ABSTRACT
The first international conference of Yad Vashem was held in Jerusalem on 7–9 April, 1968. 1 Its English title is misleading as to its actual content and the significance of the choices made by the organizers. The English title “Jewish resistance during the Holocaust” shows how cultural and scientific revolutions can be lost in translation. The word used in Hebrew in lieu of “resistance” was amidah translated literally as stand-fastness or stand, which is a far more inclusive term emphasizing all sorts of standing-to to the enemy: social, mental, moral, religious and cultural resistance. In the context of amidah, armed and political resistance is but one aspect of Jewish reaction to the Holocaust. The choice of amidah and the wide spectrum of resistance manifested in the conference demonstrates the change in Israeli attitude to the Holocaust. It is commonplace to tie this change to the Eichmann Trial, 2 however, my view is different.
