Yad Vashem’s Position Regarding the Proposal to Amend the Yad Vashem Law

May 2018

The proposal to amend the Yad Vashem Law by adding a clause intended to grant recognition to Jews who helped save fellow Jews during the Holocaust was discussed in various forums at Yad Vashem, including before the Council and the Directorate. The conclusion of these discussions was that there is no justification for amending the law. Below is a summary of the reasons:

The principle that “All Jews are responsible for one another,” including expressions of Jewish solidarity, mutual aid, and rescue efforts carried out by Jews, manifested during the Holocaust in ways that inspire deep respect and admiration. Jewish solidarity existed in countless cases, in many forms and ways throughout the years of the Holocaust, such that very many Jews who experienced those events survived thanks to fellow Jews.

Granting individual recognition or awards to Jews who rescued Jews, or establishing a committee to determine who is worthy of being “recognized” as a Jew who saved another Jew and who is not, would not only fail to contribute to the remembrance of these acts of heroism, but could also create the mistaken impression that such rescue efforts were rare and exceptional, and therefore deserving of special distinction. This initiative therefore distorts the historical truth and may also do injustice to the memory of the victims and survivors if a special award is granted for Jews rescuing fellow Jews.

This initiative creates a classification and ranking of Jewish behavior and responses during the Holocaust. Its morality is therefore questionable, and its implications are dangerous, as it contains an element of judgment toward other Jews who were unable to assist or save their fellow Jews. In this context, it should be noted that the Righteous Among the Nations are honored precisely because they were a ray of light in the darkness and, sadly, constituted a tiny minority within the general population.

The subject of Jewish solidarity, mutual aid among Jews, and rescue by Jews during the Holocaust is fully in the spirit of the Yad Vashem Law and has been a central topic with which Yad Vashem has engaged throughout the year for decades in all areas of commemoration, education, and research. Rescue acts carried out by Jews are presented in the Holocaust History Museum. Dozens of books and studies relating to the subject have been published by Yad Vashem, the latest being “With Me in My Destiny” – Jews Rescuing Jews in the Face of Extermination, published in 2015 on the eve of a major international conference at Yad Vashem dedicated to the topic. The issue is addressed almost every year in Yad Vashem’s central Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony. Dozens of educational programs and lesson plans developed by Yad Vashem emphasize the support and assistance Jews gave one another. Diverse materials on the topic appear on Yad Vashem’s website, and much more is being done, with efforts continuing to expand these activities in the future. (See the attached file for examples of Yad Vashem’s activities on this topic in recent years.)

Educational and commemorative activities, as currently carried out by Yad Vashem and other institutions on a broad scale, are the most appropriate and respectful way to honor Jews who rescued fellow Jews and to celebrate their heroism in its full magnitude during the Holocaust. This is done in a manner that does not diminish the memory of the heroism and survival efforts of millions of others who perished or survived. Systematic, ongoing, and diverse activity in these fields will ensure that the subject is passed on appropriately to younger and future generations.

The narrative according to which Jews were passive victims and were saved only when non Jews came to their aid does not reflect the manner in which the Holocaust is taught and presented at Yad Vashem and within educational frameworks. The complexity of the events, the choices Jews made, demonstrations of courage in spirit and action, acts of mutual support and solidarity, have been researched, written about, and taught in textbooks for decades. Therefore, the claim that the subject is not being addressed does not withstand criticism.

Throughout Holocaust history, there were many figures who actively engaged in rescuing Jews. At the same time, some of them, for various reasons, also became controversial figures. Consequently, some view a certain person as a rescuer, while others view that same individual as a negative figure or even a collaborator with the Nazis. These cases continue to provoke intense but legitimate debate. The proposed amendment would deteriorate the discourse into divisive judgments regarding the degree of Jewish heroism during the Holocaust and could turn this debate into an actual conflict between different groups. Such a conflict would not contribute to commemorating rescuers, but rather would create an atmosphere of hostility and division. This is not the intention of those proposing the amendment, but it could be the outcome.

Therefore, the proposed amendment to the law is unnecessary and may even cause real harm to the discussion of mutual aid and rescue by Jews, to the understanding of its essence, and to Holocaust commemoration in general.

Signed:

Avner ShalevIsrael Meir LauYitzhak Arad

Members of the Yad Vashem Executive Committee:Boleslaw (Bolek) Goldman,Moshe HaElyon,Shoshana Vinshal,Yechiel Leket,Zehava Tana

Yehuda BauerDan MichmanDina PoratYael Nidam-OrvietoHavi Dreifuss