Today commemorates Yom HaShoah, a solemn occasion in Israel honouring the lives lost in the Holocaust. This day also remarks the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. In a futile effort against the SS forces, about 700 Jewish revolutionaries battled for 27 days, aiming to put a halt to enforced deportations to concentration camps. Despite their bravery, the resistance was brutally vanquished and the ghetto obliterated. What followed was a horrific massacre of over 50,000 Jews, either in the battle or subsequent methodical executions in camps.
Two of my family members, my mother and grandmother, managed to escape a month before on fraudulently acquired identity documents. However, my great uncle Jan, along with his young son Arthur, were killed post a failed escape attempt.
Since the date of October 7th, happenings from Israel and Gaza have sparked off opinions on several platforms, ranging from political, legal, and media, drawing parallels with the Holocaust. The important question is – how do we correct this? How do we safeguard the Holocaust’s narrative and the dignified commemoration of its victims amid the wave of provocation? To whom do we turn in our search for balance against the backdrop of cruelty, terror, and fear manifesting both on our screens and wrenching our hearts?
Despite the historical and current grievances that Israeli governments may inflicted on Palestinians, it’s crucial to note that such a situation does not parallel the Holocaust. Even if it is the worst in Israeli history, the Netanyahu government’s actions do not include mass deportation or systematic gassing of Palestinians in specially designed camps akin to the Jewish treatment during the Holocaust.
Drawing such resemblances threatens the historical ownership Jews have over the Holocaust, whether intentional or not. The story is skewed, depleting empathy for its victims. This plays into the hands of Holocaust deniers, with all its contemptible versions.
In a distressing simplification, Israelis are categorized as Jews, then rebranded as Nazis. This points to a devastating implication – that the Holocaust victims somehow deserved their tragic fate, legitimising anti-Semitism. These unfair comparisons do nothing to advance the Palestinian cause.
Countless observers have pointed out the paradoxical circumstance where Israel, which was established following the 1948 Genocide Convention aimed at preventing atrocities like those suffered by the Jews during the Holocaust, is now accused of contravening that very same convention. Isn’t this quite the paradox?
The world bore witness as six million Jews, constituting two-thirds of the European Jewish populace, were ruthlessly slaughtered due to their ethnicity. With the exception of the UK, there was an appalling lack of protest or assistance, including in Ireland along with numerous other countries. The failure to separate these two sets of circumstances, to differentiate between Jews and Israelis and between Israelis and an historically unpopular government, disregards the intricacies of history and disrespects its victims.
Like Donald Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu has recurrently manipulated the memory of the Holocaust for his political advantage throughout his political career, not hesitating to demean, disassemble or exploit anything that stands as a hurdle to his political aspirations.
The competing interest of an extremist Israeli government, a brutal, genocidal and fanatical Hamas regime in Gaza, a frail and corrupt Palestinian Authority existing in the West Bank, and the malevolent religious rule in Tehran has resulted in terror reigning over both Israel and Gaza. Many Israelis are genuinely apprehensive that a combined assault by Iran and its associates may obliterate their nation, a fear substantiated by the missile attacks on April 13th. For Jews, such horrific possibilities are not hard to envision, given that the Holocaust is still in recent memory.
In September, I was offered an opportunity to be part of PAKH, a study group that delves into the transgenerational effects of the Holocaust. Consisting of descendants of victims and culprits, we convene to unravel our incredibly intricate family stories.
Recently, during an online engagement, we heard Israeli Rami Elhanan and Palestinian Bassam Aramin indicate how they have joined hands to advocate for peace. They are the real-life protagonists of Colum McCann’s 2020 novel, Apeirogon, both having lost a daughter in the protracted conflict. Their drive towards prioritising individual rights, their lack of self-absorbance and their mutual emotional reliance is nothing less than inspirational to witness.
Both Bassam and Rami, articulate men dignified with deep emotional understanding, are burdened with the painful legacy of traumatic inherited experiences and personal grief. Bassam has suffered from the dislocation of his people and Rami is the son of an Auschwitz survivor. Both of them are united in their belief that Palestinian self-realisation has not existed and hence they have lost their children, which calls for a complete overhaul of the Israeli society. They concur that both the influence of Hamas in Gaza and the Israeli settlers who dominate the Israeli cabinet are disastrous for both cultures.
They reflect on the situations of numerous concentration camp prisoners who often lived solely due to the support of a loved one or confidant in their daily struggles. Instances of survivors passing away shortly after freedom are not rare; the hope of liberation can often be too physically overpowering.
Echoing Viktor Frankl, these men uphold the notion that to comprehend your pain, you must assist others in comprehending theirs; used constructively, pain ceases to be distress. Bassam states they are akin to brothers rather than friends, showing us the measures needed to shatter the hatred cycle. Rami emphasizes that while love between Palestinians and Israelis may not be essential, mutual respect certainly is.
The Iranian policies aimed at destabilizing Israel, along with the steep hike in anti-Semitism following October 7th, were not discussed. If Israel and Palestine found a resolution, that could unravel the unity among Iran’s allies against Israel and expose Iran’s oppressive, misogynistic, and ethically corrupt regime.
This could lead to more Sunni states aligning with Israel, thus increasing Iran’s isolation. Most importantly, given the current turbulence, both Israelis and Palestinians could finally breathe a sigh of relief and feel secure. Public manifestations of anti-Semitism may also decline.
Reflecting on the tormented hostages and their distraught families, as well as the shattered generations in Gaza, I embrace with an open heart the descendants of tormentors among my fellow PAKH members. According to the Ashkenazi tradition of healing the world pain by pain, I sense this acceptance to be the farthest one can travel from despair within the confines of difficult inheritance, particularly on a solemn day like Yom HaShoah.
Oliver Sears is the creator of Holocaust Awareness Ireland.