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UAE Foreign Minister makes historic visit to Yad Vashem

September 15, 2022

'My presence here today reminds us of the lessons that history teaches us'

Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum on Thursday to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. 

The minister toured the exhibition "Flashes of Memory – Photography during the Holocaust" and took part in a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance. He also signed the Yad Vashem Guestbook together with three other ministers of the United Arab Emirates.

"My presence here today reminds us of the lessons that history teaches us and the great responsibility we have to practice tolerance for the sake of building our communities and societies. We must take brave steps to build a bridge of real peace for future generations," Al Nahyan wrote. 

The head of the museum, Dani Dayan, presented the minister with the exhibition catalog to mark his first official visit to the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem.

"It is a momentous occasion for an Arab state official to visit Yad Vashem in order to commemorate the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the German Nazis and their collaborators during the Second World War," Dayan said.

"Visiting Yad Vashem sends the message that regardless of background, religion or race, we all have the duty to learn about the Holocaust and combat antisemitism in all its forms, wherever it rears its ugly head around the world, immediately and vigorously," he added. 

Israeli-Emirati ties have been improving since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. Al Nahyan arrived in Tel Aviv earlier on Thursday to mark the two-year anniversary of the agreement. He was then hosted by Israel's President Isaac Herzog and his wife, First Lady Michal Herzog, for a luncheon at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. 

Al Nahyan also held a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, Lapid reiterated Israel's stance against the Iranian threat. 

"Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with you in the face of any terrorist attack," Lapid told the Emirati minister, calling his visit "a visit of a close and dear friend, with whom I can talk about everything."

Lapid also assured that Israel is looking forward to boosting economic ties with the Gulf state. 

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