Meron Mendel, director of the Anne Frank Educational Center in Frankfurt am Main, is urging policymakers and the public in Germany to critically examine the influence of the Israeli government on the work carried out by Yad Vashem memorial sites. This call comes in the context of plans to open German-affiliated branches of the Israeli Holocaust memorial in Bavaria and Saxony.
In an op-ed for “Der Spiegel”, Mendel raises questions about the potential impact that the Israeli government-which is currently dominated by right-wing extremists-might have on the educational efforts of these foreign offices.
Mendel notes that it is a common misconception in Germany that Yad Vashem is a neutral and independent institution. However, according to the Israeli Yad Vashem law, the memorial is directly subordinate to the government and is commissioned to convey the official state narrative regarding history. He points out that the chairman is appointed directly by the Prime Minister. Consequently, he suggests it is no coincidence that the current chairman, Dani Dayan, is a hardliner with years of experience as a chief lobbyist for the settlement movement.
Despite these concerns, Mendel does not rule out the possibility that Yad Vashem will secure a place in the future memorial landscape of the Federal Republic. Nevertheless, he stresses that the initiators bear the responsibility of ensuring that these sites are not politically instrumentalized.
