ABSTRACT
Was Yad Vashem an Israeli institution? The question seems incongruous: Yad Vashem was established by the Israeli legislature and was headed in the beginning by the minister of Education. It is therefore obvious to researchers that Yad Vashem, as an Israeli state institution, should be investigated against the background of Israeli social atmosphere and power interplays between various forces in Israeli society and politics. For some, especially post-Zionist historians, Yad Vashem has always been a clear manifestation of the Israeli Zionist establishment and ideology. Actually, matters are not as simple as that. In fact, Yad Vashem received half of its budget from the Claims Conference (with the government and the Jewish Agency responsible for the rest). The leaders of the Claims Conference were not content with merely providing the funding, but demanded – and were granted – a voice in the management of the institution and in the decision–making process. The great interest by the leaders of the Claims Conference in the activities of the institution is all the more striking in contrast with the lack of attention demonstrated by various Israeli governments.
