Avner Shalev has dedicated his decades-long career to advancing basic Jewish-Zionist and universal values in Israel and around the world. Throughout his past and present roles, he has had a formative influence on education and culture in the State of Israel.
From the beginning of his tenure, Shalev pioneered the redefinition of Holocaust remembrance and education, planning and implementing a comprehensive multiyear redevelopment plan with the goal of preparing Yad Vashem to meet the challenges of relevant Holocaust remembrance in the 21st century. To that end, he placed education at the forefront of Yad Vashem’s activities by founding the International School for Holocaust Studies, as well as y enlarging Yad Vashem’s archives and research facilities, and building a new Museum Complex. Shalev is the Chief Curator of Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum, inaugurated in 2005, as well as the permanent exhibit entitled "Shoah" housed in Block 27 in the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which opened in 2013.
Since the turn of the 21st century, Yad Vashem has created websites in eight languages featuring a wide array of historical Holocaust-related content, including the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, currently available in six languages – thus harnessing modern technology in the service of Holocaust remembrance and education for future generations.
Over the years, Shalev has welcomed many world leaders to the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, including Popes, Presidents and Prime Ministers as well as members of royalty. Under his leadership, Yad Vashem hosted the Fifth World Holocaust Forum attended by some 50 heads of state.
Over the past two decades, Avner Shalev has received many awards and citations, including:
- The "Israel Prize," accepted by Shalev in 2003 on behalf of Yad Vashem, in recognition of Yad Vashem’s special contribution to the State of Israel.
- The French "Legion of Honor," awarded to Shalev in 2007 for his efforts on behalf of Holocaust commemoration worldwide.
- Spain’s "Prince of Asturias" Award for Concord, accepted by Shalev on behalf of Yad Vashem in 2007.
- The "Worthy of Jerusalem" Award from the City of Jerusalem (2011).
- Israel's "Presidential Medal of Distinction," awarded to Shalev in 2014 by President Shimon Peres, for his outstanding contribution to the State of Israel and to humanity.
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's "Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education," awarded to Shalev in 2015 for his endeavors to imbue fundamental Jewish-Zionist and universal values in Israeli and world consciousness.
- "Order of Civil Merit" (Orden del Mérito Civil) awarded by the Kingdom of Spain in 2016 for Shalev's years of public service as Chairman of Yad Vashem and for the significant strides he has made in Holocaust education and commemoration in Israel and around the world.
Born in 1939 in Jerusalem, Avner Shalev served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) between 1956 and 1980, reaching the rank of Brigadier General. Shalev was wounded in action on the Egyptian front during the Six-Day War. Between 1972 and 1974, including the Yom Kippur War, he served as Bureau Chief for IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar. His other military positions included: Head of the Information and Instruction Division of the General Staff; Chief Education Officer and Head of the Education Corps; and Senior Lecturer at the IDF National Security College.
After retiring from military service, Shalev served for over a decade as Director General of the Culture Authority in Israel's Ministry of Education and Culture, and Chairman of the National Culture and Art Council. Shalev instituted new standards for Israel’s leading cultural bodies, and initiated programs – such as nationwide art, music and drama festivals – in order to increase cultural awareness and involvement. Shalev has played a key role in enhancing educational opportunities in Israel's peripheral regions.
Shalev holds a BA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Modern History of the Middle East and Geography, and graduated from the IDF Command and Staff College and National Security College. Among his publications are To Bear Witness: Holocaust Remembrance at Yad Vashem (2005) and We Are Here: Holocaust Survivors in Israel (2008).
* Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev retired as of February 2021.
