JERUSALEM, Middle East－Dozens of world leaders gathered in Jerusalem on Thursday for the largest gathering focused on commemorating the Holocaust and combating modern-day anti-Semitism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prince Charles, US Vice-President Mike Pence and the presidents of Germany, Italy and Austria were among the more than 40 dignitaries attending the World Holocaust Forum, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

The three-hour-long event at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial－called "Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Anti-Semitism"－aims to project a united front in commemorating the genocide of European Jewry amid a global spike in anti-Jewish violence in the continent and around the world.

However, the president of Poland, where the Nazi concentration camp was built during the German occupation of World War II, stayed away due to rankling disputes with both Russia and Israel.

Poland will host its own event at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum on Monday.

On the eve of the gathering, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin implored world leaders assembled for a dinner at his official residence to "leave history for the historians".

"The role of political leaders, of all of us, is to shape the future," he said.

The event marks one of the largest political gatherings in Israeli history, as a cascade of delegations including European presidents, prime ministers and royals, as well as US, Canadian and Australian representatives, arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport. More than 10,000 police officers and one third of the country's national forces were deployed in Jerusalem and major highways and large parts of the city were shut down ahead of the event.

Another opportunity

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the event offered another opportunity to solidify Israel's diplomatic standing and boost his profile as he seeks reelection on March 2. He was hoping to use his meetings with world leaders to bolster his tough line toward Iran and rally opposition to a looming war crimes case against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

"Iran openly declares every day that it wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth," he told Christian broadcaster TBN. "I think the lesson of Auschwitz is, one, stop bad things when they're small ... and, second, understand that the Jews will never ever again be defenseless in the face of those who want to destroy them."

The World Holocaust Forum is the brainchild of Moshe Kantor, the president of the European Jewish Congress, an umbrella group representing Jewish communities across Europe. The group recently reported that 80 percent of European Jews feel unsafe in the continent.

Tel Aviv University researchers reported last year that violent attacks against Jews grew significantly in 2018, with the largest reported number of Jews killed in anti-Semitic acts in decades. They recorded 400 cases, with the spike most dramatic in western Europe.

In Germany, for instance, there was a 70 percent increase in anti-Semitic violence, in addition to the shooting attacks, assaults and vandalism. The research also noted increased anti-Semitic vitriol online and in newspapers, as extremist political parties grew in power in several countries.