Bahrain FM mourns victims of Holocaust in letter to Ashkenazi

He wrote that the day "stands as a solemn memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and an enduring reminder of the need to uphold our universal commitment to rejecting all forms of antisemitism."

JANUARY 28, 2021 17:12

BAHRAIN’S FOREIGN MINISTER Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani addresses a news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA / REUTERS) — BAHRAIN’S FOREIGN MINISTER Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani addresses a news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

(photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA / REUTERS)

Bahrain mourns the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust and stands in solidarity with survivors, Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani wrote to his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was observed on Wednesday.

In a rare gesture from a senior official of an Arab state, Zayani wrote that the day “stands as a solemn memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and an enduring reminder of the need to uphold our universal commitment to rejecting all forms of antisemitism and hatred, so that our world may never again witness such an atrocity.”

Zayani called the Holocaust an “abhorrent crime against humanity,” and said Bahrain “stands in solidarity with the survivors and their families.”

The Bahraini foreign minister pointed to his country’s Jewish community of about 50 people, and said that Bahrain is committed to multiculturalism and interfaith dialogue.

“Following the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa... we continue to sow the seeds of coexistence, demonstrating to the region and the world that there is no place for ignorance and extremism: only peace and understanding,” Zayani wrote.

Israel and Bahrain announced they were making peace and establishing full diplomatic ties in September, in the framework of the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords, which began with normalization with the United Arab Emirates.

Israel, the UAE and Bahrain share an enemy in Iran, and security and intelligence cooperation between the countries laid the foundation for open diplomatic ties. Iranian leaders deny the Holocaust as a policy, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeting questions as to whether millions of Jews perished.

A spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces, Sardar Shekarchi, took the opportunity of International Holocaust Remembrance Day to say Tehran will “level” Tel Aviv and Haifa, and that “the Zionist regime” is “a cancerous tumor in the region” that “must collapse.”

In October, Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed became the first senior official of an Arab state to visit a Holocaust memorial or museum since Egyptian president Anwar Sadat went to Yad Vashem in 1977.

Bin Zayed and Ashkenazi went to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin as part of a visit hosted by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

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Ashkenazi shared this week at the Institute for National Security Studies Annual International Conference that the visit to the memorial was bin Zayed’s idea, which surprised him and impressed upon him that UAE ministers seek a genuine relationship with Israel based on mutual understanding.

During the visit to Berlin, Ashkenazi told Bin Zayed the story of his father, who survived a concentration camp in Bulgaria, moved to Israel and fought in the War of Independence.

Bin Zayed wrote in the memorial’s guest book: “This very important place commemorates the death of many innocents who lost their lives due to hatred and extremism, and emphasizes at the same time human values such as tolerance, peaceful coexistence, acceptance of others and respect for different religions and beliefs.

“These are my country’s foundations and will always be a major driver of its developmental process,” he added.

The UAE foreign minister concluded his message with “never again.”