Members of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance unanimously elected Israel at its annual plenary in Stockholm on Thursday to lead the group in 2025.
IHRA is an intergovernmental organization with 35 member countries uniting governments to promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance. The group seeks to influence Holocaust-related policy. It is also known for its working definition of antisemitism, released in 2016.
Israel’s year of IHRA presidency coincides with the group’s 25th anniversary, the 80th anniversary in January of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the end of World War II in Europe in May.
The Israeli delegation to IHRA includes representatives of the Foreign Ministry and Yad Vashem.
“IHRA’s activities have growing importance and significance at a time in which we see concerning phenomena of Holocaust distortion and antisemitism in different places around the world,” said Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan, who presented Israel’s candidacy in Stockholm.
Israel’s presidency of the IHRA will allow it to do even more work on those fronts, he added.
Yair Lapid comments
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that Israel “is committed to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism. We thank IHRA for acting since its establishment to fight antisemitism, and for choosing us for the position of president. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I have the privilege and personal responsibility to continue perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust and the endless battle against antisemitism, wherever it rears its head.”
“We thank IHRA for acting since its establishment to fight antisemitism and for choosing us for the position of president.”
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid