It began in 1951 and became an official observance following the passage of a law by the Knesset in 1959. The day is known as Yom HaShoah or Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG’vurah (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day). It is a solemn day in Israel, when all Jewish citizens remember the day of the Shoah or “catastrophe” (referring to the Holocaust.) At 10 AM, the sirens are heard all over Israel and people stop for two minutes, wherever they are and whatever they are doing, including driving on the highway. I view it as my responsibility to remind everyone about this important date, and I have done so for at least the last 25 years, despite some criticism from those who claim that I overemphasize the topic. Then, October 7, 2023, happened!
It was THE HIGHEST JEWISH DEATH TOLL SINCE THE HOLOCAUST. We often speak of Jewish history pre- and post-Holocaust. We can now talk of modern Israel’s history pre- and post-October 7, 2023. Nothing will ever be the same in Israel and for Jewish people around the world.
After the Holocaust and the end of World War 2, the world was in shock. Nobody was prepared to witness the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis. Even those who physically visited the camps at the liberation had a tough time accepting the reality of so much death, so much torture and so much evil. When General Eisenhower visited the concentration camp in Ohrdruf, Germany, with his troops, including General Patton, who ended up throwing up in the corner of the room where he witnessed all the dead prisoners.
General Eisenhower was emphatic about documenting the evil they were seeing, fearing that within a few decades, people would forget or worse, rewrite history. He was so right; despite his precautions, people have done both. It took several decades to ignore, forget, or deny the Holocaust. It took less than a week for the world to forget the horrors inflicted on Israel by Hamas. Not only have we learned nothing, but we have also become desensitized and apathetic to the issue. So, where do we go from here?
Sometimes, I feel discouraged. It seems like nobody cares anymore about my people. It certainly looks and sounds like the world has not only given up on Israel and the Jews, but they are now ganging up against us. Am I now talking to a brick wall? Yet I still meet people who love Israel and the Jews, and it is to these people that I am addressing this message. More than ever before, we need to remind people about the Holocaust, and it is also time to add October 7 to our list. Here are some parallels between the two events that make them worth remembering.
They were unexpected: The Holocaust was an event that nobody wanted to believe. Jewish people remained in denial for way too long. Once they realized that it was real, it was too late to stop it.
For reasons that might be known one day, October 7 was unexpected. As antagonistic as Hamas terrorists are, nobody expected to wake up to such carnage.
They were very organized: After the Wannsee Conference and Kristallnacht in 1938, the death factories began full production in Europe. The Nazi machine was well oiled and very structured and organized. They even used Hollerith tabulating machines (the original IBM computer) to categorize and catalogue inmates.
October 7 was not another “impromptu” attack on Israel, but an organized invasion by land and by air with means that had to be prepared ahead of time.
They were very bloody: The Holocaust was responsible for the death of 12 million people, half of them Jewish. The methods used to kill Jews from the Einsatzgruppen (mass shootings) to the gas chambers, not to mention the gruesome medical experiments (read “torture”), were extremely bloody. Jews became fair game to anyone, anywhere and anytime.
October 7 saw Hamas terrorist mame, rape, burn alive and kill Israelis while filming the whole thing. Nobody was spared, from male to female, and from the elderly to the newborn babies. That was all in one day, before they took 240 hostages.
They were evil: The Holocaust is often referred to as an event of history perpetrated by insane people. We must refrain from claiming that the Nazis were insane, because insanity legally exonerates responsibility. Hitler and the Nazis were evil. Satan used them, and it would be accurate to say that many of them were demon-possessed.
The murderers of October 7 were also used by Satan in the bloodiest attack on Israel in one day since the Holocaust.
Again, it took decades for people to start forgetting, altering, or minimizing the Holocaust, while it took less than a week for the world to turn against Israel for their response to October 7. We will always find individuals who seek the truth about history and are willing to learn and share their findings with others. We should not waste our time, energy, or resources trying to convince those who hate with every fiber of their being. Instead, we must engage with those willing to listen, learn, and change their views.
Yom HaShoah must be commemorated. The need to continue to speak about the Holocaust was recently made very clear by the events of October 7, 2023. Ignoring either or both is a death warrant not only for Israel and global Jewry, but also for Western Civilization.
