The Yad Vashem Institute and the Simon Wiesenthal Center are the Institute of National Remembrance's two main partners in Israel.
Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyr's and Heroes' Remembrance Authority fulfils its principal goals of commemoration and documentation of the events of the Holocaust, collection, examination and publication of testimonies to the Holocaust, the collection of the names of Holocaust victims, research and education. Its Archive collection, the largest and most comprehensive repository of material on the Holocaust in the world, comprises 58 million pages of documents and nearly 100,000 still photographs, along with thousands of films and videotaped testimonies of survivors. Yad Vashem's Library houses more than 87,000 titles in many languages, thousands of periodicals, and a large number of rare and precious items. The Historical Museum, the central element of Yad Vashem, presents the history of the Holocaust through photographs, artifacts, documents, and audio-visual aids. The Art Museum holds an important collection of Holocaust art. The Yad Vashem Institute grants the title "Righteous Among the Nations" to honor the non-Jews who acted according to the most noble principles of humanity, risking their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust.
The Institute of National Remembrance keeps close relations with the Yad Vashem Institute. There have been many contacts especially in the areas of investigation, education and archival co-operation. The Institute of National Remembrance has also been asked to participate in the investigations of the cases relating to the prestigious title of the Righteous Among the Nations awarded by Yad Vashem. Currently both institutes are elaborating the principles underlying their mutual institutional co-operation agreement.
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, established in 1977, is an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust by fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action. The Center confronts important contemporary issues including racism, antisemitism, terrorism and genocide and is accredited as an NGO both at the United Nations and UNESCO. With a membership of over 400,000 families, the Center is headquartered in Los Angeles and maintains offices in New York, Toronto, Miami, Jerusalem, Paris and Buenos Aires. The Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance Library and Archives has a collection of over 40,000 volumes and non-print materials. The Archives is a repository, incorporating photographs, diaries, letters, artifacts, artwork and rare books, which are available to researchers, students and the general public. The Simon Wiesenthal Center regularly publishes reports dealing with the Center's agenda. Topics have included terrorism, the Middle East, antisemitism, Holocaust education, digital hate and the internet, and extremist groups.
President Kieres visited the Center in Jerusalem and met its Director dr. Efraim Zuroff during his visit to Israel in May 2001. A meeting with Rabbi Abraham Cooker, an Associate Dean in the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, was organised during President Kieres' visit to the USA in February 2001. One of the results of the close co-operation is the Institute of National Remembrance's contribution to the Annual Status Report concerning Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals. In its last edition of April 2002, Poland, next to USA, Germany and Canada, has been evaluated as one of the most successful states in investigating and prosecuting Nazi criminals.
President of the Institute of National Remembrance Professor Leon Kieres visited Israel in May 2001. He paid visits to the Yad Vashem Institute where talks about bi-lateral co-operation in terms of archival and educational exchange were discussed. Professor Kieres talked also to the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rabbi Michael Melchior. He was received by the Director General of the Holocaust Museum Mr. Simcha Stein and by the representatives of the Poland-Israel Friendship Association in Israel.
The Institute of National Remembrance received a visit of the delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the end of 2001.
