EU, Israel should work together against hatred: Israeli president

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ISTANBUL (AA) - The EU and Israel should cooperate against forces of hatred, Israel's president said Thursday at a plenary session on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on Friday.

Addressing the European Parliament in Brussels, Isaac Herzog said: "We must work together as a single community determined and cohesive against the forces of darkness and hatred that threatened to destroy us."

Herzog stressed that hatred against Jews and Holocaust denial "still exists," even in democratic Europe.

"Unfortunately, the picture is very deeply troubling, antisemitic discourse festers not only within dark regimes but within the heartland of the free, democratic West," he said. "May the memory of the victims of the Holocaust be eternally etched in our hearts, and may their souls be bound in the bond of life."

For her part, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said hate still finds too many voices.

"Too many families in Europe and around the world live with packed suitcases by their doors. We cannot allow anyone to find comfort in ignorance," Metsola said. "Let me repeat what I said in the Knesset; To be antisemitic is to be anti-European."

European Parliament also held a moment of silence at the end of the session, organized to commemorate more than 6 million Jews massacred during World War II.

Jan. 27 – the date Auschwitz camp was liberated by the Soviet army – is designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the UN General Assembly.

Herzog also met EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, and the two discussed support to Ukraine, peace in the Middle East and the importance of "fostering Jewish life in the EU ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day."