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Polish president pulls out of Holocaust event in Israel over snub
Source: The Guardian
Polish president pulls out of Holocaust event in Israel over snub
Event hit by controversy as presidents of Russia, Germany and France – but not Poland – invited to speak
Shaun Walker in Budapest and Oliver Holmes in Jeruslaem
Thu 9 Jan 2020 05.00 GMT
Poland’s president has pulled out of an event in Israel to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz after being told he would not be allowed to speak at the event, but Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, would.
The move comes amid anger in Poland over Putin’s recent comments accusing Poland of complicity in the start of the second world war. It is one of a number of disputes that is threatening to overshadow the anniversary events later this month.
On 27 January, more than 100 Auschwitz survivors will travel to southern Poland for a day of commemorations at the site of the sprawling network of extermination and concentration camps, on the anniversary of the date in 1945 that Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army. It is the last significant anniversary at which a large number of survivors are expected to be alive and well enough to attend.
Four days earlier, an event titled Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism is planned at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial on the western slope of Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. More than 45 heads of state and world leaders are set to fly in for the ceremony, which will include orchestra performances and Jewish mourning prayers. The organisers hope it will lead to a firm plan of action to combat rising antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Instead, the buildup to the event has been hit by controversy.
-snip-
Event hit by controversy as presidents of Russia, Germany and France – but not Poland – invited to speak
Shaun Walker in Budapest and Oliver Holmes in Jeruslaem
Thu 9 Jan 2020 05.00 GMT
Poland’s president has pulled out of an event in Israel to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz after being told he would not be allowed to speak at the event, but Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, would.
The move comes amid anger in Poland over Putin’s recent comments accusing Poland of complicity in the start of the second world war. It is one of a number of disputes that is threatening to overshadow the anniversary events later this month.
On 27 January, more than 100 Auschwitz survivors will travel to southern Poland for a day of commemorations at the site of the sprawling network of extermination and concentration camps, on the anniversary of the date in 1945 that Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army. It is the last significant anniversary at which a large number of survivors are expected to be alive and well enough to attend.
Four days earlier, an event titled Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism is planned at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial on the western slope of Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. More than 45 heads of state and world leaders are set to fly in for the ceremony, which will include orchestra performances and Jewish mourning prayers. The organisers hope it will lead to a firm plan of action to combat rising antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Instead, the buildup to the event has been hit by controversy.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/09/polish-president-pulls-out-of-holocaust-event-in-israel-over-snub