International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) – Now that Canada no longer chairs …

Further to my earlier post, International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Ends: Andrew Bennett New Canadian Head of Delegation, a further update on the declining importance of IHRA now that the Canadian chairmanship has come and gone. Canada will no longer financially support attendance of Canadian Holocaust experts, leaving representation more at the symbolic rather than substantive level. I always found the strength of IHRA was the extensive involvement of experts, less so the governmental level (of which I was part).

Likely a combination of the bureaucratic (viewed as minor “all things Jewish” file rather than from a broader policy perspective) and the governmental (experts and expertise have more nuanced messaging than the political level, and focus on antisemitism and Israel mean ongoing community support).

Unfortunate, as the value of IHRA and Holocaust awareness and education is important for all Canadians, particularly in as diverse a society as Canada, and for the universal lessons it brings.

CORRECTION: Subsequently, this decision to no longer fund expert attendance was reversed given stakeholder pressure but still surprising that it happened in the first place.