Putin to meet mother of Israeli jailed in Russia, Palestinian President Abbas ■ Ukrainian president gives up seats in ceremony for Holocaust survivors, gets attacked by Yad Vashem ■ Main ceremony at 1:30 P.M.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Israel Thursday, joining an airlift of presidents, prime ministers and royalty from around the world who arrived for the two-day World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The leaders – including Putin, Pence, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prince Charles, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the presidents of Bulgaria, Romania, Finland, Georgia, Cyprus and Bosnia and Herzegovina – will gather in Jerusalem for the main ceremony at 1:30 P.M. Putin is also due to meet with the mother of Naama Issachar, an Israeli woman jailed in Russia on drug charges.
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The event commenced Wednesday evening with a reception dinner at President Reuven Rivlin’s residence, during which he addressed he called on the politicians to battle racism and anti-Semitism.
>> Read more: Holocaust Forum and U.S. election give Israel the perfect stage to push Jordan Valley annexation | Analysis ■ What’s really causing a major rift between Poland and Russia ■ America’s shameful betrayal of Europe’s desperate Jewish academics in the Holocaust | Opinion
International Holocaust Forum
Italian President Sergio Mattarella meets his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin to attend the Holocaust memorial event at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. CORINNA KERN/ REUTERS
Italian President Sergio Mattarella meets his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin to attend the Holocaust memorial event at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Presidential Palace/ REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted by Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, January 23, 2020.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella meets his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin to attend the Holocaust memorial event at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Presidential Palace/ REUTERS
World leaders gather in Jerusalem for the International Holocaust forum, January 22, 2020. Ohad Zwigenberg
10:31 A.M. Mahmoud Abbas calls on France to recognize 1967 borders, Jerusalem capital for Palestinian state
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on France to recognize 1967 borders and a Jerusalem capital for a Palestinian state. Abbas and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron met Wednesday evening in Ramallah, where Abbas requested Macron’s involvement in what he termed the deadlock and crisis in policy proceedings due to Israel’s conduct and the United States’ stances.
Abbas said that the Palestinian leadership very much wants to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, a promise that Abbas made in September, and said that he expects it will happen soon. Abbas is expected to meet with Putin on Thursday.
10:16 A.M. Putin thanks Netanyahu for inviting him to Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara made a joint press statement in which the Israeli premier welcomed the Russian president to Israel. Putin thanked Netanyahu for inviting him to participate in the Holocaust Forum.
9:50 A.M. Ukrainian president and delegation give up seats in ceremony for Holocaust survivors; Yad Vashem attacks him
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and members of his official delegation have given up their seats in the ceremony to take place later in Jerusalem to make room for Holocaust survivors
who wished to attend the event but did not have room.
President Reuven Rivlin (L) and his French counterpart Macron at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, January 22, 2019.
Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial and museum, attacked the Ukrainian president for his gesture. “It has been explained to the president that Holocaust survivors who have contacted us in recent days were addressed and that it’s not possible to hassle them under the current circumstances. His decision is bizarre, and it’s a shame that he took such a step in an event held under the slogan ‘Remembering the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism.'”
9:27 A.M. FM Katz meets Putin at Ben-Gurion International Airport, says ‘we know the historical truth’ about Russia’s role in the Holocaust
Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz received Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Ben-Gurion International Airport and thanked him for coming to Israel to participate in the Holocaust Forum.
Regarding the historical dispute between Russia and Poland about their roles in World War II, Katz told Putin, “What happened at the time, we, as those who were liberated [from Auschwitz], know exactly who did the liberating, know the historical truth.”
“Israel appreciates the bravery of the Russian people in the war and the crucial role the Red Army had in defeating Nazi Germany and liberating the extermination camps,” Katz told the Russian president. “Your visit in Israel will contribute to the strengthening of the friendship between Russia and Israel and will enable us to discuss again the security challenges Israel faces in the Middle East.”
9:06 A.M. Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz receives VP Pence at Ben-Gurion International Airport
Greeting the American vice president, Katz said: “I thank and bless your arrival at an event with an important goal. The friendship between Israel and the United States is stronger than ever and based on mutual values. The steps you have taken – you and Trump – to strengthen the connection between Israel and the U.S. attest to leadership and a lot of bravery and we are thankful for that.”
9:05 A.M. Putin lands in Israel
Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Israel in advance of his participation in the International Holocaust Forum. Putin is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the mother of Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old American-Israeli imprisoned in Russia for drug charges. This will be the fourteenth meeting between Netanyahu and his Russian counterpart since the end of 2015, and they are expected to discuss Issachar’s case and regional concerns.
8:58 A.M. Putin to inaugurate Seige of Leningrad monument in Jerusalem
Putin will inaugurate a Jerusalem monument to the heroism of the residents and fighters in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. The monument will be erected in Jerusalem’s central Sacher Park, a stone’s throw from the Knesset and the Supreme Court. Rivlin and Netanyahu will attend the dedication alongside Putin.
The massive “Memorial Candle” sculpture will memorialize the hundreds of thousands of people, among them tens of thousands of Jews, who were killed over the course of the 900-day siege by the Nazis, from September 1941 to January 1944.
8:50 A.M. Pence lands in Israel
5:54 A.M. Police announce major road closures
As the forum is set to begin and world leaders begin arriving in Jerusalem, dozens of roads in the city and the outlying areas have been blocked off to traffic by the Israel Police. Route 1, which connects Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, will be closed from 8 A.M. to 10 A.M., and its eastward junctions will be periodically closed as well. Westward traffic on the same route is expected to be blocked in the evening, and police warn of traffic and congestion along the road.
4:58 A.M. No apology from Macron to Israeli security forces
Contrary to an Israeli police statement, France made it clear that there was no “apology” on their part after French President Emmanuel Macron confronted Israeli security guards in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday.
“There was no presidential apology to the Israeli security forces,” French officials told Haaretz. According to the Élysée Palace, Israeli security forces tried to enter the common ground of the French-owned church space and President Macron responded to a dispute that arose between French and Israeli security.
4:38 A.M. The dispute over World War II that is causing a major rift between Poland and Russia | Explained
As world leaders descend on Yad Vashem to memorialize the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a diplomatic spat has erupted between Russia and Poland that reaches the heart of how both see the roles their countries played in World War II. What is the conflict about, what do the countries want from each other and why now? Read more here.
4:35 A.M. Holocaust Forum and U.S. election give Israel the perfect stage to push Jordan Valley annexation | Analysis
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his intention to annex the Jordan Valley a week before the election last September, it was perceived as a last-minute ploy to divert attention from his impending corruption indictments and a temptation for religious-Zionist voters to defect from the right-wing alliance to Likud.
The World Holocaust Forum offers an opportunity to put annexation back in the headlines, safe in the knowledge that the many world leaders coming to honor the memory of the 6 million who perished in the Holocaust won’t spoil the event by criticizing Israel’s appetite for land. Read more here from Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn.
7:50 P.M. Rivlin calls on world leaders to unite in battle against anti-Semitism
Speaking at a special reception, Rivlin urged politicians and heads of state from all around the world to “stand united in the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and extremism, in defending democracy and democratic values. This is the call of our time. This is our challenge. This is our choice.”
“This is a historic gathering, not only for Israel and the Jewish People, but for all humanity,” Rivlin said. “This evening as we remember the victims of the Holocaust, and World War Two, we also mark the victory of freedom and human dignity.” He added that at Thursday’s ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial, the leaders will gather to “remember and to promise ‘never again’.”
In his speech Rivlin also hinted at a scuffle between Poland and Russia over the issue of who is responsible for the outbreak of the war. Polish President Andrzej Duda decided to boycott the ceremony because its organizers did not invite him to make an official address, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has been asked to make a speech. “Historical research should be left to historians,” Rivlin said. “The role of political leaders is to shape the future… At a time when more and more survivors are leaving us, this gathering is an expression of our shared commitment, to pass on the historical facts and lessons of the Shoah, to the next generation.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-pence-lands-in-israel-putin-to-arrive-soon-for-holocaust-forum-1.8437362.