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We Refuse to Forget
January 25, 2009
We live in a time of unparalleled instances of genocide and ethnocide. The Holocaust, the genocides in Darfur, Turkey, Cambodia, Tibet and Bosnia, the disappearances in Argentina and Chile, the death squad killing in El Salvador, the killing of the Tutsi in Rwanda…and what is happening in Gaza as I am writing this- the list goes on. Terrrorism must be stopped.
The will to live, to have hope, to survive and to rebuild – this is what gives the Holocaust its universality. It is what has inspired the Jewish people through out history. Jews are known as the People of the Book- that book being the Bible Jews have always treated with reverence the narrative of their origins, laws, and early history. The need to write and record, to document and to remember are all an integral part of Jewish tradition.
. Without question, the manifestations of anti-Semitism are on the rise. Sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz- the evil which gave rise to the horror still exists- and still threatens us.
“They” are impatient with us.” Why do you Jews dwell on the Holocaust? It was more than sixty years ago. Just forget it and move forward.” The very same mindset that was not disturbed while six million Jews were butchered now resents our remembering those six million. The Holocaust reminds us of certain truths that, if forgotten, could destroy civilization. To be silent in the face of evil is to surrender to it, encourage it and enable it to grow stronger. Memory is an integral part of Jewish existence. The term zikaron, “remembrance”, appears over 20 times in The Book of Moses.
Forgetting and allowing forgetfulness is not an option.
Yes, the Holocaust matters: it shows what can happen to human beings when they allow the beast within to control them. Should we forget, it is our danger. Memory is the glue of one’s self-identity. It is also an integral part of Jewish identity.
“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand fail…” says King David (psalms 137:5).
Greta Brewer
Vice President of Education,
NEXT GENERATIONS
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