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.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.
