‘May Their Memory Be for a Blessing’
Posted by Hannah Rosenthal / April 18, 2012
![A candle is lit in front of a memorial wall holding the engraved names of tens of thousands of Holocaust victims in the Holocaust Memorial Center at the United Nations Holocaust remembrance day in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 27, 2012. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0418_holocaust_remembrance_day_m.jpg)
On April 19, people all over the world will commemorate Yom Ha'Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Judaism, when we remember the dead we say "zikron l'vrach"-- may their memory be for a blessing. On this day, we stand united against one of the most sinister and evil chapters of history, scarred by the unthinkable deeds of governments and collaborators and the silence of so many.
In my job as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, two of the tools I use in my outreach to governments and civil society are education and dialogue. They are mandatory first steps to prevent and overcome ignorance and hate. We must advance the universal message that such evil must be confronted rather than ignored. We must forge connections between students, between communities, and between faiths.
In January, I was honored to attend a United Nations… more »
Albania: Practicing Respect With Great Sincerity
Posted by Hannah Rosenthal / March 09, 2012
![Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal and Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith meet with Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha to discuss the 2012 Hours Against Hate campaign. [Photo Courtesy of the Office of the Prime Minister of Albania.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0309_rosenthal_pandith_albania_m.jpg)
In my job as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, I often reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust and how best to educate people about it to prevent such genocides from happening again. I often talk about the good people, the righteous among us, who saved people like my father, often at great peril to themselves. When I think of these righteous people, I often think of the nuns who sheltered children, of the urban Parisian families who hid their neighbors, or the farmhands in Poland whose sheds became shelters from the gas chambers. And I always tell people about Albania -- a country whose entire government and society were righteous, saving all of the Jews within their midst. Drita Veseli, an Albanian Muslim who sheltered Jews during World War II, once said, "There are no foreigners in Albania, there are only guests." And indeed, that is the attitude with which Albania… more »
Making ‘Never Again’ a Reality: UNESCO Conference on Holocaust Education
Posted by Hannah Rosenthal / February 02, 2012
![Samuel Pisar, right, a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and international lawyer, author and human rights activist, is made UNESCO Honorary Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust Education by UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, in Paris, Jan. 27, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0202_holocaust_unesco_education_m.jpg)
The weather in Paris today reflected the mood in UNESCO's conference room -- gloomy with a chance of sunshine. For just as the clouds were heavy, so too was the discussion of Holocaust education and how genocide and hatred still exist despite the global effort to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. And just as the sun poked through at the end of the day, so did the optimism that great minds can come together and tackle this problem.
Just last week, on January 27, the world remembered the victims of the Holocaust on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This week, while still remembering the victims, we sat down to discuss how to make "Never Again" a reality.
The morning started with a welcoming address from Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO. She highlighted the point that as the world becomes more interconnected and a new global history begins… more »
Page 1 of 1 pages
