Fatal Amnesia
There are many contagious diseases to which humanity can succumb.
Michael Kuttner
One of the most lethal, which has devastating consequences, is the deliberate erasure of past disasters, often combined with an obsessive urge to endlessly repeat the same mistakes. There seems to be no cure for this common condition.
One would think that having once been infected by this malady, some sort of immunity against future attacks might be available.
Unfortunately, this is not the case, and therefore, the affliction returns with increased morbidity. Many Jews seem to be particularly prone to suffering from these symptoms, and no matter how many times they catch it, they still do not learn how to avoid it in the future.
Current events demonstrate that we ignore this phenomenon at our peril.
On 27 January, many countries observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Ironically, designated by the United Nations General Assembly as a worldwide day of remembrance it has become an event where duplicitous rhetoric and political pontifications are the order of the day. I mention ironically because it is this same UN General Assembly which for 365 days of the year demonstrates its true intentions by condemning and slandering the world’s only Jewish State.
On one day in the year, tears are shed and pledges of “never again” are articulated by a minority of UN members. For the immoral majority, it is business as usual. This means that Iran continues to work with its willing partners to erase the Jewish nation from the map. On the very day set aside by the UN to remember the genocide against the Jewish People, there are UN members doing everything possible to complete the job.
The worst aspect is that this inconvenient fact is ignored by all the tear-shedders. What is even worse is that Jewish attendees at the various ceremonies do not rise up and voice their disgust at this gross display of hypocrisy and fake sympathy.
This year’s gatherings promise to be even more excruciating than usual.
With South Africa’s smearing of Israel at the International Court of Justice, the ground has been prepared to brand it as a pariah nation. Ireland is the latest country prepared to join The Hague hate festival, while others are still thinking about whether to jump on the bandwagon
Given the publicity already spread in the media, it does not take a genius to work out that this year’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be an ideal opportunity to tar Israel with the genocide slander.
Watch out for spokespersons to hijack this annual event and turn it into an anti-Israel/Zionist diatribe. There will be moral equivalences between what the Germans and their willing partners did to the Jews and what Israelis are doing to “peace-loving” Gaza citizens. The latter, according to conventional political wisdom, are, after all, only yearning for a Palestinian State that will live in peace, harmony, tolerance and democracy with its Jewish neighbours.
Those who parrot this absurd mantra remain oblivious to the real agenda. Like the politicians before them (pre-World War 2), those spouting this nonsense do not want to be bothered with realities. Pre-1939, it was a refusal to acknowledge and do something about the Nazi genocidal plan of extermination. Today, it is politicians so blinkered that they refuse to face up to the real agenda of the Iranian-financed and logistically supported terror groups on Israel’s doorstep.
The brainwashing taking place has already had a malign influence on far too many.
There are reports of schools in the UK and elsewhere dropping lessons on the Holocaust “because it may cause hurt and anguish to other minority groups.” What this really means is that those responsible do not want to upset jihadist followers, woke advocates and hardcore anti-Israel protesters in case these types engage in violent physical activities against them.
It will be interesting to see how many commemoration gatherings are cancelled or closed to the public this year. How many political invitees will send their regrets? Who will find it impossible to resist the irresistible urge to tie the murder of six million Jews and millions of other “non-desirables” with the current conflict?
It is a scandalous situation when some ceremonies need to be held in secret because of a threat to Jews. Have we reverted to converso days when Jews in Spain and Portugal were forced to observe their communal observances clandestinely?
The EU is threatening unspecified consequences if Israel continues to resist the idea of establishing another terror State in its midst. The New Zealand Foreign Minister is “deeply concerned” over the Israel Government’s opposition to a two-state solution. Australia’s Foreign Minister, who declined to see the aftermath of Palestinian Arab “peace” gestures for herself during her recent visit, still thinks that gifting them an independent State is a must.
What none of these “experts” and the rest of the UN want to acknowledge is a simple truth. The reason there is no such country is as a result of Arab rejection of the idea since at least 1937. Those who today call themselves “Palestinians” have invented a revisionist history which among other things denies any historical Jewish connection and legitimacy and promotes vile hate. Groups such as Honest Reporting, JNS, PMW, CAMERA and Gatestone Institute (among others) testify to this on a daily basis.
Despite all the available evidence, the Biden Administration, with UN support, continues to demand that Israel sign its own death warrant. Israel is assured that international guarantees will be in place, which will ensure that the jihadists of Fatah/ PA/PLO/Hamas/Hezbollah/ Houthis and Iran cannot launch another 7 October massacre.
If nothing else, the horrific experiences of the pre-Shoah years and subsequent betrayals have impressed on Jewish consciousnesses the inability, in fact, the deliberate ineffectiveness of international promises of safety.
The rest of the world may prefer to forget how it has abandoned helpless Jews to their collective fate but a majority of Israelis certainly have not. Apart from those who prefer to self-flagellate and deny their own history, every other Jewish Israeli knows only too well where worthless guarantees lead.
As the mindless millennials and progressive woke folk are currently demonstrating, there is no safety for Jews anywhere. In the mantra of today’s mobs, there is only one guilty party. It is the Jewish State which, by its very existence, is a sin against humanity and a threat to world peace. By association, Jews worldwide are also tainted with the crime of actually supporting such a sinful State.
In order to expiate its criminality, Israel is now expected to sign its own death warrant and lend a hand to its own grisly fate. Any collateral damage suffered, such as hostages and terror victims are as a result of its having the chutzpah to re-establish sovereignty in its ancient homeland.
The rest of the world may be more than willing to swallow a fake narrative whereby Islamic conquerors are now designated as “indigenous.” Most Jewish Israelis, however, are not prepared to once again become the scapegoats of cynical hypocrisy.
It is, therefore, extremely important, given all the current absurdities, to ensure that this year’s International Holocaust Remembrance observances do not descend into a frenzy of frenetic revisionism and amnesia. Kowtowing to the latest version of political correctness will not earn any plaudits.
Enough already of meek Jewish compliance with doublespeak and an Orwellian orgy of obfuscation.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
