Memorial ceremonies will be held across the world to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. As part of the United Nations' commemoration of the day, born of a U.N. resolution initiated by Israeli diplomat Roni Adam in 2005, Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Dannon will lead a delegation of 40 ambassadors from the U.N. on a trip to Israel.
Among those set to take part in the delegation are ambassadors from the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Panama and South Sudan.
Prior to their five-day Israel visit, the ambassadors will visit Poland to learn about the Holocaust and hold a memorial ceremony at the death camps.
While in Israel, the diplomats are expected to meet with President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government officials. The delegation will visit Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and take a helicopter tour of Israel's northern front and its borders with Syria and Lebanon. While in Israel's north, the envoys will view one of the cross-border terror tunnels dug under the Israel-Lebanon border by Hezbollah.
Danon, who as Israel's U.N. envoy has brought a number of diplomatic delegations to Israel, told Israel Hayom that "this type of delegation does a great deal to promote Israel in the international arena. The ambassadors see from up close the beauty and uniqueness of our country alongside the challenges and regional complexities and return to the U.N. with a positive perspective toward Israel."
He said the impact of the trip "is manifested in their votes in our favor at the General Assembly, in collaborations and in their joining our struggle against the lies spread by our enemies."
On Wednesday morning, meanwhile, just days ahead of the delegation's visit, a Holocaust monument was found toppled to the ground in Ramat Gan. Dedicated in 1998, the Power of Hope monument was created by sculptor and Auschwitz survivor Ruth Roger. The monument depicts a Jew blowing a shofar and six chimneys in memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen said he would allocate municipal funds toward the monument's repair.
Police have opened an investigation into the incident to ascertain whether this was an act of vandalism or merely the result of the strong winds that have blown through the city in recent days.
