What’s New | Names Recovery | Spotlight on the Web | With your Support  | Yad Vashem Magazine  | Support Us

Dear Friend,
Allow us to present you with our newsletter, where you'll find updated highlights of recent activies and upcoming events.

Yad Vashem to Receive Prestigious Award
Yad Vashem is proud to announce that it has been awarded the illustrious Prince of Asturias Prize for Concord. This year over 47 candidates from 28 different countries contended for the award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the areas of mutual understanding and coexistence among men and the struggle against injustice. Often referred to as the “Spanish Nobel Prize,” The Prince of Asturias Foundation Awards are conferred yearly in eight different categories including the arts, social sciences, scientific and technical research and concord. Previous recipients in the category of Concord have included UNICEF, Doctors without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières, H.M. Hussein I, King of Jordan, Stephen Hawking and JK Rowling. Yad Vashem will formally receive the prize in the presence of the Spanish Royal family, in Oviedo, Spain at the end of October.

The first transfer of material from the International Tracing Service archives at Bad Arolsen, Germany recently arrived at Yad Vashem. The transfer took place following a decision by the ITS International Commission to permit the transfer, on embargo, of material to archives in the member states, to allow them to prepare the groundwork for making the material available to the public. The embargo will be lifted only when all 11-member states have completed the ratification process. The material, 12 million documents, comprising 1.4 terabytes, includes over 12 million scanned documents. Digital copies of more material from Bad Arolsen are expected to arrive at Yad Vashem towards the end of this year, as well as in 2008 and 2009.

This forceful exhibit opened on August 1, 2007 at the German Foreign Ministry. Exploring current antisemitic trends in Europe, classic antisemitic depictions are examined side by side with newer forms of vicious anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiments that are a direct outgrowth of older antisemitic beliefs. The exhibit looks at current expressions of antisemitism in the European media, through caricatures, photos, and more, as well as at antisemitic attacks in Europe, including violence and vandalism. For a more detailed review click here.
 

Names Recovery

Right now is an ideal time for stressing the importance of commemorating the names of Shoah victims. Register to activate your membership to our new forum for global volunteers, which is a venue for networking, exchanging ideas, experiences and tips for successful names collection. Revisit our Community Outreach Guide including our updated directory of participating groups/individuals directory of participating groups/individuals and the original song Take My Name, by Juliet Spitzer, recommended to enhance memorial events or ceremonies.

Spotlight on the Web

Spots of Light-To Be a Woman in the Holocaust

“The exhibit shows that in the heart of the Nazi hell, Jewish women succeeded in holding firm to the values that are the cornerstone of humanity: motherhood, friendship and love…” (Channel 1 News, Israel). This powerful exhibit, on display in the Exhibitions Pavilion at Yad Vashem, can now be viewed online. Putting an emphasis on the unique experience of woman in the Holocaust, issues such as womanhood, love, daily life, faith, food and friendship are explored. Visitors to the exhibit come away with new understanding of how women coped with the daily threats to their families and communities. The exhibit catalogue has been recently translated into English and is available for purchase.

With Your Support...

While the successful activities and programs detailed above are notable, and merit celebration, the fact remains that Yad Vashem requires additional support to ensure that it can continue to pursue its important mission of commemoration and education. Now, we need you to join us in our efforts to transform commemoration into a lasting commitment to the Jewish people, to moral values and to responsible action. Please consider supporting our mission in your plans for giving.
 

Yad Vashem welcomes into its family of Builders:

Tami and Ruth Berman, sisters from Toronto, Canada, who recently endowed the Chaim Fridman Teachers Scholarship Fund in memory of their late father.  A moving unveiling of their plaque took place in August with close members of the family.
Alice and Elias Massri, and their family from Mexico, who were honored as donors of the Square of Hope on August 2, in a ceremony at Yad Vashem.
Marcos and Vivian Metta, together with their children, Carlos and Tere Metta and Fortuna Saade from Mexico, who were honored as donors of the School and Square of Hope on August 5, in a ceremony at the School.
Eva and Bernardo Lijtszain, and their family from Mexico, who were honored as donors of the Square of Hope, on August 5 at Yad Vashem.
Ivonne and Samuel Geller and their sons from Mexico, who were honored as donors of the School on July 12 at Yad Vashem.

For more information on Yad Vashem and our additional activities please visit our website at http://www.yadvashem.org

Yad Vashem Quarterly Magazine

The Summer 2007 edition of the Yad Vashem Magazine is now available online. It is replete with a wide-range of articles, from a review of scholarly research on the planned “Final Solution” in Eretz Yisrael during WWII to the book launch of Rutka’s Notebook. Several moving stories of rescuers and survivors complete the magazine with additional information about recent educational initiatives and events, including the receipt of a new acquisition for the Art Museum. To read the magazine online, Click here.

Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future newsletters.