I didn't realize...
I read this morning that the native Israeli Jews resented, for a time, the Holocaust survivors. They were seen as "Lambs to the slaughter" while the Zionists like Ben Hurion were seen as brave and heroic. The holocaust was not talked about (outside of the heroics in the Warsaw Ghetto) in schools and many of the graduates from Israeli high schools were never informed about the magnitude of what happened in the 1940's.
Once the trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann occured in 1967, many Jews came out of the woodwork to testify against him. Only then were the heroics of Holocaust Jews noticed. Then the attitude went to the other end of the spectrum.
The Jews were bombarded with facts about the Holocaust. They were even given quizzes (in the Air Force) about how many Jews died at certain concentration camps. The Holocaust was then turned into (and currently is) the social foundation upon which Judaism is based worldwide--despite different interpretations of what the faith actually is (i.e. orthodox vs. reform).
(taken from From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman)
posted by Anonymous @ 8:21 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Uhhhh??? So how are we supposed to provide satirical/rhetorical/outlandish commentary to historical fact. . . ?
Has it been a historical misdeed to galvanize jewish cultural around the tragedy of the holocaust? Beats me, but probably to the some odd milion people who died and to the families who were left without them, the holocaust represents something which I don't feel comfortable speculating.
But, to the general idea that groups of people can be manipulated by tragic events, to the point that their group identity (which may have centered around political or religious beliefs) can be transformed "overnight," that points seems relevant, particularly for groups that have been traditionally marginalized.
EG. African Americans - death of martin luther king jr.
Rural America - Sept. 11
Black South Africans - locking up of mandela
Yeah, not a lot of room to debate anything there. It was just a tidbit that I read on Trax this morning.
I though it was interesting that the collective feeling of such a static, historical event was so dynamic and volatile.
Like you, I can't make a judgment on it. I thought it was an interesting idea.
in my opinion, morality has never been the motivation for political action, it has merely served as the means for gaining politicl will. Our motivations for "fighting the war on terror" are not moral and the rhetoric that has been seeded by the administration that this is the "cruisade" of our era is just propoganda to unite people behind a "cause." This technique is not new (read A People's History of the United States). I believe this war, as other wars, revolve around controlling foreign countries to exploit for economic gain. Independent foreign nations with truly sovereign governments (ie those we don't have our puppet strings on) represent the greatest threat to america. So, we either destabliize them by keeping them poor, or overthrow their government (Iraq) to impose our own.
I think you have a contradiction in your post pontificator.
1. Nations ought to act in their best interest. (from your paragraph #1)
2. We have a special obligation to Isreal because of long standing injustice (your paragraph #2).
3. The special obligation we owe Isreal requires that we put their interests before ours (how I read paragraph #2).
4. Therefore, we both ought to act in our best interest and in the best interest of Israel.
5. Acting in the best interest of Isreal is not in our best interest (this premise is debateable)
6. Therefore, we both ought to act in our best interest and not act in our best interest (contradiction).
"The Holocaust is well on its way to becoming the defining feature of Israeli society."
--Thomas Friedman
"The Holocaust is no longer a trauma affecting certain families in Israel. It has become a collective pathology affecting the entire nation."
--Sidra Ezrahi
When I said social foundation I meant the common thread connecting members of the religion who share nothing else in common...like an Orthodox Jew and a three-days-a-year Jew like Friedman says he is.
After all, those are Friedman's words, among many others on the topic, and I have to trust what he says to some degree, as I am not a member of that religion.
Fair enough. Thanks.
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