Dani Dayan, the newest chairman of Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in New York in what was Dayan’s first trip to the United States since being appointed Yad Vashem chair last August.
The meeting, which took place in the UN Headquarters in New York City on Friday, addressed the issues of Holocaust remembrance, education, research and historical documentation. The two further discussed efforts to combat Holocaust denial and the broader rise of antisemitism in general.
Amid discussions, Dayan offered Guterres Yad Vashem's expertise and cooperation to provide special workshops on the topic of the Holocaust and its relevance to the international diplomatic community for diplomats and staff at the United Nations headquarters, among other relevant worldwide organizations.
“Having a deep understanding of the cataclysmic events that took place less than a century ago is vital for diplomats today and will help UN personnel fulfill their duties," Dayan said.
Dayan further extended the UN an invitation to the Yad Vashem Museum in Israel and will bring Yad Vashem scholars and historians to the talks as part of Guterres’ next visit. Guterres, who has held the position of UN Secretary-General (the chief administrative position of the United Nations) since 2017, previously visited Yad Vashem in 2017.
Established in 1953, Yad Vashem ("a memorial and a name" in Hebrew) is Israel's official Holocaust memorial. The organization is dedicated to preserving the memory of the over six million Jewish victims, honoring those who fought against the Nazis – Jews and non-Jews alike – and commissioning research into the Holocaust with the aim of ending the genocide in the future.