Pictured (right to left) Stan Polovets, Pyotr Aven, Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev, Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Foreign Minister Liberman, Minister Edelstein, and Special Advisor to the Chairman of Yad Vashem Arie Zuckerman
Photo: Isaac Harari
Signing the cooperation agreement between Yad Vashem and the Genesis Philanthropy Group - (from right) Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev and Director of the Genesis Philanthropy Group Stan Polovets
German Khan and Mikhail Fridman, two of the founders of the Genesis Philanthropy Group, rekindling the eternal flame during a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman speaking during the ceremony

On June 12, 2009, a ceremony was held at Yad Vashem marking the signing of the cooperation agreement between Yad Vashem and the Genesis Philanthropy Group. The Gensis Philanthropy was established in the summer of 2007 by Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Pyotr Aven, Alex Knaster, and Stan Polovets. The mission of Genesis Philanthropy Group is to develop and enhance Jewish identity among Russian-speaking Jews worldwide, with a particular emphasis on the former Soviet Union, North America, and Israel.

The visit of the heads of the Genesis Philanthropy Group at Yad Vashem included the signing of the cooperation agreement, a special meeting of the Yad Vashem Directorate, a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance and a festive ceremony for their contribution to Yad Vashem.

Yad Vashem is launching a comprehensive new program aimed at raising awareness and deepening knowledge of the Holocaust among Russian speakers. The new initiative is made possible by a four-year, $4 million grant from the Genesis Philanthropy Group.

The grant will promote inter-disciplinary projects in formal and informal education, research and publications, archival documentation, Internet outreach, exhibitions, Righteous Among the Nations from the areas of the Former Soviet Union, and the development and maintenance of the Russian language online interactive portal, containing documents, images, educational units and the interactive program “Children in the Ghetto”

Among the programs to be included in the initiative is a project to work with formal and informal educators in Russian-speaking communities in Israel to broaden Holocaust education in the schools and community centers. Each year, Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies will focus on two Israeli cities with large Russian speaking populations. Through seminars for educators and students, activities in community centers, and working with Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans, Holocaust education will be intensified throughout the community.

“The efforts to encourage meaningful education and commemoration of the Holocaust among Russian speakers are crucial, since the Holocaust is an important building block of Jewish identity, and a historical event that continues to reverberate among young people today,” said Avner Shalev, Chairman of Yad Vashem. “Unfortunately due to the historical circumstances, the study of the Holocaust in the areas of the Former Soviet Union has been underdeveloped over the years. The grant from Genesis will allow us to focus more intensively on this critical aspect of Holocaust education.”

“The Holocaust is a key issue that touches every Jew, even those who never experienced it within their own families”, said Stan Polovets, CEO and one of the five founders of GPG. “This tragedy with all the attached sorrow gives a deeper insight into Jewish history, teaches us about the wider perspective of Judaism, helping to strengthen Jewish identity among the Russian-speaking Jews and the sense of belonging to the Jewish people”.

Another key aspect of the new program is the establishment of a special chair, within the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, dedicated to advancing research of the Holocaust in the Former Soviet Union.