There are some other public events.
One thing we want to focus on during the plenary session in Toronto is a night dedicated to the Righteous Among the Nations. We think this is a great opportunity as well to invite Canada's wonderful, fabulous multicultural communities. Even though it was a very dark period in human history, there were incredible people from various countries who actually risked their lives to save people.
Raoul is one example, but there are many others. Many of you know that I've spoken many times on Sousa Mendes, for example, but there are certainly many, many others. There's the wonderful work the Albanian Muslim community did to hide Jews during that terrible period. There was a BESA exhibit not too long ago at the War Museum.
It's wonderful to engage the various communities, and the different faith communities as well, on the night that we would dedicate to the Righteous Among the Nations.
I totally agree with you that it would be important, but not just during our chairmanship year, that we try to take this on the international level with the ITF, which has a thematic role to play in recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations. We will probably be honouring also some descendants of the Righteous Among the Nations in Canada during that year as well, which is quite fantastic. We're working in collaboration with the Canadian friends of Yad Vashem in that regard.
In relation to research and prevention, I think you're right, in that we can't be an organization that only deals in terms of what happened in the past and not be worried about Holocaust denial or the intent to incite genocide, which is the case you have spoken about so eloquently many times, about Ahmadinejad's or Iran's genocidal intent towards the State of Israel and the Jewish people. This is something on which I believe during my chairmanship year I will have the support of members of Parliament, and certainly the government, to be vocal, to make sure that we are speaking against anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and that we are in fact dealing also with countries that have genocidal intent as well, and be vocal in that regard.
I think that's a very important component for the organization. If we are going to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and to say “never again”, although Professor Yehuda Bauer hates that phrase, and if we are going to lead down that road, then we have to be more vocal and speak out when we see either regimes or individuals committing acts of anti-Semitism, incitement to hate, or incitement to genocide.