli, Palestinian and 11th EMIS students from 21 countries (including, among others, Rwanda, Indonesia, Poland, USA, Guatemala, Brazil, China, Vietnam, Armenia, Italy, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hungary). At the end of those negotiations, facilitated by Dr. Sapir Handleman and moderated by Professor Peter Jones, an expert in conflict resolution from the University of Ottawa and, and Brigadier General (ret) Israela Oron, former Commander of the IDF Women’s Corps, the 11th graders reached and signed a “peace agreement”.
Background
The Leon Charney Resolution Center is dedicated to the history and future of negotiations, peace and learning. The late Leon Charney (1938-2016), a prominent lawyer, author, broadcaster and former advisor to, among others, President Jimmy Carter, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President Ezer Weizman, played an important role in the Camp David Peace Accords, which led to the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. Charney, who dedicated a major part of his life to back-channel diplomacy, understood that the road to peace and stability required peacemaking activities in multiple dimensions. Tzili Charney established the center in her husband’s honor in order to encourage, develop, and initiate peacemaking activities that can create the foundation for a better world.
Dr. Sapir Handelman, who will be facilitating the negotiations, taught at Tel Aviv University, was a postdoctoral fellow and an associate at Harvard University. He is a former Lentz Fellow in Peace and Conflict Resolution Research at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Wayne State University, where he was a visiting professor at the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. He developed and leads the Minds of Peace Experiment – an Israeli-Palestinian public negotiating congress – in major universities throughout the US, Canada, and in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Minds of Peace is an NGO registered in the USA and Israel. Dr. Sapir Handelman founded the organization based on his concepts of conflict resolution in intractable conflicts. The purpose of Minds of Peace is to bring about peace between Israelis and Palestinians by using a method called “Popular Negotiations”. Under this method, a negotiating session is held between Israelis and Palestinians who come from all walks of life. The negotiations are held in open space, to allow the ordinary public to witness the entire process. In the process, the negotiators formulate the kind of agreement they wish to see for an end to the conflict.
The agreement reached serves a dual purpose. When presented to public opinion, it serves to demonstrate that ordinary individuals can reach an agreement where politicians have failed. When presented to politicians on both sides, it serves to pressure them into reaching an agreement.
Photos credit Gil Nechustan
- Details
- Written by MFA
Throughout their long history, the yearning to return to the Land of Israel has been the focus of Jewish life. Independence Day is a celebration of the renewal of the Jewish state in the land where the Jewish people began to develop its distinctive religion and culture some 4,000 years ago.
Israel Independence Day is celebrated annually on the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, according to the Hebrew calendar, on 5 Iyar.
The day preceding this celebration is devoted to the memory of those who gave their lives for the achievement of the country's independence and its continued existence.
This proximity is intended to remind people of the heavy price paid for independence. On this day the entire nation remembers its debt and expresses eternal gratitude to its sons and daughters who gave their lives for the achievement of the country's independence and its continued existence.
On May 14, 1948, the day the British Mandate expired, the new Jewish state - the State of Israel - was formally established in parts of what was known as the British Mandate for Palestine. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence was restored after 2,000 years.
Independence Day is a celebration of the renewal of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel, the birthplace of the Jewish people. In this land, the Jewish people began to develop its distinctive religion and culture some 4,000 years ago, and here it has preserved an unbroken physical presence, for centuries as a sovereign state, at other times under foreign domination. Throughout their long history, the yearning to return to the land has been the focus of Jewish life. Theodor Herzl, the leader and founder of the Zionist movement, increased international recognition for the need of a Jewish state.
Since its establishment, Israel continues to be a homeland to the thousands who make their way to Israel annually. It is home to some of the holiest religious sites of the three major religions, all which enjoy the democratic rights delineated in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel.
Independence Day
Israel's 71st Independence Day celebrations will commence on Wednesday evening, May 8, immediately upon the conclusion of Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, when the state flag is raised to full mast at a national ceremony on Mount Herzl, at which 12 torches are lit.
Independence Day is filled with festivities and celebrations including picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and nature trips. Balconies, car windows, storefronts and more are liberally decorated with Israeli flags.
Population of Israel
On the eve of Independence Day 2019, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the population of Israel at the end of 2018 numbers 8,970,000 - more than ten times the population at the establishment of the state in 1948 (806,000). Jews and others today constitute 79.1% of the population, and Arabs 20.9%. About 75% of the Jewish population is comprised today of native-born Israelis, and more than half are at least second-generation Israelis.
Since the establishment of the state, over 3.2 million immigrants arrived in Israel. As a result, the allocation of Jews in Israel as a percentage of the total Jewish population in the world grew from 6% on the country’s first anniversary to 44% on the eve of the 71st.
In 1948, only Tel Aviv-Jaffa had more than 100,000 residents. Today there are 14 cities in Israel with a population of over 100,000, and 6 others with over 200,000 residents: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod and Petah Tikva.
Happy Independence Day!
- Details
- Written by Prime Minister's Media Adviser
This will make Israel independent vis-à-vis energy. This gas gives us diplomatic, economic and – of course – energy strength. This is very great news for the Israeli economy and the State of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz, this afternoon (Thursday, 31 January 2019), at sea, dedicated the arrival of the foundation for the Leviathan gas platform.
Following a tour, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Energy Minister Steinitz stood on the command bridge, near the drilling site, where they were briefed on the building process for the platform.
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
"Completion of the Leviathan gas platform and the pumping of gas from this field later in the year is a critical component of the strategic, energy, economic and diplomatic strength of the State of Israel.
A gas pipeline will run from here and will link us to the gas economy of Europe. It will reach our Arab neighbors. First and foremost, it will supply clean gas to the citizens of Israel. Two-thirds of every shekel's worth of gas extracted from the sea here will go straight into the state treasury. This is hundreds of billions of shekels that will serve us in education, social welfare and the other vital needs of the State of Israel and the citizens of Israel.
This is a great revolution – we are turning the State of Israel into an energy power. An independent Israel will not depend on anyone for its energy needs. This is very good news and I am proud that it is happening now, this year, for all of you."
Prime Minister Netanyahu added:
"We will supply all of the energy needs of the State of Israel with clean energy that does not kill like coal does. Two-thirds of the money extracted from the sea will go directly to the state treasury for the needs of the citizens of Israel.
This will make Israel independent vis-à-vis energy and gives us great strength with the pipelines that we will build from here to the neighborhood in which we live and also to Europe. This gas gives us diplomatic, economic and – of course – energy strength. This is very great news for the Israeli economy and the State of Israel."
Energy Minister Dr. Steinitz:
"This is a holiday for the energy economy and for all citizens of Israel. The process that began approximately three years ago with the formulation of the gas outline has led to the development of the Leviathan gas field which will change the Israeli economy for decades to come, bring billions in revenue to the state and its citizens and – most importantly – will allow the State of Israel to stop using coal that pollutes and to close the power stations in Hadera and Ashkelon.
The development of the Leviathan reservoir is also important diplomatically. When gas production starts later this year Israel will begin to export surplus gas to Jordan and Egypt, and – in the future – to European countries as well. The Leviathan gas field is the greatest natural treasure that has been discovered in Israel and the arrival of the platform foundation symbolizes our entry into the final stage of its development.
The first part of the Leviathan platform reached Israel after a voyage of several weeks. The legs of the platform are approximately 98 meters high, weigh around 15,000 tons and are placed at a depth of about 86 meters.
The operational section of the platform will arrive in the second half of 2019 and will be placed on the foundation that was dedicated today. Natural gas from the Leviathan field is expected to flow by the end of 2019, as per the timetable set in the gas outline."
PM Netanyahu and Energy Minister Steinitz at the Leviathan gas platform. Photo: GPO/Amos Ben-Gershom.
