Activists from Abraham Accord nations commemorate Holocaust

Activists and young leaders from Israel, Morocco, UAE and Bahrain came together on Holocaust Remembrance Day to honour the victims and to share their experiences with Holocaust education.

The online event kicked off with a panel discussion by on Holocaust commemoration and education.

Abdou Ladino from Mimouna Association, a Moroccan cultural non-profit association created by young Muslims to promote and preserve the Jewish-Moroccan heritage, said that Morocco is slowly deepening its understanding of the Holocaust.

On Monday, Ladino said, Moroccan University students will learn about Holocaust trauma by watching “My Father’s Secrets”, an Israeli animated movie telling the story of the director’s father who was the sole survivor of his family.

“This year, we introduced the history of Moroccan Jews to primary school. We also have a weekly TV show that talks about Moroccan Jews,” he said.

Moral Awadallah, Director of the Arabic Department at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, stressed that educating the youth about the Holocaust will make them understand the importance of preventing “human rights violations and respecting the the rule of law.”

“It’s equally important that they hear directly from Holocaust survivors,” Rabdallah said.

Evangelical leader, Mike Evans, who founded the organisation Friends of Zion, said that “Astonishingly breakthroughs are happening in the Muslim world. In meetings that I had in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with the Crown Princes, I saw first hand the measures that are being taken to combat antisemitism.”

Reva Gorelick, Program Director at American Jewish Committee in Abu Dhabi, echoed Evans, saying despite extremism being a “real fear in the Gulf, we are witnessing efforts” to understand the Holocaust.

“Holocaust, which is a human tragedy that happened in the modern era of human civilisation, could also be a lesson for the violent conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims,” Nawaf Al Sayed from Bahrain said.

Sayed, however, said that that while the Abraham Accords are important, it takes time to build bridges in the region.

“It’s a lengthy process change culture. My mom told me that if I didn’t eat my food I will bring the Israelis for you. So imagine how complicated it is to change certain things,” he said.

Eyal Biram, CEO of the NGO Israel-Is, one of the organisers of the online event said, said the Holocaust is an “unprecedented event in its pain, meaning and unique importance to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. At the same time, it is also an event of universal importance that must continue to teach humanity a lesson about the madness that hatred and prejudice can lead to.”

“We see this event with our partners from the Middle East and North Africa as of utmost importance in each side’s ability to understand the other better and tear down the walls of hatred that have taken over the region for many years. Remembrance of the Holocaust in Arab countries is not an event to be taken for granted and we salute our heroic partners who are the pioneering this important mission,” he added.

Al Mahdi Boudra, President of the Mimona Association, which co-organised the online event, said Holocaust education is important at a national level, but especially so at the regional level, “in order to stimulate critical thinking, and social awareness of the history of the Jewish people and the peoples of the world in general.

The event was organised by Israel-Is NGO that works to improve Israel’s image in the world together with the Mimouna Association, a Moroccan cultural non-profit association created by young Muslims to promote and preserve the Jewish-Moroccan heritage.