Yad Vashem and Museum of the Bible have signed a formal cooperation agreement to strengthen ties between Jewish and Christian communities and support Yad Vashem’s Holocaust commemoration and education efforts across the world.

The agreement, called the “Declaration of Cooperation,” was signed in Washington, D.C. at Yad Vashem’s 2016 Christian Leadership Conference.

With the agreement, Yad Vashem will be better able to meet the rising demand among Christian individuals, youth members, and pastors in recent years for authoritative sources on the history and facts of the Shoah. In addition to continuing to support seminars at Yad Vashem, the Museum of the Bible will also help Yad Vashem develop ties with Christian ministries across the world, recruit candidates to Christian Leadership Seminars, organize Yad Vashem events, bolster Yad Vashem’s Holocaust commemoration efforts with the general public, and spearhead public relations efforts in areas related to Christian Holocaust commemoration.

Museum of the Bible has deep ties to Israel, the land of the Bible and the People of the Book, including partnerships with other Israel-based organizations, notably the Israel Antiquities Authority. When Museum of the Bible opens next year, the Israel Antiquities Authority will display rare archaeological objects from Israel in a dedicated 4,000 square foot gallery through this partnership. Museum of the Bible is also dedicated to supporting the excavation of archaeological sites in Israel beginning an archeological dig at Tel-Shimron, one of the largest and most historically significant sites in Israel.