Will VP Pence lead the American delegation to the World Holocaust Forum?
The event will take place on January 23, 2020, with the participation of dozens of world leaders.
By OMRI NAHMIASUS Vice President Mike Pence with his wife Karen visit the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz II-Birkenau, near Oswiecim, Poland, February 15, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL)
WASHINGTON - Israel and the US are working to coordinate a possible visit by Vice President Mike Pence to Jerusalem where he will participate in the World Holocaust Forum at the invitation of Israeli President Ruvi Rivlin, four sources in Washington with knowledge of the travel plan told the Jerusalem Post.The event will take place on January 23, 2020, with the participation of dozens of world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella and others. Israel's Yedioth Ahronot first reported that Pence's visit is tentatively confirmed.Israeli sources told the Post that Pence, who visited Auschwitz death camp earlier this year, cares deeply about Holocaust remembrance.While it is likely that Pence will attend the event and spearhead the American delegation, the matter is still under consideration. The matter is not certain because US President Donald Trump will reportedly visit the World Economic Forum in Davos at the same time. While it is not unprecedented, the vice president usually does not travel when the president is overseas.Earlier on Wednesday, it became public that Charles, Prince of Wales, plans to travel to attend the event as well.Also Wednesday, the European Union announced that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, will be at the event at Yad Vashem, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said earlier this month that she will be attending.The program at the event will include speeches by select heads of state, a Holocaust survivor and the event hosts, as well as a few short video clips and musical interludes performed by an orchestra accompanied by an international choir.
