The Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum launched English and Arabic video channels on Tuesday, just two days before Jews around the world begin their annual commemorations of the Holocaust.
Yad Vashem, the world's largest repository of information on the Holocaust, launched two YouTube channels in advance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurs on Thursday, May 1. The English channel contains testimonies from Holocaust survivors, as well as archival footage, historians’ lectures on key issues related to the Holocaust, footage from world leaders' visits to Yad Vashem, and human interest stories such as family reunions. The Arabic channel has testimonies and archival footage about the Holocaust with Arabic subtitles.
Yad Vashem says the channels are dynamic, and plans to add new videos frequently. Channels in additional languages are also to be added soon.
Avner Shalev, Chairman of Yad Vashem, explained, “We know that YouTube is one of the most popular websites today. This is equally true in the United States and Europe, as it is in Arabic speaking countries. Unfortunately, there is a plethora of misinformation and deliberate lies available on the Internet. The Yad Vashem channel will counter this material, and make reliable information widely available to anyone who seeks to know more about this terrible chapter in human history."
“By meeting the survivors through their testimonies," Shalev said, "and viewing the foremost experts in the field address difficult questions, viewers will be able to connect on yet another level to this pivotal and defining event."
The Yad Vashem Channels are at http://www.youtube.com/user/YadVashem and http://www.youtube.com/user/yadvashemarabic.