150415
15th April, 2015
Yom ha Shoah, Israel.
Tonight Holocaust Remembrance Day begins at dusk in Israel. The significance of this day is intense, a reminder of what was and what can be again. If we really look into what is happening in the world today we would hear forbidding echoes of a time not too long past that its tragedy reverberates throughout our souls. Todays Kristallnacht has passed and persecution of Jews is fast becoming acceptable. We have been dehumanised and demonised, echoes of Goebbels can be found in the words of Imams and Ayatollahs the world over. Even more disturbing, those in the West who should know better are perpetrating the dehumanisation and providing a catalyst for the next Holocaust. In a country near you, yes you, anti-Semitism has become socially acceptable.
If one examines the current trend one must choose to resemble the three (un) wise monkeys to ignore the persecution of Christians, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.
In the words of Canon Andrew White
"It was the Israelis who first came beside me when the massacre began against our Christians in Iraq. They said we have been there and know it must never happen again and it is."
Canon Andrew put this website on his Facebook page to ensure that his followers understand. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yomhashoah.html
Stephen Hughes created this reminder. Israel did not come about as a result of the Holocaust but her very existence gave hope to those who thought there was none. It is not by chance that our anthem is Hatikva - the Hope https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=eVyFk0RT7OA
Tonight, we will attend the memorial service at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum. The President, Prime Minister, Chief of Staff, Chief of Police, Members of Knesset, Foreign Diplomats and Holocaust Survivors will all be in attendance. The generation where the Prime Minister and President themselves were survivors has gone, the number of survivors, together with their stories, diminishes each year as they grow older and pass on. We have to tell the stories, we have to keep their memories alive - it is up to us. Lt Col Shai Abramson will sing El Maaleh Rachamim ( G-d full of mercy), the prayer for the dead, at the ceremony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtX5lzWYy3Y
Tomorrow, at 10:00, Israelis will stand in bowed silence wherever they are, whatever they were doing, as the siren wails to honour those who passed and those who survived with memories that no human being should suffer. Everyone stops - be it on the by-way or highway, the store or the hospital, wherever you are. Once it was thought that Holocaust Day was an Ashkenazi time of mourning until we began to understand the plight of the Jews of Turkey, North Africa, especially Morocco, Asia and everywhere that the Nazis spread their evil grip.
Today we no longer go as sheep to the slaughter. Today we have pride, today we have a Defence Force but, always that but, how many people have to die in distant lands at the hands of terrorists before we wake up?
The IDF sends this message.
Light a candle in memory of the six million lives lost. Six million people who lived, learned, thrived, struggled, laughed, worked and loved. Light a candle to keep their memory alive. http://www.idfblog.com/RememberingSixMillion/
How long will it be when religion is a cause for love not hate? How long will it be until we celebrate our differences rather than use them as a cause for war? How many? The answer is blowin in the wind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld6fAO4idaI
May their beautiful souls rest in peace and their memories live on through those brave souls such as Stephen Spielberg whose testimonies help their words to live on when they can no longer speak. I leave you with videos of survivors testimonies http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/remembrance/multimedia.asp
Never again is more than a banal statement - today we have Israel and we must recognise that our enemies use that pride as a weapon against us. It is up to us.
Sheila
If the media does not inform us we must inform the media
Sheila's blog http://shabbatshalom-theviewfrommyveranda.blogspot.com/
Facebook Sheila Silver RavivInvolvement http://www.impact-se.org/ http://www.yurishtern.org.il/eng/content.php?id=17
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