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Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Law – Yad Vashem, 5713-1953

חוק זכרון השואה והגבורה – יד ושם, תשי"ג-1953

Published: 1953-08-28Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-26 · Last amended 2017-08-07✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-11
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

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Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

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Yad Vashem Remembrance Authority§

1.

There is hereby established in Jerusalem a Remembrance Authority, Yad Vashem –

(1)for the six million members of the Jewish people who were struck down in the sanctity of martyrdom and slaughtered and destroyed by the Nazis and their collaborators;
(2)for the households of the House of Jacob that were annihilated and laid waste by the oppressor;
(3)for the communities, synagogues, movements and organisations, and public, cultural, educational, religious and charitable institutions that were laid waste and destroyed out of a wicked conspiracy to blot out the name of Israel and its culture from under the heavens;
(4)for the spiritual fortitude of Jews who gave their lives for their people in holiness and purity;
(5)for the heroism of Jewish soldiers in armies, and of underground fighters in settlements and forests, who risked their lives in the campaigns of battle against the Nazi oppressor and his collaborators;
(6)for the tapestry of heroism of the besieged in ghettos and their fighters who rose up and kindled the fire of revolt to save the honour of their people;
(7)for the sublime and persistent struggle on the threshold of destruction of the masses of the House of Israel for their human image and their Jewish culture;
(8)for the ceaseless efforts of illegal immigration by the besieged, and for the devotion and heroism of brethren who came forth to rescue the survivors and liberate them;
(9)and for the Righteous Among the Nations who risked their lives to save Jews.

Function and Powers of Yad Vashem§

2.

The function of Yad Vashem is to gather into the Homeland the memory of all those members of the Jewish people who fell and gave their lives, fought and rebelled against the Nazi enemy and his collaborators, and to establish a name and memorial for them, for the communities, organisations and institutions that were destroyed on account of their belonging to the Jewish people, and likewise to perpetuate the memory of the Righteous Among the Nations; for these purposes Yad Vashem shall be empowered –

(1)to establish memorial projects on its own initiative and under its own management;
(2)to collect, research and publish all testimony on the Holocaust and heroism and to transmit its lessons to the people;
(3)to instil in the Land and throughout the whole people the day designated by the Knesset as the Day of Remembrance for the Holocaust and Heroism, and to cultivate a spirit of unified remembrance for its heroes and victims;
(4)to confer upon members of the Jewish people who were annihilated and fell in the days of the Holocaust and the revolt commemorative citizenship of the State of Israel, as a token of their ingathering to their people;
(4a)to confer upon the Righteous Among the Nations honorary citizenship, and if they have passed away – commemorative citizenship, of the State of Israel, as a token of appreciation for their deeds;
(4b)to establish a memorial project for the perpetuation of the memory and heroism of World War II veterans who risked their lives in the campaigns of battle against the Nazi oppressor and his collaborators;
(5)to approve and guide projects engaged in perpetuating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and its heroes, or to cooperate with such projects;
(6)to represent Israel in international projects whose purpose is the perpetuation of the memory of the victims of the Nazis and the fallen of the war against them;
(7)to carry out any other act that may be required for the performance of its function.
2a.§

(Repealed — תשע״ז)

Yad Vashem – an Incorporated Body§

3.

Yad Vashem is an incorporated body, entitled to enter into contracts, to acquire and hold assets and to dispose of them, and to be a party to any legal proceeding and to any other negotiation.

Institutions of Yad Vashem§

4.

The governing institutions of Yad Vashem shall be a Council and a Directorate.

Budget of Yad Vashem§

5.

The participation of the State Treasury in the establishment and maintenance of Yad Vashem shall be determined in the State budget; Yad Vashem shall operate pursuant to its own budget, the revenues to cover which shall come from such participation, and from the material participation of national and public institutions and organisations, from its projects and services, from membership fees, subscriptions and supporters' contributions, from estates, grants and donations, and also from other funds and material resources that it may raise with the approval of the Government.

Exemption from Taxes§

5a.
(a)The Remembrance Authority, Yad Vashem, shall have the same status as the State with regard to the payment of taxes.
(b)Notwithstanding anything provided in any law, every transaction of the Remembrance Authority, Yad Vashem, and all of its assets shall be exempt from any fee, property tax or other compulsory payment payable to the State or to a local authority.

Articles of Yad Vashem§

6.

The member of the Government authorised by it to implement this Law (hereinafter – the Minister) shall, with the approval of the Government, enact the articles of Yad Vashem, which shall take effect from the date of their publication in Reshumot (Official Gazette).

Provisions of the Articles§

7.

The articles shall prescribe –

(1)the composition of the Council, the manner of its establishment, its powers and the procedures for its convening;
(2)the composition of the Directorate, the manner of its establishment, its powers and its working procedures;
(3)the ways and arrangements for convening conferences and assemblies;
(4)the conditions for the conferral of honorary citizenship and commemorative citizenship and the procedures for their conferral;
(5)the means of marking the participation in the campaigns of battle against the Nazi oppressor and his collaborators of Jewish soldiers and underground fighters and those besieged in ghettos;
(6)the procedures for the preparation and approval of the budget, and provisions regarding finances and financial management;
(7)other provisions that the Minister shall determine to be necessary for the maintenance of Yad Vashem as a Remembrance Authority.

Regulations§

8.

The Minister may make Regulations on any matter relating to the implementation of this Law.

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LawEducationNational Symbols & Heritage

חוק זכרון השואה והגבורה – יד ושם, תשי"ג-1953

Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Law

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