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Aladdin Project promotes Holocaust education, coexistence in Arab countries

Delegates met with various leaders to discuss peace initiatives in the Middle East

By World Israel News staff

A delegation organized by UNESCO’s Aladdin Project, which engages in Holocaust education and cultural exchange between Jews and Muslims, has visited Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to meet with various ministers, civic leaders, and institution heads.

Members of the delegation travelled first to Bahrain, where they were received by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the royal palace, accompanied by the French Ambassador to Bahrain, Jerome Cauchard.

King Hamad discussed with the members a range of projects and initiatives designed to promote tolerance and cooperation, particularly through education and sport, according to Israel’s i24NEWS.

The King also gave his blessing to partnerships planned between the Aladdin Project and various Bahraini institutions to pursue the same goals, including with the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence.

Members were also welcomed in Bahrain at the country’s leading think-tank, Derasat, where they discussed the situation in the region in light of the Abraham Accords.

The delegation them moved on to Abu Dhabi, where they were met by Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, alongside Tolerance and Coexistence Minister Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, and the chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Culture and Tourism Department.

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Discussions yielded an agreement to launch joint projects promoting intercultural ties, particularly through museums, universities and sports clubs, as well as the impact of the Abraham Accords, the environment, and the importance of countering antisemitism and islamophobia.

Bin Zayed conveyed to the group that the UAE intends to use its influence for peace, stability and progress in the reason, as well as his support for joint initiatives between the Aladdin Project and the UAE.

Xavier Chatel, the French UAE envoy, said the French government “supports the Aladdin Project at the highest level because this organization seeks to promote values that are important to France, namely respect for the other, tolerance, peace, and opposition to hate and extremism.”

Aladdin Project President Dr. Leah Pisar commented: “Regardless of where we are from or what our religion or culture is, today we have a common enemy in the purveyors of ‘weaponized hate,’ who use social media and other means to attack, demean, and demonize the other.”

She added: “We must all join forces to overcome this major threat to our societies, and we are heartened to find willing and enthusiastic partners in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.”