On March 30, the President of Israel Moshe Katsav met the President of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) Moshe Viatcheslav Kantor in Beit HaNasi, the residence of the Israeli President in Jerusalem, the RJC’s spokesman said.
During the meeting, Mr. Katsav and Mr. Kantor discussed the preparation to the Second World Holocaust Forum to be held in Kiev in September 2006, It was stressed that the coming forum is particular significant importance, taking place in a country with very high anti-Semitism and with Holocaust denial on the rise.

Regarding Babi Yar and plans for the second World Holocaust Forum, the president said this initiative is of utmost importance and that he will do whatever he can to promote the success of the coming forum. In these days, the president said, when the Holocaust is less and less known by younger generations, the WHF that was held in Auschwitz and the future one planned for Babi Yar in September are of the most importance because they focus world attention, especially by younger people. “By organizing the Second World Holocaust Forum we want to send the world a message that what happened in Babi Yar was as much a tragedy as the events in Auschwitz-Birkenau”, Moshe Viatcheslav Kantor emphasized. “Babi Yar is a symbol of concealed, undeclared Holocaust – its the beginning. The Forum in Babi Yar will give world leadership a platform to examine the dangers in the upraising extreme Holocaust.
“We should always remember that the danger lies in silence, and Auschwitz would not have occurred if after Babi Yar the world had acted differently”- noted Moshe Viatcheslav Kantor.

President Katsav blessed Mr. Kantor for his election as President of the RJC. He said the Jewish People need more Jewish leaders like Kantor with their devotion and their heart dedicated to the promotion of Jewish life. Mr. Kantor has done enormous “good” by initiating these forums, by dedicating so much of his time and means to make these events and the activities around them happen.