Dani Dayan spoke after meeting Pope Leo XIV, saying antisemitism is \u201cbigotry\u201d independent of Israeli policy.<\/p>\n
Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, said that remembering and honoring the Holocaust is essential to combating rising antisemitism worldwide.<\/p>\n
Dayan, who met with Pope Leo XIV on March 23 together with Israel\u2019s ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, said their conversation focused on \u201ctwo issues: the historical remembrance, the need to remember, to know about the Holocaust \u2014 but not just for the sake of history, also for the sake of the present and the sake of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
We have to make sure that an \u201catrocity like this cannot happen again \u2014 not to the Jewish people, not to any other people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that antisemitism is \u201craising its ugly head again all over the world\u201d and that the two issues are closely linked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that knowing about the Holocaust, learning about the Holocaust, remembering, honoring the Holocaust is one of the tools to combat antisemitism,\u201d Dayan said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Antisemitism is bigotry\u2019<\/p>\n
Asked whether Israeli policy risks fueling antisemitism, Dayan rejected the premise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think antisemitism should not have palliative reasons. Antisemitism is bigotry, antisemitism is racism, and it\u2019s completely independent of anything that Israel does or does not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He described antisemitism as a unifying force among otherwise opposed extremist groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn many sectors in the world, antisemitism has become the common denominator, the lingua franca of all the extremists in the world \u2014 left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists, religious extremists, Islamist extremists, and many others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey hate each other on any other issue\u2026 [but] they don\u2019t only agree, they even collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAntisemitism should not be understood. It should be combated without any reservation,\u201d he added, noting he found \u201cfull agreement\u201d with Pope Leo XIV on the point.<\/p>\n
Memory, politics, and responsibility<\/p>\n
Dayan emphasized the distinction between Holocaust remembrance and contemporary political debates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe policy and Holocaust remembrance are two completely different things,\u201d he said, while noting that the Holocaust remains \u201comnipresent in the back of our minds\u201d for many Jews and continues to shape collective identity.<\/p>\n
He said the obligation to remember the Holocaust is \u201cthreefold\u201d: for the future, to build a world free of bigotry and genocide; for the present, amid resurging antisemitism; and as a moral duty to the victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix million victims that were massacred by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Shoah deserve to be remembered,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a debt that we have to maintain.\u201d<\/p>\n
A shared history and a future visit?<\/p>\n
Reflecting on relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, Dayan pointed to the significance of papal visits to Yad Vashem.<\/p>\n
He presented Pope Leo XIV with a painting by Jewish artist Carol Deutsch, created during the Shoah, depicting the biblical question \u201cAdam, where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He linked the image to Pope Francis\u2019 address at Yad Vashem, in which the late pope asked: \u201cWhere was humanity?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dayan expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV would visit Yad Vashem in the future, \u201cwhen circumstances allow it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Peace is an imperative\u2019<\/p>\n
Asked about the role of believers in promoting peace, Dayan said the memory of the Holocaust underscores the urgency of that mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo yearn for it and to act for it,\u201d he said. \u201cLearning about the Holocaust\u2026 is one of the greatest motivations a person can have to understand that peace is an imperative.\u201d<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that he once believed the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust would end war and antisemitism.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately\u2026 I was very naive in that respect. We have to work harder, all of us, in order to make that a reality in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n