Israel PM warns of 'hatred' before Holocaust Day

JERUSALEM, May 1, 2011 (AFP) - Israel's prime minister warned on Sunday that anti-Semitism remains rampant and is often expressed in "hatred" against the Jewish state, a day before Israel commemorates the horrors of the Holocaust.

JERUSALEM, May 1, 2011 (AFP) - Israel's prime minister warned on Sunday that anti-Semitism remains rampant and is often expressed in "hatred" against the Jewish state, a day before Israel commemorates the horrors of the Holocaust.

Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that "the lessons of the Holocaust have not been learned."

"Hatred of Jews still sweeps across the world. Anti-Semitism has been renewed and amplified, and hatred against Jews is now directed against their state and its right to exist," he warned.

Israel observes Holocaust Day on Monday, but events marking the day begin on Sunday night with a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, to be attended by Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and foreign dignitaries.

On Monday, Israel will come to a standstill at 10:00 am (0700GMT) as the country's citizens observe two minutes of silence, their beginning and end marked by sirens that sound across the Jewish state.

There are approximately 204,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel, most of them elderly.

Israel was established in 1948 in the wake of World War II when six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

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