ISTANBUL
High-level Turkish officials are set to attend the 70th Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies in Auschwitz, Poland on Tuesday along with senior Jewish community figures.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will attend the commemoration ceremonies at the Auschwitz concentration camp complex alongside the deputy chairman of Turkey's Jewish Community, Jozef Nassi and an Istanbul rabbi, Naftali Haleva.
Turkey's chief rabbi, Ishak Haleva, told The Anadolu Agency on Monday that he found representation of the Turkish state in ceremonies in the highest level to be “very positive."
"The state, government is going there, which is the best way," he added.
Among the attendees of this year's commemoration ceremonies will be 14 heads of state, four prime ministers, three crown princes or princesses, three parliament speakers and 13 ministers including five foreign ministers from almost 40 countires.
Most of the 1.1 million people murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps were Jews. The camp was liberated by Soviet forces on Jan. 27, 1945. In 2005 the UN established this date to commemorate the victims of Nazi atrocities.
Then Turkish foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, attended the first Holocaust memorial day 10 years ago with former Jewish community chairman, Silvyo Ovadya.
In Dec. 2014, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan released a statement around the time of the Jewish Hanukkah festival, saying Turkey's Jewish community is "fundamental" for the country.
More than 20,000 Jews live in Turkey.
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