Another Holocaust Remembrance Day has passed, leaving the Jewish nation with much sobbing, memories and pain. I sat down with my family to watch various movies detailing the stories of Holocaust survivors and I heard from my dear aunt’s mouth the personal account of the voyage she made from France to Israel, together with my grandfather on the ship, The Exodus.
It is difficult to describe what the Jews went through at the time of the Holocaust and comprehend the extent of evil that led the Nazis to try to exterminate the Jewish nation.
The many photographs that were shared among my Facebook friends made tangible the severity of hate that exists for the Jewish people. It is not easy to look at piles of Jewish bodies next to smiling Nazi officers, Nazi soldiers cutting the beards of Rabbis, and Jewish children lifting their hands, fearfully before a shooting squad.
It all began through brain-washing, the use of media, and the transference of hate, where Jews were depicted as animals and bloodsuckers. Millions of people stood by, doing nothing to stop the deluge of poison that eventually brought about the Second World War.
The question that begs to be asked is, what has changed since then? The answer is one thing alone-the State of Israel.
The current, 2013 edition of global anti-Semitism is record-breaking and continues to spread without hindrance. You can now spot swastikas in every corner of Europe, New York and even in Israel. The octopus drawings that liken the Jew to one who possesses long arms, appear today just like they did 70 years ago and the physical injury to Jews has begun to rage, as well.
In various places within the U.S., there are still those who believe that Jews have horns, and millions more around the world today are driven by the erroneous notion that all of the world’s Jews are holding on to millions of dollars from their own bank accounts.
Even if I try to describe the magnitude of the anti-Semitism phenomenon that is quickly expanding by global proportions, I couldn’t assess the exact figure, nor the extent of danger, but the only answer that stands before us in order to continue existing in a world filled with such immense evil, is for all of us to support the Jewish State.
The Jewish people must concern themselves of the fact that the Jewish State must remain strong and firm. We must cultivate every corner of Israel and raise our children with the values and ideology that will lead us to a prideful and united future.
The State of Israel is our precious diamond and our children’s future but we must not forget our brothers in the Diaspora.
Currently, in many of Europe’s cities, it is becoming nearly impossible to remain living as a Jew.For many years now, Jews do not dare to wear kippas or go around with Stars of David around their necks for fear of the repercussions. It is easy to observe in cities like New York, which is home to approximately 2 millions Jews, when synagogues are protected by police teams and private security personnel for fear of attack. These same synagogues are situated right next to churches which need no such protection.
The State of Israel is obligated to stand with Her back straight and serve as the voice of Diaspora Jewry before the political leaders and religious figures of Europe. It is not possible that an additional storm of hate and attacks on the Jewish people will occur silently, in the very same places where 6 millions of us were murdered.
The same evil which has been allowed to spread in a democratic fashion, must be stopped. The small trickle of human injury, such as those witnessed in Toulouse, France show us precisely what awaits us in the future.
The words, “never again,” hold a much deeper and important meaning than a momentary saying usually does. These two words must lead us in two directions. On the one hand, we must continue to remember our past, yet we must just as importantly, fight the evil that is anti-Semitism, so that we can all have a deservedly bright future.