Yad Vashem, located in Jerusalem, is Israel's official memorial site dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust.
On April 21, 2009, former Israeli chief rabbi Yisrael Lau invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit the memorial. Lau said that Ahmadinejad would be able to see proof that the Holocaust occurred for himself if he were to attend. Ahmadinejad has publicly spoke of his disbelief that the Holocaust ever occurred.Haaretz: Israel marks Holocaust day; Iranian leader gets invitation to Yad Vashem
Fast Facts:
Brief History
The idea for a museum honoring the victims of the Holocaust began in the midst of the Second World War, but only became a reality after the establishment of Israel in 1948. In 1953, the Knesset provided for the establishment of a museum and cultural center to forever memorialize the over six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, and a site at the foot of Mount Herzl, outside Jerusalem was chosen.
The complex contains a museum divided into ten exhibition halls, each describing a particular chapter in the Holocaust. The museum contains photographs, artifacts, letters, and other materials from representative survivors of the ordeal. The visitor's path through the museum begins underground, in darkness, and extends upward until the visitor emerges outside to an expansive view of the Israeli countryside.
