JERUSALEM/PARIS (EJP)---The chairman of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Institute in in Jerusalem, will Thursday receive the Légion d’Honneur from French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a special ceremony at the Elysée presidential palace.

The Légion d’honneur or ‘’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur’’ is the highest decoration in France.

Yad Vashem, which is dedicated to Holocaust education, commemoration, research and remembrance, is being internationally honoured this week. On Friday, it will receive the prestigious international Prince of Asturias Award for Concord in Spain.

The French presidential letter notifying Shalev of the award states: "This prestigious distinction is presented to you for your extraordinary work on behalf of Holocaust remembrance worldwide. This is a reward for a man of peace, tolerance and sincerity, the person who has turned Yad Vashem into a place of renown, of mutual exchange for younger generations of all backgrounds and cultures."

In Spain, Yad Vashem was chosen from among 47 nominees from 28 countries. The Israeli institute was proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and supported by public personalities from around the world.

Spanish Royal family

The award ceremony will take place at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo in the presence of the Spanish Royal family. It will be carried live on Spanish Television.

Shalev will speak at the ceremony, along with Letters awardee author Amos Oz from Israel, and International Cooperation awardee, Nobel Prize Laureate Al Gore.

Holocaust survivors and Righteous Among the Nations will accompany Shalev on the stage to accept the award.

The Prince of Asturias Award is presented in 8 categories.

The Award for Concord is bestowed upon the person, persons or institution whose work has made an exemplary and outstanding contribution to mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence amongst men, to the struggle against injustice or ignorance, to the defence of freedom, or whose work has widened the horizons of knowledge or has been outstanding in protecting and preserving mankind’s heritage

Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev said: “In addition to expressing a recognition of the importance of Yad Vashem’s work around the world, these prestigious international awards also express a deep understanding that the memory of the Shoah - the murder of the Jews that took place in the center of Europe - has profound significance and meaning for the coexistence of the family of nations, today, and throughout the ages.”

Avner Shalev was appointed Chairman of Yad Vashem in 1993. From the beginning of his tenure, Shalev has striven to redefine Holocaust remembrance and education, introducing a far-reaching multiyear redevelopment plan.

This has included opening an International School for Holocaust Studies, enlarging Yad Vashem’s archives and research facilities, and building a new Museum Complex. He is Chief Curator of the new Holocaust History Museum that opened in March 2005.