Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., May 29, 2008 Iyyar 24, 5768 | | Israel Time: 07:03 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 12:57 12/06/2007
Holocaust survivor pleas for tolerance at conference in Indonesia
By Associated Press

A Jewish Holocaust survivor made a plea for tolerance Tuesday at a conference in the world's most populous Muslim nation that also brought together religious leaders and victims of attacks by Islamic extremists.

"I hope people will learn from the past," said Sol Teichman, 79, who was a teenager living in Czechoslovakia when his city was occupied first by the Hungarian army and then the Germans. 'We should try to improve life instead of destroying it," Teichman added.

The daylong gathering on Bali island was attended by high-profile moderate Indonesian Muslim leaders, including former Indonesian president Abdurraham Wahid, and Hindu spiritual head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Advertisement
Victims of a terrorist attack in Israel and of suicide bombings by Muslim
militants on Bali in 2005 were among participants.

"It's up to us to bring religion back to its original intention .. to underline the importance of finding shared values," said Yenny Wahid, the daughter of the former president and herself a prominent supporter of liberal Islam.

"We have to find ways to promote tolerance and understanding for mankind," Wahid said.

Bali is a mostly Hindu enclave in Indonesia, which has some 190 million
Muslims, more than any other nation in the world. Its government is secular and most people are moderate, though a vocal militant fringe has grown louder in recent years.

The conference was sponsored by the Libforall Foundation, a U.S. based
non-governmental organization that seeks to counter Muslim extremism in the Islamic world by supporting religious moderates.

Teichman said he lost 70 family members to the Nazis, including his sister, brothers and grandparents, and was taken to Auschwitz, Warsaw, Dachau, Kaufering and Landsberg concentration camps before allied forces liberated them in 1945.

He said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to host a conference in December questioning whether the Holocaust took place made him want to push a little harder to meet Muslim leaders
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Scuba SMS
Ultrasonic sound wave technology revolutionizes underwater communication.
'Hip-hop violinist'
Israeli violinist participates in New York event, celebrating Israel's 60th anniversary.
  1.   Balinese to the rescue: as usual. 10:20  |  Star of David 12/06/07
  2.   outraged 10:21  |  Leon Rosgarten 12/06/07
  3.   Israeli Victims 11:10  |  Shlomo 12/06/07
  4.   Extremist Muslims Just Destroy Tourism 11:14  |  Yosemite 12/06/07
  5.   INDONESIA IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR ISRAEL 11:42  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  6.   Tolerant Indonesians 12:07  |  Niv 12/06/07
  7.   # 6, NIV 12:26  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  8.   to indrayaya 12:33  |  harry 12/06/07
  9.   Warped religion is the problem 12:34  |  ScotGuy 12/06/07
  10.   Ask the East Timoreans about Indonesian tolerance 14:56  |  Dhimmi Hendrix 12/06/07
  11.   # 10, DHIMMI HENDRIX 15:38  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  12.   Indonesian INTOLERANCE 15:52  |  Craig F 12/06/07
  13.   Hey Indrajaya 15:53  |  TAZ 12/06/07
  14.   # 12, TAZ 16:01  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  15.   # 12, CRAIG.F 16:07  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  16.   Indrajaya 16:17  |  Craig F 12/06/07
  17.   indrajaya 16:22  |  Craig F 12/06/07
  18.   to Indrajaya 16:39  |  TAZ 12/06/07
  19.   # 16, CRAIG.F 16:46  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  20.   # 17, CRAIG. F 16:57  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  21.   "Most of the time, people only believe what they want" 16:59  |  Briton 12/06/07
  22.   Indonesians do not tolerate criticism of their country 17:10  |  Serge 12/06/07
  23.   Indrajaya 17:12  |  Craig F 12/06/07
  24.   #1 what do you mean 17:12  |  mia 12/06/07
  25.   #4 17:15  |  mia 12/06/07
  26.   # 21, BRITON 17:18  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  27.   Viva Timor Leste!!!! 17:33  |  Dhimmi Hendrix 12/06/07
  28.   # 18, TAZ 17:35  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  29.   Indrajaya 17:40  |  TAZ 12/06/07
  30.   # 29, TAZ 17:51  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  31.   Open Indonesia? 17:51  |  Ruth 12/06/07
  32.   # 27, DHIMMI HENDRIX 17:57  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  33.   Indonesia is very tolerant 18:01  |  Sed 12/06/07
  34.   #28 indrajaya, the language is called Indonesian 18:02  |  mia 12/06/07
  35.   ruth jakarta post has talkback 18:05  |  mia 12/06/07
  36.   to Indrayaya 18:11  |  Harry 12/06/07
  37.   # 31, RUTH 18:11  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  38.   Timor Leste vs Gaza 18:14  |  Dhimmi Handrix 12/06/07
  39.   # 34, MIA 18:25  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  40.   # 32 18:25  |  Sed 12/06/07
  41.   # 35, MIA 18:28  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  42.   harry your info is obsolete 18:29  |  mia 12/06/07
  43.   mia and Indrajaya 18:30  |  Ruth 12/06/07
  44.   Dhimmi Hendrik 18:38  |  mia 12/06/07
  45.   indra 18:42  |  mia 12/06/07
  46.   Ruth why am no fan of Jakarta Post 18:43  |  mia 12/06/07
  47.   # 43, RUTH 18:45  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  48.   LOL 18:47  |  indrajaya 12/06/07
  49.   Forget about visiting Indonesia.... 19:08  |  Sunny 12/06/07
  50.   Mia 19:12  |  Dhimmi Hendrix 12/06/07
  51.   Exile!!!! 19:22  |  Johan Cohan Mohan 12/06/07
  52.   Kol Hakavod (All respect) to Sol Teichman 19:27  |  Fortuna Benmayor 12/06/07
  53.   is israel listening...? 19:41  |  ravi 12/06/07
  54.   should invite him to speak to gov of tel aviv about tolerance 20:00  |  sami 12/06/07
  55.   #15. Same to you,m buddy, same to you... 20:04  |  Smart mouse 12/06/07
  56.   Who teaches that Jews are mixture of Pigs and monkeys?? 20:29  |  ScotGuy 12/06/07
  57.   Ravi 20:53  |  Albert Seligman 12/06/07
  58.   you got it wrong albert.. 21:14  |  ravi 12/06/07
  59.   DONT TRUST INDRAJAYA 21:32  |  Maria do Rosario 12/06/07
  60.   to indrajaya and all open minded people 21:45  |  TAZ 12/06/07
  61.   Reply to forget about visiting Indonesia #49 21:49  |  Ron 12/06/07
  62.   to Maria Rosario from Portugal 22:01  |  TAZ 12/06/07
  63.   Indrajaya re Bosnian Muslims and Iran 22:20  |  sg 12/06/07
  64.   Indonesia carries out widescale pogroms 22:23  |  Chick Corea 12/06/07
  65.   Mia - Sweet Palestinians 22:27  |  sg 12/06/07
  66.   Ravi 22:33  |  sg 12/06/07
  67.   Ron 22:35  |  Tareq 12/06/07
  68.   AN OXYMORON TOLERANT ISLAM !!! 23:43  |  paul harris 12/06/07
  69.   paul harris - tolerant moslems 00:32  |  io 13/06/07
  70.   Every conservative will recognize the bleeding heart bleat 01:42  |  Mark Lincoln 13/06/07
  71.   Indrajaya # 47 02:27  |  ChanahS 13/06/07
  72.   Ron.It is a criminal offence to renounce Islam in Malaysia.! 02:31  |  PETER.SM 13/06/07
  73.   INDRAJAYA.INDONESIA IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR ISRAEL Delusional? 05:06  |  PETER SM 13/06/07
  74.   The First Thing Mohamed Did in Medina was Kill All The Jews 05:22  |  Efox