When Witnessing Isn't Enough
On this day, Buchenwald was liberated - as witnessed by the soldiers who came face to face with the grotesque truth of the evils of the Nazi genocide, and as witnessed by its liberated survivors such as Elie Wiesel, Z”L, our mentor.
On this day, the Eichmann Trial was opened in Israel, giving 110 survivors of the atrocities the opportunity to share their experiences in a public forum for the first time in history. The entire world became witnesses to unimaginable detail of abuse, torture, murder, and Jewish justice was wrought against the architect of the deportations of millions to the gas.
And now we have witnessed October 7 and the upheaval of the world in its aftermath. We have witnessed the murders, livestreamed and documented. The survivors with each experience of miracles and madness. The freed hostages and their painful testimonies, and we continue to witness friends going silence in the calls for another genocide of the Jewish people and our Jewish homeland. Our mourning continues, as does our responsibility.
Whether in Israel or far away, our role as witnesses grows with every new denial or distortion of the rapes, murders, and military maneuvers. History demands of us that we take that role seriously, just as we did for the stories of the Shoah and of the events throughout history that have stolen the freedom of Jewish lives.
For those not able to walk on the blood-soaked grounds, or hear the firsthand accounts and see the pain in the eyes of the bereaved or families of our hostages, we must rely on our social feeds to learn of the stories, the miracles, and the messages that survivors are sharing as lessons that all of us must learn from.
|
|
|
Just as we remember the atrocities we faced and denial of our right to life, we are still under threat, and the struggle to prevent more massacres is real.
Now more than ever we must be grateful for our soldiers fighting daily in defense of our people and our homeland. Show your gratitude for our soldiers who are desperate to put food on their family’s tables this Pesach.
Help us feed the soldiers and families of the elite Yatar unit.
Just yesterday these brave men and women stopped the infiltration of 4 terrorists on the Zikim beach, and continue to prevent attacks while their families prepare for Passover. Businesses failing, wives and children struggling to cope, and a holiday table waiting to be filled.
DONATE NOW AND FEED A FAMILY IN ISRAEL
WHAT MORE CAN YOU DO AS A WITNESS DURING THIS TIME?
Our family is still being held captive by Hamas and the world - denied freedom, denied their human rights even by the organizations mandated to provide aid, denied any demand for their release by a world determined to demonize Israel and the Jews as our women, children, fathers and grandfathers, soldiers and civilians suffocate underground. We cannot afford to be indifferent. We cannot forget, and we cannot for one day stop our efforts to do more.
Many are looking for original programs that are sensitive to the connections we feel today. Since October 7, many natural associations have been made between the massacre and the Holocaust. Such issues must be handled with great sensitivity - avoiding parallels that minimize the uniqueness of each attack on human life and dignity. And yet we cannot ignore the lessons of the Shoah that resound once again stronger than ever - that Jewish resilience, defense and unity are among the essential values that we must protect.
Explore our range of materials for Holocaust remembrance, and contact Dr. Elana Heideman if you are looking for something unique for your community. Request a private meeting for consultation on your programming ideas HERE.
What has sustained our nation for thousands of years is our connection to each other and our homeland, our eternal dream and hope - Hatikvah. As we talk about our nation’s history, our national liberations, miracles, and redemptions, we invite you to join us in a global performance of our national anthem.
Israel Forever is proud to be a partner in this inspirational project, and welcome all participants as Virtual Citizens of Israel.
DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT OUR PROGRAMMING FOR REFLECTIVE ENGAGEMENT