• Solly Kaplinski and Gail Asper unveil the plaque at Yad Vashem.

  • Winnipeg Community Solidarity Mission, led by Israel Asper, visits Yad Vashem on the eve of Yom Hashoah, April 8, 2002.

  • Closing Panel Session – International Conference on the Holocaust and Education, June 12-13, 2010 – Chairperson, Moses Levy.

  • Israel Asper launches The Asper International Holocaust Studies Program at Yad Vashem.

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“The Asper Foundation is proud to play an integral role in supporting Yad Vashem, a world renowned institution respected not only for commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, but imparting the lessons of the Holocaust and educating people worldwide to help ensure that the rally cry ‘Never Again’ refers not only to Jews but to all peoples.”

“With this generous gift from The Asper Foundation, Yad Vashem can continue its important task of Holocaust education, especially when the survivor generation is dwindling and the mantle of commemoration is being handed over to the next generations. Dr. Asper has demonstrated the centrality of Israel in the lives of the Jewish people and the importance of Holocaust education as a crucial component of one’s Jewish identity. The importance of this contribution to Yad Vashem cannot be overstated.”

Yad Vashem: The Asper International Holocaust Studies Program

The Asper International Holocaust Studies Program at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies

In April 2002, at the opening session of the International Conference on The Legacy of Holocaust Survivors: The Moral and Ethical Implications for Humanity, The Asper International Holocaust Studies Program was launched at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies. The program includes: Biannual international conferences, international outreach, professional development and training programs for educators, international seminars for educators from English-speaking countries and The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (a joint venture between governments and educators dealing with Holocaust denial, racism and xenophobia).

Key Programming

Educational Outreach in English Speaking Countries

As part of the mission of the International School for Holocaust Studies and the Asper Program, Yad Vashem reaches as many educators as possible, each year, and trains them how to properly teach the Holocaust. In order to achieve this, many Yad Vashem educators travel abroad to engage new audiences. They recruit participants for Yad Vashem seminars, conduct pre-seminar programming and conduct crucial follow-up programs for graduates of Yad Vashem seminars in Israel.

While this is usually done in person, during the COVID-19 pandemic, travel was completely curtailed and the outreach efforts were shifted to online. This enabled Yad Vashem to reach hundreds of thousands of learners in 15 languages, via webinars, zoom lectures, online workshops, and filmed content. It also spurred a new online course for educators called “Life Lessons – Bringing Holocaust History to Your Classroom.”

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)

As part of the mission of the International School for Holocaust Studies, The Asper Foundation underwrites Yad Vashem’s participation in The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998.  The IHRA unites governments and experts to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance worldwide and to uphold the commitments of the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust. The IHRA has 34 member countries, one liaison country and seven observer countries.

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