For the first time, International Holocaust Memorial Day has been commemorated through an inter-organizational seminar focusing on discourse about the Shoah (Holocaust) within Special Education. This landmark event was organized jointly by Yad Vashem and the Jezreel Valley Regional Council’s Education Department, bringing together educational teams from across the formal education system, including Special Ed. teams, parent association leadership, Shoah education teams and other bodies. Honored guests were the President of the World Zionist Organization, Tova Dorfman, social entrepreneur, Adi Altschuler, and Jezreel Valley Regional Council Head, Eyal Betzer.
In preparation for Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Memorial Day in May, a two-day preparatory seminar for 200 volunteers from around Israel was held, with a focus on inspirational and reflective materials. Participants heard presentations by specialists in this field of study as well as from Shoah survivors and then elaborated ideas on how we can best build hope through the format of close encounters in private homes around Israel, given the setting and complexities of the present year.
During a program to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day, the Chairman of the World Zionist Organization attend an event with Holocaust survivors and former hostages released from Hamas captivity. The event was organized by Ms. Leah Schneider and the Herzliya municipality.
A moving ceremony was held to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day at the UNO offices in Geneva.
The event was hosted by H.E. The German Ambassador and H.E. The Israel Ambassador in Geneva, together with the Center for Jewish Impact and The vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Gil Segal and was attended by diplomats, ambassadors, Human Rights representatives and other distinguished guests.
The program was dedicated to the subject of Special Education during the Holocaust period, with a spotlight on the issue of special needs children in those years, which was not one of broad public discourse in that period.
The program included a première screening at the UN of the film, “The Children of Sally Bein,” produced by the World Zionist Organization, followed by a panel discussion on the topic of inclusive education – then and now.
Read the related report (in Hebrew) about the film "The Children of Sally Bein"
The program included a professional conference on combating Antisemitism, attended by European leaders; a delegation organized by the EJA also visited Auschwitz.
The Head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism and Enhancing Resilience represented the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel and laid a wreath on behalf of the World Zionist Organization at the official ceremony, in the presence of former Israel President Mr. Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin.
This year, the delegation’s focal theme was the issue of combating Antisemitism and included Elon Musk, owner of the X platform, journalist Ben Shapiro, Dani Dayan, Chairman of Yad Vashem, and other figures. European leaders addressed how to leverage more efficient methods of combating the present phenomenon of rapidly escalating Antisemitism.
