18 December 2016
In his opening remarks today at the International Institute for Holocaust Research's conference entitled "The Jewish Refugee Problem During the Shoah (1933-1945) Reconsidered," Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev stated that "over recent days and weeks, the world has seen evidence of renewed carnage in Syria." Shalev expressed "deep concern over the appalling images of massacres of human beings from this turbulent area." He emphasized that "following World War II, the global community enacted universal principles and instituted international organizations with the express purpose of averting future crimes against humanity. World leaders and the global community must put a stop to these atrocities and avert further suffering, as well as provide humanitarian assistance to the victims seeking safe haven."
The three-day International Conference is convening leading scholars in the field of Holocaust research and education from around the world to examine various aspects of the Jewish refugee problem before and during the Holocaust and present their findings. At this unique conference, the largest, most multifaceted of its kind, topics relating to the Jewish refugee crisis during the Nazi regime covering a broad range of countries will be discussed, , with a special emphasis on refugees in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust.
