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| Live Updates: At Memorial in Israel, World Leaders Join Fight Against Anti-Semitism | Live Updates: At Memorial in Israel, World Leaders Join Fight Against Anti-Semitism |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Vice President Mike Pence and the Prince of Wales joined dozens of Western leaders in Jerusalem on Thursday morning for an extraordinary demonstration of resolve to fight anti-Semitism, set to take place at Yad Vashem, the hillside memorial to the Holocaust. | President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Vice President Mike Pence and the Prince of Wales joined dozens of Western leaders in Jerusalem on Thursday morning for an extraordinary demonstration of resolve to fight anti-Semitism, set to take place at Yad Vashem, the hillside memorial to the Holocaust. |
| The afternoon ceremony will recall the Jan. 27, 1945, liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in occupied Poland where 1.1 million people perished, by Red Army troops. But it will also draw connections to the resurgence of anti-Semitism across much of Europe and North America. | The afternoon ceremony will recall the Jan. 27, 1945, liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in occupied Poland where 1.1 million people perished, by Red Army troops. But it will also draw connections to the resurgence of anti-Semitism across much of Europe and North America. |
| Mr. Putin, Mr. Pence and Prince Charles are all scheduled to give addresses, along with President Emmanuel Macron of France. The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has apologized for the Holocaust and for Germany’s role in starting World War II, will also speak. | Mr. Putin, Mr. Pence and Prince Charles are all scheduled to give addresses, along with President Emmanuel Macron of France. The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has apologized for the Holocaust and for Germany’s role in starting World War II, will also speak. |
| It is the biggest political gathering in Israel’s history, and the Holy City was teeming with police officers, with some schools canceling classes and the main highway from the airport closed as motorcades streamed through with arriving heads of state. | It is the biggest political gathering in Israel’s history, and the Holy City was teeming with police officers, with some schools canceling classes and the main highway from the airport closed as motorcades streamed through with arriving heads of state. |
| The event has not been without moments of friction: Mr. Macron’s visit on Tuesday afternoon to a church in the Old City that France considers its sovereign territory was briefly marred by a dispute between Mr. Macron and accompanying Israeli security officers. | The event has not been without moments of friction: Mr. Macron’s visit on Tuesday afternoon to a church in the Old City that France considers its sovereign territory was briefly marred by a dispute between Mr. Macron and accompanying Israeli security officers. |
| For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the presence of so many global chieftains — and the opportunity to meet with them in bilateral talks — was an important boon at an opportune time. Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is battling for his political life, awaiting trial on serious corruption charges even as he campaigns for re-election in the third ballot in a year, set to take place on March 2. The previous two elections were inconclusive. | For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the presence of so many global chieftains — and the opportunity to meet with them in bilateral talks — was an important boon at an opportune time. Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is battling for his political life, awaiting trial on serious corruption charges even as he campaigns for re-election in the third ballot in a year, set to take place on March 2. The previous two elections were inconclusive. |
| His centrist opponent, Benny Gantz, a former army chief, was holding his own meetings, including a morning session with the United States’ House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and a bipartisan congressional delegation. | His centrist opponent, Benny Gantz, a former army chief, was holding his own meetings, including a morning session with the United States’ House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and a bipartisan congressional delegation. |
| After months of hope and suspense in Israel, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia hinted soon after his arrival that the painful saga of a young Israeli woman imprisoned in Russia might be coming to an end, telling her mother, “Everything will be O.K.” | |
| The Israeli-American citizen, Naama Issachar, 26, was sentenced last year to a long prison term in Russia after the authorities found a few grams of marijuana in her luggage as she waited at the Moscow airport to board a connecting flight home. | |
| Ms. Issachar’s mother, Yaffa Issachar, joined Mr. Putin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for part of a breakfast meeting in Jerusalem. The older woman had spent months in Russia dealing with lawyers and the authorities and leading an emotional public campaign for her daughter’s release, winning the hearts of many Israelis. | |
| She and the two leaders, along with Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, emerged from the meeting on Thursday smiling. | |
| “I met with Naama’s mother,” Mr. Putin said, speaking in Russian. “It’s clear she comes from a good family.” | |
| Apparently referring to Mr. Netanyahu’s push for a pardon for Ms. Issachar, Mr. Putin added: “All this will be taken into account at the time of the decision. Naama will meet today with the person responsible for human rights in Russia. Her mother is very excited and supports her daughter. I said to her and I’ll say again: Everything will be O.K.” | |
| Officials have been tight-lipped about the terms of any deal for Ms. Issachar’s freedom, but Russia and Israel share a host of interests in the region. | |
| When Piotr Cywińsk took over as the director of Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum more than a decade ago, every day he would meet a survivor. Their stories were invariably wrenching, often surprising and always stirring. | When Piotr Cywińsk took over as the director of Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum more than a decade ago, every day he would meet a survivor. Their stories were invariably wrenching, often surprising and always stirring. |
| But as the years have passed, he said, those encounters have grown scarce. | But as the years have passed, he said, those encounters have grown scarce. |
| “We barely meet with survivors now in our daily educational work,” he said. | “We barely meet with survivors now in our daily educational work,” he said. |
| So the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp seemed like a chance — perhaps the last one — to bring as together as many as they could to mark the occasion. | So the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp seemed like a chance — perhaps the last one — to bring as together as many as they could to mark the occasion. |
| On Monday, when the liberation will be marked by a solemn ceremony, some 200 survivors will make their way back to the camp. | On Monday, when the liberation will be marked by a solemn ceremony, some 200 survivors will make their way back to the camp. |
| While the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, will speak — given that the German death camp was in occupied Poland — Mr. Cywińsk said, they had sought to keep the event as free from politics as possible. | While the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, will speak — given that the German death camp was in occupied Poland — Mr. Cywińsk said, they had sought to keep the event as free from politics as possible. |
| “This place is too sacred to allow it to be used in an opportunistic way,” he said. “And politics, by its nature, is opportunistic.” | “This place is too sacred to allow it to be used in an opportunistic way,” he said. “And politics, by its nature, is opportunistic.” |
| Instead, the focus will be on survivors and their stories. The philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder, who will also speak at the event, said that was as it should be. | Instead, the focus will be on survivors and their stories. The philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder, who will also speak at the event, said that was as it should be. |
| “Almost half the survivors have died in the last five years,” Mr. Lauder noted in an interview. | “Almost half the survivors have died in the last five years,” Mr. Lauder noted in an interview. |
| In view of the rise in anti-Semitism across Europe, he said, their voices needed to be heard both as a reminder and a warning. Mr. Lauder has been involved in conservation efforts at Auschwitz for more than three decades, and Mr. Cywińsk said those conservation efforts were essential in battling those who would distort or deny what had taken place here. | In view of the rise in anti-Semitism across Europe, he said, their voices needed to be heard both as a reminder and a warning. Mr. Lauder has been involved in conservation efforts at Auschwitz for more than three decades, and Mr. Cywińsk said those conservation efforts were essential in battling those who would distort or deny what had taken place here. |
| But the burden of telling that story, he said, should no longer fall on the shoulders of the survivors. | But the burden of telling that story, he said, should no longer fall on the shoulders of the survivors. |
| “They have done their job,” he said. “It is our responsibility now.” | “They have done their job,” he said. “It is our responsibility now.” |