The Holocaust and the Human Test… a Zero Score in the Middle East
As you know, the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust is officially observed every year on January 27, following the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7, adopted on November 1, 2005, and first observed in 2006.
This date, January 27, was chosen to mark the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.
A few days ago, this year’s anniversary arrived, and prior to it, I had the honor of receiving an invitation from one of the Swedish/Israeli associations. For years, I have consistently participated in this event, which offers an opportunity to reflect and remember the horrific events, drawing lessons and insights.
While sitting in Malmö Synagogue, I listened to Leni Fischerman, the youngest daughter of Birgit Krasnik Fischerman, who arrived in Malmö at the age of seven on one of the so-called “White Buses.” She was rescued along with her family after spending 18 months in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Today, Birgit is 87 years old and lives in Denmark.
Leni grew up in a Jewish environment in Copenhagen, studied, among other things, at the city’s Jewish school, and pursued a professional career as a career coach and advisor (as introduced in the event program Programbladet).
At that moment, a pressing question came to mind, which I wish to share with you in this article: how many countries in the Middle East commemorate the Holocaust?
And how many nations in the region have passed, or even attempt to pass, this purely human test in all its meaning?
The answer is shocking: no country in the Middle East, except Israel, of course, observes this remembrance or even wishes to reflect on what happened. Six million Jews were murdered in cold blood in one of the most horrific crimes in modern history. In addition to the Jews, the Nazis also killed other groups, including the Roma and people with disabilities, while persecuting and violating the rights of other communities, such as LGBTQ individuals and political dissidents.
Important Note:
The number of Jews in the Middle East and North Africa (the Arab countries, Iran, and Turkey) before 1948 is estimated at approximately 1.1 million people, most of whom were exceptionally talented and creative individuals. In several countries, they were subjected to horrific acts aimed at carrying out ethnic cleansing.
These actions began with the Farhud massacre on June 1, 1941, which targeted the Jews of Baghdad during the Jewish festival of Shavuot, leaving hundreds of Jews dead or injured and their homes, properties, and businesses looted. Other countries in the region followed the same approach, though in varying forms.
For example, Egypt, my homeland, had a Jewish population of no fewer than 85,000 individuals, but today fewer than ten remain. The other countries followed a similar pattern.
It is a resounding collapse, complete in all its dimensions. What is even more striking is that this occurs despite existing peace treaties: the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, signed in Washington on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accords of 1978, the Wadi Araba Treaty between Jordan and Israel, signed on October 26, 1994, as well as the Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
In reality, Israel is at peace with six countries in the region. Yet, if we consider that peace is frozen at the popular level and only formally and institutionally enacted especially in Egypt, and to a lesser extent in Jordan, where institutionalized anti-Israel sentiment and incitement persist, portraying both regimes as “pillars of stability” and add to that the ongoing civil conflict in Sudan since April 15, 2023, the question remains urgent and valid.
What about the UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain?
To their credit, the UAE and Morocco have been working diligently to promote popular peace between their societies and Israeli society, genuinely attempting to overcome the toxic legacy of hatred and denial.
The question remains open, without flattery or euphemism:
Will the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2027 find any countries in the Middle East having successfully passed this human test? I hope and wish so.
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Note: This article was published on February 2, 2026, in my column in the Swedish newspaper Bulletin and is exclusively published here in English in The Times of Israel.
