NEW YORK – World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder spoke today with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, following the announcement by the Swedish government that the Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism has been postponed until 2021. The forum was planned to take place 20 years after the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, which recognized the responsibility of the international community and governments to promote and advance Holocaust education, remembrance and research.
During the call, Ambassador Lauder expressed his appreciation of the reasons for the decision to delay the “Malmö Forum,” considering the extraordinary global circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He praised the Prime Minister for his commitment to furthering Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism. In January, the Swedish government endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, including the IHRA’s guiding examples of current day antisemitism.
President Lauder thanked Prime Minister Löfven for his partnership in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism. “Antisemitism in all its forms must be combated vigorously by determined action by both governments and civil society,” Lauder said. “The World Jewish Congress is proud of our friendship and cooperation with the Swedish government over the past several years that has resulted in the enhancement and strengthening of such international cooperation.”
The Forum, an initiative of the government of Sweden, has been planned as a gathering of heads of state and government from member and observer countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), European Union Member States, the Nordic countries and a small number of other countries and IHRA Permanent International Partners. In addition, researchers, experts and representatives of civil society have also been invited to participate. National delegations have been encouraged to present pledges consisting of concrete initiatives, and an outcome document is intended to come out of the Forum.
“We are looking forward to continued work together with the Swedish government on this important endeavor, the impact of which will be felt well beyond 2021,” Lauder said.
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