Yad Vashem to Invite World Leaders to Auschwitz Liberation Anniversary

U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders are to be invited to an event hosted by Yad Vashem in Yerushalayim to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.

Joining Presidents Trump and Macron, according to the plans, will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime minister of Britain.

It was not immediately clear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the guest list. Earlier this month, Putin invited Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to join him in Moscow in May to mark 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Red Army and its allies.

The Post also said that a major, unnamed donor has agreed to underwrite the event.

President Reuven Rivlin made mention of such an event last May during his speech at the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem.

“With the rise in anti-Semitic voices, I have recently approached world leaders to invite them to an international conference that will be held here at Yad Vashem next January, to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz,” he said. “Here in Jerusalem, together with presidents and heads of state, we will join forces in the uncompromising fight against anti-Semitism, xenophobia and Holocaust denial.”