World leaders to gather in Israel for fight against anti-Semitism forum

Israel announced Wednesday that world leaders would gather in the country in January for the largest forum focused on the fight against anti-Semitism, according to The Associated Press.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin announced the fifth World Holocaust Forum will be hosted in Israel for the first time to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, the AP reported. 

{mosads}More than 30 world leaders have committed to attending the event including Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, told the AP the goal of the forum was to draw attention to the risks of increasing anti-Semitism around the world.

“The Holocaust marks the lowest point humans can reach: the efficient and industrial mass murder and attempted annihilation of a people. However, it took place in what we thought was a modern, advanced and civilized world,” he said. “The level of anti-Semitism in the world, should serve as a moral barometer.”

Attacks against Jews increased worldwide by 13 percent last year to almost 400 incidents, according to a Tel Aviv University report. About a quarter of these occurred in the U.S., including the shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue.

Western Europe had the largest increase in 2018, with Germany specifically reporting a 70 percent increase in these crimes.