Pence: We can only marvel at the faith, resilience of the Jewish people
‘Today’s perpetrators of antisemitism are not the same as before, but it is the same evil,’ German President Steinmeier tells World Holocaust Forum
In the presence of dozens of world leaders and dignitaries at the World Holocaust Forum, US Vice President Mike Pence pledged that the US would “stand strong” against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which he described as the leading sponsor of stateled antisemitism in the world.
Pence was speaking at the central ceremony of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, taking place at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. His comments were echoed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called on the assembled world leaders to “join the vital effort of confronting Iran.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the UK’s Prince Charles and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also spoke at the summit. They stressed the importance of remembering the Holocaust and of acting on its lessons amid the resurgence of antisemitism and xenophobia around the world.
Following the speeches, two Holocaust survivors kindled a memorial torch, and the 46 world leaders in attendance laid memorial wreaths. The El Maleh Rahamim prayer for martyrs was recited at the end of the ceremony, as was the mourners’ kaddish prayer.
The special gathering was organized ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls next Monday, January 27, and will mark the 75th year since the liberation of Auschwitz.
From the podium at Yad Vashem, Pence said the task of remembrance was “a solemn obligation” to prevent the memory of those who were murdered from being forgotten.
“Today we remember what happens when the powerless cry for help and the powerful refuse to answer,” he said.
Pence also spoke warmly of the Jewish state, saying that “the world can only marvel at the faith and resilience of the Jewish people, who just three years after walking in the valley of the shadow of death, rose up from the ashes to reclaim a Jewish future and rebuild the Jewish state.”
Pence had strong words for Iran as well, saying the international community “must
in on the discussion, Naama Issachar’s mother.”
The prime minister called the meeting “very emotional” and thanked Putin for his gesture.
Putin said, “It’s clear that Naama comes from a very good family. I know the honorable prime minister’s stance... All that is being taken into consideration at the time of making a decision.”
He said Yaffa Issachar will be meeting with the head of his country’s human-rights commission.
Naama Issachar, in an interview from her cell on Thursday, said she believes Putin when he told her mother, “Everything will be OK.”
Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova visited Issachar in prison to oversee her conditions and told Channel 12 she looks well. Together with Issachar and her three cellmates, Moskalkova watched Putin’s meeting with Yaffa Issachar.
“I was very excited to see my mother meeting such important people,” Issachar said. “I am still here, but I believe what Putin said. If he says everything will be OK, I believe everything will be OK.”
Moskalkova told Channel 12: “They have a TV in jail, and they watched Putin’s meeting with Naama’s mother. Her cellmates even said they cried a little. They were all surprised that the Russian president shows such level of compassion and humanity by meeting and supporting the mother of a simple woman... [Putin’s] words inspired Naama and put hope in her for a quick return to her country.”
Moskalkova said her jail visit had nothing to do with the request to pardon Issachar, adding that she does not have that authority.
Putin arrived in Israel on Thursday for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem, where he was slated to give an address and then to return to Russia the same day.
At the meeting’s opening, Netanyahu thanked Putin for “the strong connection between Russia and Israel that serves our nations, our countries and peace and stability in the region. Welcome to Jerusalem.”
Putin said he has long wanted to visit Israel again.
“I am certain that this will help promote our bilateral relations, and of course today we will remember the victims of the Holocaust,” Putin said.
Netanyahu discussed Iran’s nuclear program with Putin, with a focus on bringing back UN sanctions in light of Tehran’s uranium enrichment, as well as ways to reinforce the deconfliction system between Israel and Russia in Syria.
President Reuven Rivlin and Putin also met, with Rivlin focusing on the rise of antisemitism. Rivlin said: “We know where antisemitism begins, but we don’t know where it will end, which is why it is important for all of us to fight together.”
Putin thanked Israel for its efforts to preserve the memory of World War II.
“You said we don’t know where antisemitism ends,” he said. “Unfortunately, we know that the end is in Auschwitz. We have to make sure not to let this phenomenon happen again... The Red Army did not just liberate Auschwitz. It made a decisive contribution to the victory over the Nazis.”
Putin is said to be trying to use the anniversary of the victory in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War to heighten patriotism and gain support from the public so that he can remain in power after his presidential term ends in 2024.
Also on Thursday, Netanyahu, Putin and Rivlin dedicated the Memorial Candle monument in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park near the Supreme Court to the victims of the Nazis’ siege of Leningrad, today known as Saint Petersburg. An estimated 600,000 to 1.5 million residents of the city perished in the 900-day blockade, among them tens of thousands of Jews, many of whom enlisted in the Red Army or joined volunteer militias that defended the city.
World War II veterans and about 70 siege survivors attended the ceremony, along with Netanyahu, Putin and other dignitaries.
The 8.5-meter-high column, designed by a team of Israeli and Russian architects and artists, has a cast-bronze element representing a candle that is illuminated at nighttime to give the effect of an eternal flame. •