FM Sa’ar: “It is our duty not only to remember the Holocaust but also to ensure the existence of the Jewish state, which serves as the guarantee of Jewish continuity for generations to come, while also preserving and passing on the memory of the Holocaust to future generations."
Israel assumes the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) today (Monday, 3 March 2025), taking over from the United Kingdom. Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan will serve as Chair of the IHRA during Israel's presidency, which runs through February 2026.
The year of Israel's IHRA presidency holds particular significance as it marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Shoah, as well as the 25th anniversary of IHRA's establishment.
A ceremony will be held today at the Foreign Ministry during which the flag of the IHRA presidency will be handed over from outgoing chair Lord Eric Pickles from the United Kingdom to incoming chair Dani Dayan, in the presence of IHRA Secretary General Michaela Küchler.
The IHRA is an intergovernmental organization comprising 35 member countries, eight observer countries and nine partner organizations dedicated to promoting Holocaust education, research and remembrance, and to combating antisemitism. The IHRA's working definition of antisemitism, for example, has become an accepted criterion for defining antisemitism worldwide, including in 40 countries and 1,200 cultural and academic institutions, along with local and regional authorities.
Israel's presidency will focus on the theme 'The Crossroads of Generations', a reference to the rapidly approaching world without Holocaust survivors and first-hand witnesses and the need to educate future generations without living survivors to share their testimonies and insights.
Upon assuming the presidency, Israel's Foreign Ministry and its representatives around the world will initiate various activities to promote Holocaust remembrance and its lessons. This includes a global campaign of recommitment to the message and principles of the Survivors' Declaration, which was composed by a group of Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem in 2002.
This initiative was launched in February when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Yad Vashem and signed the declaration alongside Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Yad Vashem and IHRA Chairman Dani Dayan.
In their declaration, the survivors recall the horrors they endured, promote Jewish and universal human values, counter antisemitism, and pass on the torch of remembrance to future generations.
Yad Vashem Chairman and Chair of the IHRA Dani Dayan said that IHRA's mission has never been more important:
"We are at a crossroads of generations, and the responsibility of preserving the memory and sharing the stories of the Holocaust will soon rest solely on our shoulders. The voices of victims and survivors demand that we honor their legacy by standing firm against Holocaust denial, distortion, and hatred. 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."
Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar said:
"Today, 80 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust, the State of Israel assumes the leadership of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The antisemitism that resulted in the Holocaust has not been eradicated from the world. 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.
The new antisemites attack Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself.
It is our duty not only to remember the Holocaust but also to ensure the existence of the Jewish state, which serves as the guarantee of Jewish continuity for generations to come, while also preserving and passing on the memory of the Holocaust to future generations."