Israel’s Gabi Ashkenazi and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan bumped elbows instead of shaking hands in line with measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus, as they met face-to-face for the first time after their countries signed a US-brokered deal in mid-September to normalize relations.
It was the UAE foreign minister’s idea to visit the site alongside his Israeli counterpart, the Walla news site reported.
In a handwritten message in the visitor’s book at the memorial, the Emirati top diplomat commemorated the “European Jewish victims of the Holocaust.”
“A whole group of humanity fell victim to those calling for extremism and hatred,” he wrote, adding that the visit to the memorial “underscored the importance of human values such as coexistence, tolerance and accepting the other… as well as respect for all creeds and faiths. These are the values upon which my country was founded.”
“I salute the souls of those who fell victim to the Holocaust,” Al Nahyan wrote, before quoting from a Jewish prayer translated into Arabic: “May their souls be bound up in the binds of life.”
“Never again,” he wrote, in both English and in Arabic.
Morocco's Akhbar Ona found the use of the phrase "never again" by an Arab to be "strange and weird:"
The newspaper said that the phrase is "a slogan often used by Holocaust survivors of WWII to justify actions to protect Israel and the Jews."
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.
When the Jews had a Temple – in Egypt
-
In his book ‘The Qumran Codex,’ Didier Nebot tells the extraordinary and
little-known story of the Jewish Temple at Leontopolis in Egypt, which
existed a...
BBC Gaza documentary controversy – the timeline
-
In mid-February 2025 the BBC began promoting a documentary set to be aired
on BBC Two, with viewing available on BBC iPlayer for an...
The post BBC Gaza ...
BBC Gaza documentary controversy – the timeline
-
In mid-February 2025 the BBC began promoting a documentary set to be aired
on BBC Two, with viewing available on BBC iPlayer for an...
The post BBC Gaza ...
Trading Soybeans for Computers
-
America as a $295 billion trade deficit with China, but the bigger problem
may be the technological imbalance between what we are importing and what
th...
Hamas/Gaza War Musings #43: VICTORY Not Oratory
-
Day after day, lives lost to terror-- this war doesn't seem even close to
the end. For me the end of the war must be our victory. If Bibi serves us
an...
Emigration to Mandate Palestine from the Hauran
-
A report on the present conditions in the Hauran was published in the
Journal of The Royal Central Asian Society in 1936.
One of the topics was the emigr...
Kirschen Hospitalized
-
/>
Sali, the LSW here, Yaakov had a stroke almost 2 weeks ago. His speech and
left side were affected. He is very weak and can barely move his left arm,
...
The Elder Scrolls 6: Everything we know so far
-
The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in development, but despite some recent
small updates, it's likely to still be some time until we see it arrive.
Recently,...
BBC put on a Hamas Propaganda Pantomime
-
The BBC just aired a new documentary on Gaza. It was titled ‘How to Survive
a Warzone’ and this is one of the worst Palestinian propaganda pantomimes
you...
One Choice: Fight to Win
-
Yesterday Israel preempted a potentially disastrous attack by Hezbollah on
the center of the country. Thirty minutes before launch time, our aircraft
destr...
Closing Jews Down Under Website
-
With a heavyish heart I am closing down the website after ten years.
It is and it isn’t an easy decision after 10 years of constant work. The
past...
‘Test & Trace’ is a mirage
-
Lockdown II thoughts: Day 1 Opposition politicians have been banging on
about the need for a ‘working’ Test & Trace system even more loudly than
the govern...