Dubai museum opens Holocaust exhibit amid rising antisemitism
Israel's ambassador to UAE attends ceremony for new exhibit, warns of 'Kristallnacht moment' for Jews
A Holocaust exhibit debuted Wednesday in the heart of the Arab Middle East amid a disturbing rise in global antisemitism related to Israel's recent conflict with Hamas.
The Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Dubai invited the Jewish community to the ceremony for what is described as the first permanent exhibit to commemorate the Holocaust in the Arabian Peninsula.
Israel’s ambassador to the UAE, Eitan Na’eh, who was appointed to the position after the historic normalization agreement between the two countries was signed last year, said that it was "remarkable" that a Holocaust exhibit was on display in the Arab Middle East.
Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco joined the UAE last year in agreeing to normalize relations with Israel, officially titled the Abraham Accords.
Na'eh was joined at the ceremony by Peter Fischer, Germany's ambassador to the UAE.
“Who would have dreamt 70 or 80 years ago that an Israeli ambassador and a German ambassador would sit here together, in an Arab country, visiting a Holocaust remembrance exhibition,” Na'eh said.
“We are all concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By teaching and informing our visitors about the Holocaust, we will create more awareness about the danger that this negative rhetoric and resulting actions can lead to,” said Crossroads of Civilizations Museum Founder Ahmed Obeid AlMansoori. “As a leading cultural institution in the UAE, it is very important to us that we focus on educating people about the tragedies of the Holocaust, because education is the antidote to ignorance.”