Tel-Chai Nation

For this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, a most important and significant occurance is how Arabic/Islamic countries like UAE and Bahrain are holding local ceremonies:

Holocaust Remembrance ceremonies were held Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to coincide with the official ceremony in Israel — the first time such events have been held in an Arab state.

The local Jewish communities organized the ceremonies in the two countries, which last year signed normalization agreements with Israel.

“A historic first event to mark the memory of the Holocaust,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Israeli and Emirati activists lit six candles in memory of the six million who perished, and are now standing against extremism. We will not forget.”

Images of the events shared on social media showed dozens of people participated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the UAE event during his speech at Israel’s official ceremony in Jerusalem.

Speaking of Israel’s normalization agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, Netanyahu said “there is a tremendous change in the Arab world” and noted the Holocaust remembrance ceremony being held in Dubai.

“Who would have believed?” he said.

The ceremony in Dubai included a delegation of Jewish and Arab Israelis, Channel 12 reported. Several dozen social media influencers in the Gulf were to join them and organizers said they hoped they would pass on the stories of survival and remembrance.

One vital question that matters is whether these countries will acknowledge the role played by Islam in the Holocaust, including Jerusalem-based mufti Haj Amin Husseini's role. For now, the ceremonies being held are definitely an important start.

Update: here's also an article about March of the Living.

Labels: Africa, anti-semitism, Asia, Europe, islam, Israel, jihad, terrorism, UAE