Yom Hashoah -- in Israel
This is from an email sent by my friend, Pamela Lazarus, to everyone yesterday who has done Sar-El (volunteered on an IDF base). I thought it was beautiful and that you would all appreciate it.
On this Yom Hashoah, I was proud to stand with our Sar-El unit of soldiers as the siren sounded at 10:00 this morning throughout Israel while the whole country came to a standstill. (Those of you who will be here next Wednesday on Yom Hazikaron -Memorial Day- will experience the same thing.) The Holocaust is over but anti-semitism is not; actually it is increasing. On this day, we must reflect on the past & think of the future. It is very sad that in a recent survey, only 44% of Americans could identify Auschwitz, Dachau & Treblinka as concentration camps. In another study, only a third of Americans knew that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. It is our duty as Jews to fight anti-semitism. The only way to do this is to never forget what happened to our people—our mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, & friends. The survivor generation is decreasing in number. It is up to the second & third generations, as well as the rest of us, to continue to educate our children, our neighbors, our students so that the Holocaust is never forgotten.
Last night in his address at the ceremony at Yad Vashem, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said, “The Jews will never again be without a home, without a safe refuge, without protection. Never again will we find ourselves unprepared. Never again.”
In addition to remembering & educating, it is every Jew’s duty (as well as cherished right) to visit Israel. This is our Land.
As I stood with our soldiers, with tears in my eyes during our ceremony here at Sar-El, I thought about how proud I am to be an Israeli citizen living here in Israel. I hope to see more of you & your friends & family here in Israel in the near future.
Pamela Lazarus, Program Coordinator
Sar-El
posted by Esther @ 8:51 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
"it is every Jew’s duty (as well as cherished right) to visit Israel."
I think that most of people should be encouraged to visit Israel.
They should see its true democracy, its great friendly people and their determination to survive, to live, to prosper and to remain humane despite all the odds.
I agree felis.
And RR -- thank you. He meant Nazis, folks. Other things fall into the "n" word, Regular Ron.
LOL!! No need for that. Just trying to keep you out of trouble. ;)
RR, you are too cute. You may be interested in my boyfriend's reaction to this whole thing:
"Wow, isn't it interesting! He's a conservative, right? (I nodded) What a reasoned, intellectual and intelligent response. He's willing to learn. If it had been a liberal (which we both used to consider ourselves until a few years ago), he would have tried to justify his words...probably would have said, 'But Bush DOES act like Hitler, etc...' kind of thing."
We both respect you a great deal. And I'm looking forward to your book review. :)
OK, it's official. My boyfriend is really into you. ;) He is very impressed (as am I) that your reaction was to think about someone else's feelings. He said most people these days...the worst thing you can do is say they're wrong -- they simply freak out. You're a great guy!
And I tried to be gentle when I told you. I didn't mean to freak you out. It was just very out of character for you so I thought you might not be aware of how that might come off sounding. Now calm down. It's all good!
I read Max Dimont's "Jews, God, and History" many years ago. It's one of the best books I ever read, and I highly recommend it to everyone, even those not doing penance.
That made me laugh out loud, Tom. Thanks!
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