The Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum’s International School for Holocaust Studies is set to be held this week for the first time since October 7, bringing together 150 teachers from across the world for an international seminar.
The seminar is usually held year-round by the museum and attracts over 2,000 teachers to over 70 seminars; however, the museum now says Holocaust studies have suffered gravely following the war.
"The atmosphere is toxic and there’s a feeling that no one wants to touch this contentious topic. The Holocaust means Israel and Israel means the war in Gaza, so everyone prefers to stay away from it," described one of the center's employees, who gives lectures on the Holocaust and antisemitism to foreign teachers.
"In one of the lectures, I explained how words can indicate developing antisemitism. I gave the term 'genocide' as an example of how it is used irresponsibly. In response, one of the teachers from the U.S. said, 'That's what you’re doing in Gaza – genocide.' I was shocked to hear this from a teacher who herself teaches about the Holocaust. The situation is troubling,” she added.
As a result, many international seminars planned to be held at Yad Vashem have been postponed or moved abroad, and a large conference planned to be held in Australia was canceled.
"We understood that it’s easier for us to explain why the State of Israel isn’t a remnant of illegitimate colonialism or an expression of apartheid by deepening the learning about antisemitism and discussing the history of Israel and Zionism and thus the topic of the Holocaust is better received," explained Dr. Yael Richler-Friedman, Yad Vashem’s pedagogical director.
The teachers' conference set to open this week is expected to host teachers from 42 countries, including those in which antisemitism was seen on the rise in recent months, such as South Africa, the UK, France, and the U.S. "Some schools around the world have stopped teaching the Holocaust in classrooms since the war began," said Richler-Friedman.
In Australia, a secret group of teachers was established with the aim of getting more teachers to stop teaching the Holocaust in school. Some teachers are also sending harsh letters against Yad Vashem, accusing it of propaganda and whitewashing the "genocide" Israel is allegedly enacting in the Gaza Strip.
"In many cases, the hostility and opposition these teachers face aren’t only in the classroom but are also being felt from their colleagues," Richler-Friedman added. "Other teachers with an antisemitic background now feel comfortable expressing their opinions openly."
A UNESCO report published last week also warned the use of artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute to the distortion of facts and denial of the Holocaust as AI allows for the manipulation of historical information about the Holocaust in several ways, including by creating misleading or false content, forging testimonies, and simplifying information to the point of historical distortion.
However, Yad Vashem is cautiously optimistic. "Some teachers were actively signing petitions in support of Israel," Richler-Friedman shared. "Others in the Czech Republic even wrote to the Palestinian embassy, saying they see the Palestinian Authority as directly responsible for the fate of Alex Dancyg, a senior Holocaust lecturer whom they met at Yad Vashem and who was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7."