Controversial candidacy for Yad Vashem moves forward

Once approved, Effi Eitam’s candidacy will be brought to a vote in the cabinet by government ministers.

NOVEMBER 12, 2020 22:27

EFFI EITAM speaks during the Gush Katif conference at the Tel Aviv Museum in 2017. (photo credit: YOSSI ZELIGER/FLASH90) — EFFI EITAM speaks during the Gush Katif conference at the Tel Aviv Museum in 2017.

(photo credit: YOSSI ZELIGER/FLASH90)

The controversial candidacy of former right-wing politician Effi Eitam for the post of Yad Vashem chairman is moving ahead despite opposition from several quarters, including Holocaust survivor organizations.

The Anti-Defamation League and the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, among others, have protested the pending appointment due to Eitam’s support for the forcible transfer of Palestinians from the West Bank and against the participation of Arab-Israelis in Israel’s political system.

Eitam, a former government minister and before that an IDF brigadier-general, was selected by Higher Education Minister Ze’ev Elkin as the government’s choice for the position. His candidacy was recently submitted for approval to a committee at the Finance Ministry’s Authority for Government Agencies.

When approved, Eitam’s candidacy will be brought to a vote in the cabinet.

In October, opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw Eitam’s candidacy in light of an incident in which soldiers under his command beat a captured Palestinian to death during a military operation in the Gaza Strip.

The soldiers involved said Eitam had given orders to beat captives. The military advocate-general reprimanded him over the incident, but he was not court-martialed.

The appointment “could turn this sacrosanct institution into a place of argument and division,” Lapid said.

Ministers from Blue and White have declined to say whether they will vote in favor of Eitam’s candidacy.

Colette Avital, head of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, said statements made by Eitam about Arab-Israelis and in favor of population transfer of Palestinians “are well known by many abroad and could be used against Yad Vashem by those who do not particularly care for Israel.”

“We are concerned about the damage that this appointment can cause to the image of Israel and the credibility of Yad Vashem,” she said. “We hope that government ministers will take into account the position of Holocaust survivors and many Jewish communities in the Diaspora.”

Last week, the ADL wrote to former chief rabbi and Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who serves as chairman of the Yad Vashem Council, asking him to intervene and halt Eitam’s appointment.

A spokesperson for Lau declined to comment.

Eitam has declined to comment on the controversy surrounding his candidacy.