Israel assumed the annual, rotating presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on Monday, amid a groundswell of global antisemitism.
The Jewish state’s presidency coincides with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 25th anniversary of IHRA’s founding.
“The voices of victims and survivors demand that we honor their legacy by standing firm against Holocaust denial, distortion and hatred,” Dani Dayan, IHRA chair and chairman of Yad Vashem, stated at a Jerusalem ceremony marking the occasion.
“In a world witnessing a dramatic rise in antisemitism and grappling with the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies, our obligation to historical truth has never been more critical,” he said.
The intergovernmental organization consists of 35 member countries, eight observer states and nine partner organizations dedicated to promoting Holocaust education, research and remembrance, in addition to combating Jew-hatred.
Some 40 countries and 1,200 cultural and academic institutions, as well as local and regional authorities, accept IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism.
“The antisemitism that resulted in the Holocaust has not been eradicated from the world,” Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign affairs minister, stated.
“On the contrary, over the past year and a half, we have witnessed it intensifying dramatically, targeting both the Jewish people and the Jewish state,” he stated. “The new antisemites attack Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself.”
Israel’s presidency will focus on the theme of “crossroads of generations,” a reference to a rapidly approaching time without Holocaust survivors and firsthand witnesses to educate future generations.
Fewer than 250,000 Holocaust survivors are reportedly alive today. The United Kingdom previously held the IHRA presidency.
