The director of the Or Le'ahim organization, Binyamin Walken, sent a strongly written letter to the directorate of the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance center demanding that it remove Christian and missionary books from the private bookstore on its premises.
The letter follows complaints by visitors to the museum who claimed that they were surprised to find Christian and missionary literature at a place dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
In his letter to Yad Vashem Director General Tzvika Fayirizen, Walken stressed that these books harm the institution's values and public trust: "This is a serious lack of sensitivity, especially because the Yad Vashem museum is dedicated to the memory and sacrifice of the victims of the Holocaust.
The organization demanded that the books be removed and claimed that inaction would harm the national institution's reputation. "Immediately remove the missionary books from the museum shop, and take clear steps to prevent such incidents from repeating themselves in the future."
Museum management denied the claims of missionary activity and explained the rationale behind the book offerings at the shop: "This is a souvenir and book store belonging to an outside franchisee which caters to tourists from a variety of religions. The franchisee offers a variety of items, including those relevant to the location, as well as items relevant to the visitors of the site. It should be noted that this does not include missionary books."
The management further stated that "hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Yad Vashem in a year. Therefore, the store also caters to Christians who visit the site."
