Sources inform “Globes” that Channel 1 was the only broadcaster that refused to air for free Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority's campaign to gather names of Holocaust victims. The campaign aims to collect the names of Holocaust victims for Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names and its Pages of Testimony.
21 companies, including the Channel 2 franchisees, HOT Telecom, YES satellite broadcaster, cable television channels Techelet, the Jewish content cable television channel and The History Channel, Noga Communications, RTV1, the Israel Network in North America, and leading Internet sites participated in the campaign, and provided Yad Vashem with free advertising space.
Channel 1 said in response, "The Yad Vashem campaign, including 30-second advertising spots and Internet advertising, was produced in three languages - Hebrew, English and Russian. The purpose of the campaign was to tell the public to surf the Yad Vashem website, fill the Pages of Testimony, available online for the first time, and fill missing pertinent information for the database."
In addition to commercial websites and broadcasters the websites of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel, the Israel Bar Association, the Israel Venture Association, the Knesset and Ministry of Foreign Affairs also participated in the campaign.
Following the launch of the online Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names yesterday, Yad Vashem plans to expand the campaign through notices in the press, provided that the newspapers agree to Yad Vashem's request to donate advertising space for the campaign as did other media.
So far, Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” and Yediot Communications have agreed to participate.
Yad Vashem yesterday reported that 400,000 hits on the central database website by people seeking the names of family members who perished in the Holocaust. 40% of the surfers came from Israel, 33% from North America, and the remainder from the rest of the world. Yad Vashem hopes to include five million names in the database.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 23, 2004