Can the Holocaust be Taught Separate from Anti-Semitism?

You can separate a pea from the pod, but can you separate the Holocaust and Anti-Semitism?  That is the question/quandary currently facing Germany, and it is not an easy one to answer, as the excerpt below from an article by Donald Snyder shows.

Teaching about the Holocaust has not kept the old wounds of Jew hatred from reopening in Germany.  This is the reality that the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, implicitly acknowledged October 17 when it debated the state of anti-Semitism in the country following a disturbing government-commissioned report delivered to it last January. The report, written by a commission of nine academics that reviewed data from a large body of recent research, found that one-fifth of German citizens harbor anti-Semitic attitudes.

Lawmakers attending the debate, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, agreed across party lines on the need to act on the study’s recommendations.  But one of the report’s most important recommendations may prove to be among the most difficult to implement. The study calls for education about anti-Semitism in Germany to be separated from the study of the Holocaust.

Deidre Berger, director of the American Jewish Committee’s office in Berlin, is concerned about  this.

“There is a belief that if you teach young Germans about the Holocaust and the Nazi period, they won’t become anti-Semitic,” Berger said. “But this is frequently not true.” Holocaust teaching is losing its effectiveness in the fight against anti-Semitism, she said, particularly with younger Germans several generations removed from the event.

Corrie Ten Boom learned first hand about Anti-Semitism – - and the Holocaust.  Because she was not guilty of the former she literally was forced to suffer through the latter.  To learn about her story, read her book THE HIDING PLACE, or take a virtual tour of her home in Ha’arlem, Holland, which is now a museum by going to www.tenboom.com.  This represents the ending of her family’s story, however, which began with a 100 year old weekly prayer meeting that was held in their home for the purpose of praying according to Psalm 122:6 – - to pray for the peace of Jerusalem!  Today, as always, this is a verse that needs adhering to – - one that we should follow each and every day!

To read Mr. Snyder’s article in toto, and read or leave comments on the article, go to The Jewish Daily Forward website.

Denying Holocaust Way of Life

Legal loopholes may be the bane of society.  Allowing fiends to go unpunished, or have their punishments reduced, these loopholes are often created when a judge’s interpretation of a law supercedes its intent.  That is what the excerpt below from an article by Allan Hall regarding author/Holocaust denier David Irving shows to be the case:

Holocaust denier David Irving has won a surprise victory in a German court – thanks to the EU – that allows him entry into the country next year after overturning a ban that ran for another decade.Irving, 74, has written a series of books about the Third Reich denying the historical evidence for the Holocaust of more than six million Jews during WW2.

The Munich court’s decision means that a citizen convicted of a crime in a country signed up to the EU cannot automatically bar someone convicted of committing a crime from returning to their land.But legal experts said this was an ‘interpretation’ and was not an automatic ruling for all countries.

Irving remains unwanted in Australia, Italy, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.He is also forbidden to enter Austria, where in 2006 he was sentenced to three years in prison for ‘re-engagement in Nationalist Socialist activities.’

Corrie Ten Boom knew that the Holocaust was real, for she witnessed and experienced all of its horrors first hand.  To learn about her ordeals, and those of her family, read her book THE HIDING PLACE, or take a virtual tour of her home in Ha’arlem, Holland, which has been turned into museum by going to www.tenboom.com.  While we hopefully will never have to suffer the atrocities the Tenbooms did to help God’s chosen people, we can do what the Tenbooms did for a hundred years prior to WW II, show our love for them, and for God, by following the dictates of Psalm 122:6 and pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

To read Hall’s article in its entirety, go to The Daily Mail Online website.

Anti-Semitic Hatred Passed on by Parents

The flames of hatred will never die down when they are fanned by the most trusted individuals in our lives:  our own mother and father.  That, according to his brother Abdelkader, is exactly what French gunman Mohamed Merah fell victim to, as explained in the excerpt from a recent article by AP below:

The radicalization of the French gunman who killed seven people on an eight-day shooting spree this spring began at home, his brother recounts in a new book and documentary, according to media reports.

Mohamed Merah killed three Jewish children, a rabbi and three paratroopers in and around the southern city of Toulouse in March before dying in a standoff with police. Merah claimed links to al-Qaida and said he had received training at an Islamist paramilitary camp in Pakistan.  One of his brothers, Abdelkader, also faces preliminary charges in the case and is in police custody.

The attacks raised painful questions about whether France was failing to integrate the children of Muslim immigrants, like the Merahs, who are of Algerian origin. Many blamed the poverty of the neighborhoods many immigrants and their children live in for driving them to radical Islam.

But a new book by another of Merah brother, Abdelghani, says his parents, particularly his mother, are responsible for Mohamed’s radicalization.  In an excerpt publish in Belgian media, Abdelghani remembers how his mother drove home a message of anti-Semitism.

“My mother always said, ‘We, the Arabs, we were born to hate Jews.’ This speech, I heard it all throughout my childhood,” Abdelghani says in the documentary, according to the RTL.be website.

Those well versed in the Word of God know that if what Abdelkader claimed is true it is  no wonder that Mohamed responded the way he did.   Proverbs 10:12a tells us, “Hatred stirs up strife.”  That, perhaps, is the very worst aspect of the passing on of Anti-Semitism from generation to generation – - it stirs up strife!  That is why it is imperative that we continue to pray per Psalm 122:6 – - that we pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

To read the AP article in its entirety, go to The Washington Post website.

Today – Another Sad Day for Holocaust Survivors

Over sixty years have passed since WWII, but Holocaust survivors have suffered yet more discouraging news.  Holocaust survivor financial assistance for medical needs has been suspended for the balance of the year.

The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel announced yesterday that it has temporarily run out of funds due to inadequate allocations in the budget to meet increasing requests.  Funding for the foundation is primarily provided by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (60%) and the Israeli Ministry of Finance (30%).

The shortage will affect some 8,000 survivors to one extent or another.  The agency has been processing 100 – 150 requests for aid each day, but a $5.1 million shortage will mean that no requests will be processed for the duration of 2012.  The money is issued as reimbursement for a variety of medical-related expenses including dental work and eyeglasses.

As one would expect, some people have spoken out over the failure of the system to provide what it has promised, because their wallets are already thin.  Kibbutz Hanita resident, Zeev Abas complained that his bank account went into overdraft because he has yet to be reimbursed for a $1,000 hearing aid that he purchased in May.

Rony Kalinsky, the GM of the Foundation was quite pointed in letting people know that the shortfall was a result of insufficient allocation of funding from the Ministry of Finance.  “The only reason the foundation was forced to temporarily shut down the flow of grants on such a short notice is that the state failed to allocate additional resources for the survivors of the Holocaust.”

Elazar Stern, the Foundation Director, indicated that this happens to some extent every year.  “Like every year, we’re still waiting, even though we’ve been talking about this for a year already.”  Most likely in reference to the age of many of the survivors (Mr. Abas is 77), Stern said that it’s not a long term problem because the number of requests will diminish over the next two years.

I have good news for these Holocaust survivors.  The “Bank of Heaven” will never under allocate, and no matter how much of God’s treasure you withdraw, the amount on balance is never depleted.  God has clearly demonstrated His ability to provide even when there seems to be no resources from which to draw.  Manna appeared in the desert when human eyes could see no way to feed a new nation of people. (Exodus 16)  There was always enough.  Never too little; never too much.  Elijah spent three years living with a widow and her son who had only enough for one last meal, yet there was “always enough flour and olive oil left, just as the Lord had promised.” (I Kings 17:10-16).  Jesus blessed two loaves and five fish and over 5,000 people were fed, with food left over. (Luke 9:12-17)

Jehovah-jireh is His name.  He is the Lord Who Provides.  He always has.  He always will.  And He keeps His promises.

Pray with us for the Lord to supply the needs of these survivors of the Holocaust who, in their latter years, cannot supply or afford all of their own needs.  Pray that they will recognize who their Provider is and that they will worship and adore Him.  Pray for peace in the Land, especially for them.  And pray with us for the peace of Jerusalem.

For more background on this story, read the articles in the Jerusalem Post, the JTA, YNet News, and Israel National News.

Surviving the Holocaust and Hurricane Sandy

You don’t live to be 100 years old and not face a few adversities in life.  Morris Sorid, however, has had more than his share of life threatening challenges in life.  As the article below by the JEWISH DAILY FORWARD staff shows, he is most philosophical about it!

A 101-year-old Holocaust survivor and author is believed to be the oldest evacuee from super storm Sandy.  Wheelchair-bound Morris Sorid was plucked from his nursing home in the Rockaways along with hundreds of seniors and is now waiting out the recovery in another Queens facility, the Daily News reported.

“To tell you the truth,” he told the News, “the hurricane doesn’t excite me too much.”

Sorid was already married with a young daughter in the town of Pruzany, Poland, now in Belarus, when World War II broke out. He fled the Nazis, hid in forests and eventually made it to Brooklyn, but his daughter was killed in a concentration camp.  At 95, he wrote a book about the experience, “One More Miracle.”

As storm waters threatened last weekend, he and some 3,000 other seniors were evacuated out of Sandy’s path from nursing homes in Queeens and Long Island.  Things are a bit unsettled, but he’s not complaining.

“I’m safe,” he told the News. “What is there to mind?”

Corrie Ten boom and her family saved a number of people from the Holocaust, and they didn’t mind, either – - not even when they were imprisoned for their efforts.  To learn more about their adventures, read her book, THE HIDING PLACE, or take a virtual tour of her home in Haarlem, Holland that is now a museum by going to www.tenboom.com.  While we may never be called on to save the Jews, we can pray for them like the Ten Booms did for over a hundred years prior to WW II.  Following the dictates of Psalm 122:6 they did, and we can and should, pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

To learn more about Morris Sorid the 101 year-old Holocaust survivor, go to The Huffington Post website.

The Sephardim Jews During the Holocaust

When we think of the Holocaust and the absolute atrocious manner in which the Jews were treated, we seldom stop to think that there are, and were, two major distinct subcultures of Judaism in Europe during that time: the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews.

Ashkenazic Jews are those from France, Germany, and Eastern Europe and their descendants.  Most American Jews are Ashkenazic, who migrated from Germany and Eastern Europe in the late 19th & early 20th Centuries.

Sephardic Jews come from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), North Africa and the Middle East This group is often subdivided even further, into the “Sephardim,” from Spain and Portugal, and the “Mizarchim,” from Northern Africa and the Middle East.

In the excerpt below from her article, Barbara Rea discusses the presentation that Aron Rodrique, PhD, presented on Monday, October 29, 2012. Basically, it is Rodrique’s contention that contrary to popular belief, the Sephardim did, in fact, suffer as much their Ashkenazic cousins did.

For Washington University’s annual Holocaust Memorial Lecture, Stanford University scholar Aron Rodrigue, PhD, will discuss the lesser known experiences of the Sephardic Jewries during the Holocaust  Rodrigue will present “Reflections on Sephardic Jewries and the Holocaust” at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, in Umrath Hall Lounge on the Danforth Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Holocaust Memorial Lecture is an annual event that was inaugurated in 1989.  This year’s lecture is the first to focus specifically on the experience of the Sephardim,” says Tabea Linhard, PhD, associate professor of Spanish in Arts & Sciences.

Rodrigue is renowned for his scholarship in modern Jewish history, Jews of modern France, minority identities and the Ottoman Empire. As a specialist in the history and culture of Sephardi and French Jewries, he is one of the world’s foremost authorities on understanding their experiences during the Holocaust.

As a result of his research, Rodrigue has put to rest the widely held notion that Sephardim living in the Balkans and other European lands during the Holocaust were not as badly affected as the Ashkenazi in Eastern Europe. The truth is that they experienced widespread persecution and destruction under Nazi occupation.

Regardless of their “subculture,” we know that God has chosen the Jews to be His people. We learn this in Gen. 17:7-8, where God tells Abraham that He will create an everlasting covenant with him and his descendants for all time. That’s why we need to make sure that we continue to adhere to the dictates of Ps. 122:6 and pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

To read Ms. Rea’s article in its entirety, go to:  

Foremost Authority Discusses Sephardim Experience During Holocaust

To read more about Jewish subcultures, go to:

Judaism 101:Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews

Holocaust “Resistance Fighters” Unite After Nearly 70 Years

How did you spend your teen years?  Playing sports or video games?  In Europe during WW II thousands of Jewish teens were involved in the war – - not playing war, but actually helping to fight it by sabotaging German army supply lines.  To say they have a story to tell would be an understatement, as the excerpt below from an article by Renee Ghert-Zand shows:

Last November, a family reunion like no other took place in New York.

None of the attendees were actually related, but that didn’t matter. It was an emotional gathering of 55 brothers and sisters in resistance, Jewish partisans who had, as teenagers and young adults, hidden and survived in the forests of Europe and fought the Nazis by sabotaging German army supply lines. They had parted at the end of World War II, and never thought they would see one another again.

These Holocaust survivors were brought together by the Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation (JPEF), a San Francisco-based non-profit organization that produces and disseminates educational materials about Jewish WWII partisans to 6,500 educators around the world.

Mitch Braff, JPEF’s founder and executive director, knew that, given the advanced age of the attendees, this reunion was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. A filmmaker by training, he instinctively perceived that the occasion should be documented in an artful and meaningful way.

“I see things through a filmmaker’s lens, and I knew this would make a great documentary movie,” Braff said.

“If you or your family are aware of any partisans still living, please have them contact jewishpartisans.org. We’d love to have them attend the dinner with us,” Zwick requested.

Of the tens of thousands of Jews who were once partisans fighting the Nazis, Braff expected that perhaps 20 or so would respond to the video and JPEF’s other outreach efforts. To his astonishment, 55 ended up making the trip to New York. Many of the former partisans, nearly all now octogenarians and older, were local, coming from their homes in New York and New Jersey. Others journeyed to the reunion with their families from Montreal, Florida, Texas and California.

At the emotional center of the film are two of the attendees: Allen Small, 84, a retired women’s fashion executive from Florida, and Leon Bakst, 87, a retired grocer from Dallas. Small had recognized Bakst’s name on the list of former partisans who had committed to coming, but Bakst had not recognized that of Small, who had been known during and before the war as Avraham Meir Shmulevitch.

Small had known Leon as Leibl, and the two had been friends and schoolmates in Ivye, Poland (about 50 miles from Minsk, now part of Belarus).

 “Thank God for that organization,” Small said of JPEF. “Now I have family.”

Corrie Ten Boom  had a family, too, and much of it was lost at the hands of the very group these young resistance fighters were combating.  To learn about the Ten Boom’s involvement in WW II, read Corrie’s book THE HIDING PLACE, or take a virtual tour of her home in Ha’arlem, Holland, which has since been converted into a museum.  Prior to WW II the Ten Boom family had spent a hundred years doing something we can do today – - praying per Psalm 122:6 – - praying for the peace of Jerusalem!

To read more about the Resistance Fighters Reunion, go to The Times of Israel website