ISRAELI HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL SUSPENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH OLIGARCH ABRAMOVICH

Thu 10 March 2022:

Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial has suspended a strategic partnership with Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Yad Vashem announced last month that Abramovich’s pledged funding would strengthen its endeavours in the areas of Holocaust research and remembrance.

The announcement came hours after the UK froze Abramovich’s assets and slapped a travel ban on the Chelsea Football Club owner, throwing his plans to sell the European and world club champions into disarray.

On 23 February, the day before Russia invaded Ukraine, Dani Dayan, the chairman of Yad Vashem, announced that Abramovich had made an eight-figure donation to the centre, amounting to millions of shekels, that “will significantly strengthen Yad Vashem’s mission”.

“This partnership highlights his continued dedication to Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, and buttresses Yad Vashem’s determination to remain the gatekeeper of accurate, fact-based memory of the Shoah,” Dayan said.

A British government document announcing the move said Abramovich has had a “close relationship for decades” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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“This association has included obtaining a financial benefit or other material benefit from Putin and the government of Russia,” it said.

Earlier this month, Israeli media reported that Yad Vashem and several influential figures had asked the US ambassador not to sanction Abramovich prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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