Representing TAU’s Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice on behalf of the State of Israel, Prof. Uriya Shavit, Head of the Institute, gave an address at the annual joint International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Rwanda. The ceremony was organized by the Embassy of the State of Israel in Rwanda, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Government of Rwanda, and the Kigali Genocide Memorial. In his address, Prof. Shavit noted the beauty of Rwanda, its rapid development, the kindness of its people, and the strong ties it established with Israel. He spoke about the human capacity to commit evil and analyzed the reason for the proliferation of hate speech, racism, and antisemitism in the world today. He also spoke about the essentiality of defeating the annihilationist terror organization Hamas for the accomplishment of peace in the Middle East.

Other addresses at the ceremony were delivered by Dr. Felix Klein, German Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism,

Ambassador Heike Uta Dettmann, Germany’s Ambassador to Rwanda, and Ambassador Einat Weiss, Israel’s Ambassador to Rwanda. The guest of honor was Dr. Jean-Damascene Bizimana, Rwanda’s Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement.

Prior to the ceremony, Dr. Carl Yonker, Academic Director of the Institute, spoke with a dozen university students about online hatred, why it has grown more widespread, its detrimental impacts on individuals and l societies, and ways to combat it. He encouraged them to be proactive in fighting back against online hate, reporting hate content when they see it, countering false narratives of genocide denial, and supporting those who are targeted by hate speech.

Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker also met with Mr. Freddy Mutanguha, CEO of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, and Mr. Honore Gatera, Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where they discussed Rwanda’s history and ways memorials and museums can effectively preserve the memories of the Holocaust, the Tutsi Genocide and other genocides.

Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker shared their impressions of their visits to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum and the Campaign Against Genocide Museum located in the Rwandan Parliament Building. Together, the two museums relate the history of racial incitement and violence against the Tutsis prior to the genocide, how the genocide against the Tutsis was perpetrated, how the genocide was stopped, and reconciliation and rebuilding efforts. Both museums left a lasting impression, revealing the utter brutality and inhumanity of the perpetrators who tortured and slaughtered their neighbors – men, women, and children.

The day after the ceremony, Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker traveled south to the city of Huye to participate in a panel on the culture and practice of remembrance organized by the University of Rwanda’s School of Governance, Development, and Society, together with the Israeli and German embassies in Rwanda. The panel, which also included German Federal Government Commissioner Dr. Klein and University of Rwanda researcher Dr. Eric Ndushabandi, addressed an audience of two hundred students, instructors, and professors at the university on the culture and practice of remembrance.

Prof. Shavit noted that the Holocaust demonstrates that education alone is no guarantee for moral action. He advised the students that they should not learn about the Holocaust from Hollywood movies or Netflix. Instead, they should read books, watch documentaries and obtain knowledge through dedicated learning. Prof. Shavit also emphasized the need not to reduce Jewish history to the Holocaust and think of Jews only as victims, but rather to recognize the incredible cultural and scientific contributions Jews have made throughout history. He stated, “Though Jews are only 1 in 400 of humanity at large, Jews have won 1 in 4 Nobel Prizes in the sciences.”

In his presentation, Dr. Yonker noted the importance of remembrance and education so that students and others are equipped and capable of countering false narratives of genocide denial and hate speech when they appear online and can warn of the danger of such speech and its harmful implications.

In addition, Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker met with the leadership of Mount Kigali University to discuss and explore opportunities for academic cooperation and exchanges with Tel Aviv University.

Thanks to the organizers, Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker were also able to experience Rwanda and learn about its history, including a visit to the King’s Palace in Nyzana, with modest royal thatched canopy dwelling and its majestic heard of long-horned Inyambo cattle, from which Rwandan kings rule from the 15th century until 1962.