(Courtesy)

Who could have imagined just a year ago that Yom Hashoah, one of the saddest days on the Jewish calendar, would be observed in Dubai?

United with Israel witnessed a historic tribute to the six million Jewish victims of Holocaust. It was the first time ever that a Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) event was held in the United Arab Emirates. The event took place at the Youth Hub in Dubai.

Yoseph Haddad, an Israeli-Arab social activist and CEO of Together – Vouch For Each Other, which works to bridge the gaps between Jews and Arabs, said: “Today we express our solidarity with the Jewish People by remembering the six million murdered Jews in the worst massacre in history, the Holocaust”.

During the ceremony the Chabad envoy in Dubai, Zvi Kogan, delivered the Yizkor memorial prayer:

The Director of ISRAELis, Eyal Biram, highlighted the great unity that exists between the people of Israel and the Emirati people since the signing of the historic Abraham Accords.

“We are here in this room and this gives us the opportunity to see the light for a better future,” he said.

The event ended with the lighting of six candles in memory of the Six Million.

The tribute is part of the #Cousins_Meetup program taking place this week, where Israeli and Emirati social media influencers are forging relationships between ‘real’ people and breaking cultural barriers.

Following the signing of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, this is another step towards peace in the Middle East, thanks to ISRAELis!