His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, has confirmed his attendance to the upcoming Fifth World Holocaust Forum, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,” scheduled to take place at the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center on January 23 2020, to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“It is a great honor for us that Prince Charles will be attending the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem in January,” said Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the World Holocaust Forum.
“Prince Charles is a figure of strong moral authority and has long been recognized as a leading voice against intolerance, hate and antisemitism.”
“That Prince Charles has chosen to attend our unprecedented conference on Holocaust remembrance and against antisemitism on his first official visit to Israel speaks volumes.”
Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev added that the presence of the Prince of Wales sends “a decisive message that HRH Prince Charles believes firmly that antisemitism has no place in our post-Holocaust society, whether in the UK or elsewhere.
“At Yad Vashem we know that this requires prioritizing Holocaust education as a way to confront the challenges of contemporary antisemitism and Holocaust distortion,” Shalev said. “Yad Vashem is dedicated to raising awareness of the danger of what can happen when antisemitism goes unchecked.”
Prince Charles will join around 40 world leaders from Europe, North America and Australia who will gather at Yad Vashem for the World Holocaust Forum, organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation in cooperation with Yad Vashem, under the auspices of Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen are among the leaders who have so far confirmed their attendance at this historic event.
Founded in 2005 by Dr. Kantor, who is also President of the European Jewish Congress, the World Holocaust Forum Foundation is an international organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and its important lessons for all of humanity, including fighting rising antisemitism.
Past World Holocaust Forum events have taken place at Auschwitz, Babi Yar and Terezin, with the highest-level political and diplomatic representation.
The event in January 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 and research have made this event more crucial and relevant than ever.
“We are building a global coalition of leaders who can send a strong message that will resonate around the world that Antisemitism, in all its forms, is absolutely unacceptable,” Dr. Kantor said.
“It is essential that there be a holistic road map to combat hate against Jews which is at its highest levels since the Holocaust and is causing many Jewish communities to fear for their future.”