Dear Friends
As we have now entered 2020, I am happy to share with you our recent activities and accomplishments.,
On January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Christian Friends of Yad Vashem launched a campaign to remember the 1,500,000 Jewish children murdered in the Holocaust by the German Nazis and their collaborators, merely because they were born Jewish. The campaign will support the building of a new Family and Children's Exhibition, which will be an educational tool that tells the heartbreaking stories of the children and the childhoods lost in the Holocaust, to the children of tomorrow. We need to ensure that the lives of these children will never be forgotten. To this end, we are asking you to consider partner with us for the #RememberTheChildren campaign by donating and promoting it in your spheres of influence. Join us today and be a part of this important mission!
As most of you are probably aware, at the invitation of the President of the State of Israel, over forty royals, presidents, prime ministers and parliamentary leaders from Europe, North America and Australia, attended the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism” on January 23rd, 2020 at Yad Vashem. The Forum, - that can be viewed on our website https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust-forum-2020/broadcast.html - in which numerous world leaders spoke, marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and was a resounding success. Dr. Juergen Buehler, President of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), attended this unprecedented event as the guest of the Christian Friends of Yad Vashem.
My recent trip to Germany coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day in which I was generously hosted by ICEJ-Germany Director, Mr. Gottfried Buehler. It was an honor to have been invited to lay a wreath at the Stuttgart Synagogue and partake in the March of Remembrance after which I delivered our message at the special evening of commemoration following the march, as well as at various churches, and in a high school in front of 200 students and the mayor of Leonberg. To be able to educate about the Holocaust in Germany 75 years after the end of the war, demonstrates to me, how much progress has been made. However, with antisemitism on the rise worldwide, there is so much more that has to be done in combatting this evil. Education is the only way we can remember the past and shape the future. This is the message of the Christian Friends of Yad Vashem. Antisemitism needs to be addressed through means of education before it has a chance to flourish.
One of the ways we seek to educate is through our annual Christian Leadership Seminar, the next one being this coming April. Over 30 Christian leaders, opinion shapers and media personnel from around the world representing a variety of denominational backgrounds will participate in the seminar at the Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies. During the weeklong course, these leaders will study the Holocaust, antisemitism, and Zionism with leading worldwide experts and Holocaust survivors. We are extremely grateful to our donors ICEJ Germany and ICEJ USA who together have made this seminar possible.
Recently, around 100 Christian leaders from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem for the yearly "Envision Pastors and Leaders Conference" hosted by the ICEJ. The conference takes place around January 27th. These leaders came to Yad Vashem to experience the Holocaust History Museum, a behind-the-scenes presentation of artifacts from the Holocaust not currently displayed to the general public, a testimony from a survivor and lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance. The Christian Friends of Yad Vashem was pleased to plan and host this prestigious international group.
Should you be planning a visit to Yad Vashem, please contact us and we will be happy to help you organize a meaningful visit on the Mount of Remembrance.
Christian.friends@yadvashem.org.il