Online chess event takes place in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day
Participating nations included Sudan, Morocco, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi and others who do not have diplomatic ties with Israel.
By OMRI RONUpdated: APRIL 8, 2021 15:50Chess pieces(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
An online chess event to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day took place over Zoom on Wednesday, hosting around 100 participants from Israel and other nations from the Middle East, as part of the 'Chess4Solidarity' project. These nations include Sudan, Morocco, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi and others who do not have diplomatic ties with Israel. The event also hosted Sami Steigmann, who survived the Holocaust as an infant and went on to be two victories away from gaining the title of "Master" while living in Romania, but chose to move to Israel instead. He currently lives in New York and works as a motivational speaker. After telling his life story, he played 14 online games against the participants of the event."In these difficult days in which antisemites of all kinds are rearing their heads while survivors are becoming scarce, events such as these become ever more important to keep our promise to remember and never forget," said Strategic Affairs Minister Michael Biton, who attended the event."Chess serves as a creative way to communicate with people of different religions and create a common language," thanking the organizers of the event and all of its participants.Lior Eisenberg, head of Chess4All and an organizer of the event also thanked the participants, saying he was happy to connect people from different places through the shared language of chess.
