THE MARMARA FOUNDATION ATTENDS THE
INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

        The first official Holocaust memorial ceremony in Turkey took place at Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul on Thursday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

        Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin sent a message to the ceremony, noting that Turkey was a model country where people have been living peacefully.

        Dr. Akkan Suver and R. General Necdet Timur on behalf of the Marmara Foundation, Ambassador Ertan Tezgör on behalf of Turkish Foreign Ministry, Istanbul Gov. Avni Mutlu, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, Ishak Haleva, the chief rabbi of Jewish people in Turkey, and other officials attended the ceremony.

        Jan. 27 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, an annual day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era. (January 27, 2011)