The Israel Pavilion Observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day At EXPO2020 Dubai
The Israel Pavilion will be observing the international Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 27th of January, 2022. The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly which acknowledges the date Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945.
On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honour the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and the millions of other victims of mass genocide through the ages, to develop educational programs designed to help prevent future genocides.
In 1941, the systematic murder of Europe’s Jews began, a plan known by the Nazis as ‘The Final Solution to the Jewish Problem’. Death squads called Einsatzgruppen swept Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, killing Jews by firing squad. By the end of 1941 the first extermination camp, Chelmno in Poland, had been established, giving the Nazis their method to continue elimination on a huge scale between 1941 and 1945.
The Israel Pavilion is set to commemorate this date by putting on activities that show the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust of World War II, as well as celebrating the true meaning of solidarity within humanity. The event will start at 4pm, where the 360-degree show room will show a documentary about the saving of the Jews in Denmark during World War II. The Danes offered their homes and offices as hiding spots for the Jews. Fishermen volunteered to move the Jews to Sweden, and all but a few hundred were safely removed from Denmark.
Additionally, the pavilion will honour diplomats who went beyond their duty and saved Jewish lives in an exhibition entitled “Beyond Duty” organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yad Vashem. The exhibition will celebrate those described by the state of Israel as: The Righteous Among the Nations, honored by Yad Vashem. The Righteous Among Nations are non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust. Rescue took many forms and the Righteous came from different nations, religions and walks of life. What they had in common was that they protected their Jewish neighbors at a time when hostility and indifference prevailed.
Menachem Gantz, Official Spokesman of the Israel Pavilion said: “Attitudes towards the Jews during the Holocaust mostly ranged from indifference to hostility. The majority stood by and watched as their neighbours were rounded up and killed; some collaborated with the perpetrators and many benefited from the expropriation of Jewish property.
“The Holocaust Memorial Day is aimed to honour the strength of the human spirit and highlight the messages of challenging hatred and strengthening solidarity, rejecting racism and embracing tolerance, the world over. We would love to welcome school children to our national day to learn about the Holocaust in an official and factual manner and very much look forward to sharing our stories with all of our visitors from every nation, in the hope of uniting against future crimes of hate.”
At 7:30pm an official ceremony will start with speeches from Mr. Yair Lapid, Minister of Foreign Affairs who will deliver his speech online, Mr. Elazar Cohen, Commissioner General of Israel Pavilion, and Mr. Amir Hayek, Israel Ambassador to the UAE. The ceremony will include delegates from other countries and at 8pm there will be a minute of silence shared amongst participating pavilions. The official social media accounts of the pavilion will also commemorate the day by using the hashtag #WeRemember dedicated to the heroes and victims of the holocaust an initiative by Jewish Federation. The Ceremony will be streamed live via the official channels of Ministry of foreign affairs and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund
