I said I wanted to share more of my heart on here, I wanted to share more real-world stuff, more of my “unfiltered”/” real world” thoughts, but man it’s scary! Especially on a day like today, in a world like we are in…but here goes.
Today (well the day that I am writing this- not sure if it’ll be posted same day or if I’ll sit on it for a couple days) is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is the day that the U.N. decided should be used to remember the Holocaust as it is the day that Auschwitz was liberated by the Allies. 80 years ago, today. In fact, the picture in the featured image (also below) is the sign at Auschwitz. The sign that has become synonymous with The Holocaust- which the saying and sign ARE, BUT this Auschwitz sign was actually at the “nicer” side of Auschwitz. Not the side that the Jewish people lived and starved and were murdered in gas chambers.
I feel like it’s important to note that this is NOT the day that the Jewish people mourn and remember- the Jewish people have a dedicated holiday called Yom HaShoah, which is in time with the Warsaw Ghetto uprising (you know- the notable important time when the Jews fought back). ***Don’t worry I’m trying to edit out some of my anger in this post***
Today I feel conflicted. It’s so important to remember (you know- we all say Never Forget like the good little citizens as the rise of Jew Hatred surges to unimaginable numbers), but this year I am filled with anger, with sadness, with heartbreak, with hope (because the Jewish people will survive), with frustration.
We have people in power politicizing gestures (which- let’s face it, that was what it was regardless of how it was then politicized and the reaction from the person who did it was disgusting at best, horrifying and terrifying at worst- and that margin is microscopic), while Jews are being attacked physically and emotionally/mentally every day. There are BABIES BEING HELD BY A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, but go off on a hand gesture (which again was what we all thought it was) fam.
We say, “Never Forget” and then turn a cheek at chants, flyers, disruptions on college campuses intended to terrify, to harm, to disrupt. We say, “Never Forget” and then twist our bodies into pretzels to justify an actual TERRORIST ORGANIZATION kidnapping CIVILIANS and BODIES and holding them hostage for over a year, chanting horrible words, parading their crimes as others cheer. We say “Never Forget” as a holocaust survivor just passed away in December, having survived both Holocaust, but losing two of his GRANDCHILDREN on October 7th.
***And let me be clear because there will be those who NEED this disclaimer because they don’t know me, they don’t know my heart, my feelings, my beliefs and they will take this post and turn it into something entirely different. I should not have to say this but here I am- you can be pro the Palestinians living in peace in their own home AND be pro Israelis living in peace in their own homes. You can recognize the actual history of the land and the people and not try to rewrite it to continue twisting your pretzel. You can be with the families of those murdered in cold blood on October 7th and the day, months following, be with the families of these hostages, these CIVILIANS, who were brutally taken, be with all of the people who are now living with very real trauma. You can do all of that and still believe that both sides deserve and need peace. It’s not one side only. Not if you have your humanity intact.***
Words have power if we give them power, right? And how do we give words power? With action. Never Forget means to never forget- it means both holding the memories of survivors, sharing their stories, facing the atrocity head on, AND stopping the rampant Jew Hatred, both overt and subtle, in its’ tracks.
So, this year, on this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I want to not only see all the shared posts about “Never Forget”, but I also want to see a post about present day Jew Hatred that needs to stop. I want to challenge you to go beyond the minimum, to truly embrace “Never Forget”. Because we are forgetting.
Almost 2/3rds of American Millennials (millennials- my generation) and Gen Z do not know that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. 48% could not name a single concentration camp. 23% believe that the Holocaust is just a myth, didn’t happen or was exaggerated. These are HISTORY facts that folks don’t know about or don’t believe happen. Millennials and Gen Z are those who are leading the way (in a grassroots sense) for the next stage of our future. We have people on video calls saying we no longer need to carry guilt for the Holocaust. We need to move on. If we “move on”, if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. And let me say this- we are repeating it. We are repeating it.
So, I ask that you not simply say the words “Never Forget”, but that you give those words power again. That you speak about what you see. That you stand up.
A Cuppa Cosy 