1. International Relations
2. European Department
3. Department for International Seminars for Educators
4. Department for International Seminars for the Jewish World

International Relations

Marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Simon Wiesenthal on December 31, 2008, Yad Vashem and the Simon Wiesenthal Center have recently launched a new joint educational resource, "Strategies in Facing Antisemitism: An Educational Resource Guide."
This resource, including a message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, features a new lesson plan and many articles focusing on the various challenges of addressing contemporary antisemitism.

European Department

Activities in Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia
At the end of January, European Department staff member, Orit Margaliot, took part in a number of educational activities in Slovenia, Serbia, and Croatia, meeting with Yad Vashem seminar graduates and future participants.
The visit to Slovenia coincided with the opening of an exhibit on the Jews of Prykmore – a large Jewish community, most of which perished during the Holocaust. This exhibit is being shown in a former 13th century synagogue, which later became a church whose only remnants of its Jewish past are the architecture. During a gathering of academic researchers at the Institute for Contemporary History, organized by a seminar graduate and with the participation of Ambassador Roman Kirn and future seminar participants, local academics provided a pictorial history of the Jews of Slovenia and their fate during the Holocaust. At the same gathering Orit Margaliot lectured on the “Holocaust and Genocides,” and on Yad Vashem’s educational perspective.
In Serbia, graduates of Yad Vashem seminars spoke of the importance of their participation in the teachers’ programs, and how their own educational work has been developed through the tools received at Yad Vashem. Two days of educational activities were held at the Belgrade primary school, whereby seminar graduates gave an insight into their pedagogical work, inspired by their experiences at Yad Vashem. The graduates explained that they have been sharing their newly garnered knowledge with teachers around Serbia and feel it would be beneficial to create an online Serbian language forum. Such a forum is to encourage an exchange of ideas on Yad Vashem’s website.
In Croatia, Chava Baruch, another member of the European Department, joined Orit Margaliot at the 5th Annual Holocaust Seminar, leading 40 participants in workshops including “Holocaust Education Through Art,” and “Antisemitism.” The Croatian seminar ended with a declaration by the Croatian Minister of Education of the creation of an exchange program for Israeli and Croatian youth.

The 4th Annual ICHEIC Forum
The 4th Annual ICHEIC Forum took place in February with 20 participants, our European partners who are actively involved in the planning of seminar programs, which take place at Yad Vashem, and the recruitment of the educators.
For the first time, this year’s participants included, representatives from Slovakia and Slovenia, underlining the progress Yad Vashem has made over the last 12 months in reaching out to European educators.
This annual Forum takes place each year, within the framework of the ICHEIC Program for Holocaust Education in Europe. It provided a forum in which to learn about the status of Holocaust education throughout the continent, and the new educational attitudes and programs being applied at Yad Vashem.
During the Forum participants heard lectures on “Holocaust Art” and “The Holocaust in a Post-Modernist Context.” Three pedagogical issues were underlined during group discussions: “Teaching the Holocaust in the Realm of Human Rrights,” “Working with Students in Memorial Site,” and “Creating a Framework for a Lesson Plan on the Holocaust and Genocide.” Workshops in small groups dealt with practical suggestions on how to improve our seminars and make them more relevant for the changing realities in Europe, and for the specific needs of our partners.

Department for International Seminars for Educators

The Department for International Seminars for Educators is excited about its upcoming seminars this summer. The Graduate Seminar has completed registration at full capacity. The Teacher Summer Seminar on the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance will be meeting in Israel and spending a few days at Yad Vashem to gain insight into teaching the Holocaust in the United States. There will be a Spanish Seminar as well as an English Summer Seminar from July 19th to August 6th, still open for educators and museum personnel. For more information, you may visit the Yad Vashem website.

Department for International Seminars for the Jewish World

The Department for International Seminars for the Jewish World has recently completed a series of seminars for Jewish educators around the world, including England, Austria, New York, Florida, and Pittsburgh. In California, Jewish educators gathered to learn about the educational philosophy at the International School for Holocaust Studies, and in Jerusalem hosted a one-day workshop for the Senior Educators program at the Melton Center at Hebrew University. Post-high school students even had the opportunity to gain insight into Holocaust education when they participated in a seminar just for Young Judea’s Year Course program.

We are looking ahead to July 12th-22nd when we will host a 10-day seminar for Jewish educators, including a specialized track for educators with experience from July 12th –19th.

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