Israel taps former settler leader as new head of Yad Vashem

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s national Holocaust memorial has a new director. Israel’s government on Sunday approved the appointment of Dani Dayan as the new leader of Yad Vashem. The 65-year-old Dayan until recently was Israel’s consul general in New York. Before that, he led the Yesha council, an umbrella organization representing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Yad Vashem serves as both a museum and research institution. It’s a venerable body that hosts foreign dignitaries who arrive in Israel, and welcomes nearly one million visitors each year. Dayan’s appointment came more than a year after its longtime director announced his retirement.