Auschwitz commemorations in Jerusalem coloured by modern politics
The gathering at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre, hosted by President Reuven Rivlin, was the "biggest political event" since Israel was founded in 1948, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry.
Israel regards the broad and high-ranking attendance as a sign of solidarity at a time of rising worldwide anti-Semitism.
For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the audience presented a chance to call on "governments to join the vital effort of confronting Iran" - "the most anti-Semitic state on the planet."
Later, US Vice President Mike Pence echoed Netanyahu's message on Iran, telling leaders that "we must also stand strong against ... the one government in the world that denies the Holocaust as a matter of state policy and threatens to wipe Israel off the map."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also gave speeches.
The commemorations are taking place amid heightened concerns over modern-day anti-Semitism, including in Germany, where a gunman in October killed two people during his attempt to storm a synagogue.
"I wish I could say that we Germans have learned from history once
and for all," said Steinmeier. But "I cannot say that when only a thick wooden door prevents a right-wing terrorist from causing a bloodbath in a synagogue in the city of Halle on Yom Kippur."
Steinmeier and Macron called for countries to unite in fighting anti-Semitism. "Anti-Semitism ... is not only a problem for Jews," Macron said. "No, it is first of all a problem for everyone else."
The list of speakers had caused controversy even before Thursday.
Polish President Andrzej Duda had boycotted the event, arguing that he should be included on the list of speakers because half of the Holocaust's 6 million victims were Polish Jews.
On Thursday, the Polish president claimed to have made the right call in not attending, saying the event organizers "simply distorted history, completely leaving out the participation of our soldiers in the fight against Nazi Germany" on the main fronts of World War II.
Duda is set to speak at the site of the former Nazi death camp on Monday. He told Polish radio that he had "no doubt" the Jerusalem event, organized by the foundation of a businessman close to Putin, was an attempt to counterbalance the planned Auschwitz events.
Putin had irked Poland recently with comments in which he attempted to shift some responsibility for the outbreak of World War II to Poland, and suggested that Warsaw was complicit in the Holocaust.
In his speech on Thursday, Putin spoke out against views of World War II that are still being used to fuel modern political rivalries.
A European Union statement issued last year appeared to equate the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in blame for starting the war, saying those powers' Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact led to invasions in Eastern Europe. Russia has repeatedly condemned the statement.
"Unfortunately the memory of this war, its lessons and aftermath are ever more often becoming objects of political competition," he said.
Britain's Prince Charles, as well as the kings of Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium were in attendance, as was US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and several EU top officials.
According to the Israeli Finance Ministry, out of the 192,000 Holocaust survivors still alive in Israel, 16 per cent are aged 90 or older, and 14,800 died in the country in 2019 alone.
Police were out in full force in Jerusalem for the event, according to Israeli radio, with more than 11,000 police providing security.
A no-fly zone was declared over Yad Vashem, and major roads were closed intermittently for the leaders' arrivals and departures.
Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, including the Hamas movement and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, demonstrated against the event in front of the United Nations office in Gaza City on Thursday.
The factions said in a joint statement, which was circulated during the protest, that they reject holding the World Holocaust Forum as Israel carries on with its violations against the Palestinians.
They also called on world leaders to visit Gaza and the West Bank.
