Former High Court Justice to Chair Righteous Among the Nations Commission

Jerusalem, 4 February, 2024 (TPS) -- Retired deputy Supreme Court President Hanan Melcer was appointed Chairman of the Committee to Commemorate the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem.

“It is a great honor for me to be appointed to this position, especially considering that both of my parents survived the Holocaust,” Prof. Melcer said. “My father, Advocate Yosef Melcer, of blessed memory, was rescued by Oskar Schindler, recognized by Yad Vashem in 1962 as Righteous Among the Nations, while my mother, Yocheved Melcer (née Wexler), of blessed memory, survived Auschwitz.”

The designation, “Righteous Among the Nations” is an honorific title bestowed by the State of Israel to non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis. The program is part of Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to victims of the Holocaust. Yad Vashem is Israel

More than 28,000 people from 51 have been honored by Yad Vashem since the program was founded in 1963. Yad Vashem is Israel’s official memorial to victims of the Holocaust.

The committee Melcer now vets people nominated for the honor by examining documentation, interviewing witnesses and assessing the personal risks taken to save Jewish lives.

Melcer, now 72, who sat on the High Court from 2007-2021, will chair the committee for five years.