Holocaust survivors protest ‘racist’ candidate for Yad Vashem chair

‘How Eitam talks of our citizens and our neighbors reminds me of things said about us which I heard when I was a child,’ says one Holocaust survivor

By JEREMY SHARON
Holocaust survivors are seen in Jerusalem protesting the potential appointing of Effi Eitam as Yad Vashem chairman. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Holocaust survivors are seen in Jerusalem protesting the potential appointing of Effi Eitam as Yad Vashem chairman.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Several dozen Holocaust survivors and second-generation survivors protested outside the offices of Higher Education Minister Ze’ev Elkin on Tuesday against the proposed appointment of Effi Eitam as Yad Vashem chairman, declaring he was unfit for the position.
The protesters, many in their 80s and 90s, held signs accusing Eitam of being a racist due to comments the former hard-right politician made in the past about Israeli-Arabs and Palestinians.
Eitam has been selected by Elkin to serve as the chairman of Yad Vashem, although his appointment needs cabinet approval.
As an MK for the National Union Party, Eitam spoke out on several occasions against the Arab parties’ presence in the Knesset, and on at least one occasion said Arab-Israelis should be removed from the political system and that the majority of Palestinians should be forcibly transferred from the West Bank.
Avraham Roet, 92, a survivor from the Netherlands who made aliyah in 1946, and who was injured during the War of Independence, said he was personally right wing, and insisted that he and other protesters were upset not because a right-wing public figure had been chosen, but rather that Eitam’s controversial comments would undermine the legitimacy of Yad Vashem.
“You cannot say Arabs don’t have the right to vote, or say Arabs should be expelled from Judea and Samaria,” said Roet. “The head of Yad Vashem needs to be someone who is acceptable to all Jews and non-Jews as well. We want the world to learn from the Shoah, but how can they do this when the head of Yad Vashem has said such things?”
Eva Morris, 92, originally from Czechoslovakia and who fled the Nazi invasion of her country, but whose grandmother and cousins were murdered in Auschwitz, also demonstrated.
“The goal of Yad Vashem is to show what can happen if people adopt satanic ideas,” said Morris. “How Eitam talks of our citizens and our neighbors reminds me of things said about us which I heard when I was a child.
“I can’t understand how someone who hates people could be fit for this position. It embarrasses me and it is shameful that he can even be thought to be fitting for this appointment.”
Ruth Berlinger, 89, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, said Yad Vashem was a critical institution in the Jewish world and that it was crucial that the respect in which it is held around the world continues.
She described herself as being of a center-right political persuasion and that she did not disagree with everything Eitam says, but his appointment would diminish Yad Vashem’s standing.
“Someone who has said such things could destroy Yad Vashem when we need it intact and respected by Jews and non-Jews,” said Berlinger.
In response to the protest, Elkin’s office said the minister continues to back Eitam’s candidacy and claimed that there are Holocaust survivors who back Eitam.
“Minister Elkin is determined in his opinion to appoint Mr. Eitam to the position of Yad Vashem chairman. Eitam dedicated the majority of his life to substantive service to the State of Israel and he has many qualifications,” Elkin’s office said.


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