Shabbat shalom! And a tip of the kippah this week to the German supermarket chain, EDEKA, who posted a video, now going viral in Europe, showing how empty store shelves would be if they only sold products made in Germany. A lot of beer, not much else.
The ad is intended to make a point about racism and diversity and is also meant as a political message regarding Germany staying in the European Union. But, I found it compelling since today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day that commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. January 27th was chosen as the date to memorialize when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945. The EDEKA store in Hamburg removed foreign-made products from its stock, replacing them with signs bearing anti-xenophobia slogans as a bold reminder for the German people of the benefits of diversity, but also how fascism and “German First” thinking can lead to dark places. And, we mustn’t forget that it wasn’t just Jews that were the targets of Nazi genocide, hence, the tip of the kipah to EDEKA.
It is a bitter irony that on the evening leading up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the same UN that created the holiday, shamed itself with it’s decision by the IJC on South Africa’s incredulous accusation of Israel committing genocide in Gaza. In a 15-2 ruling the court did not order Israel to end the war and did not issue a finding on the question of genocide. They effectively found that Israel may have or could violate the UN Genocide Convention and must take steps to avoid it.
Whether you think the court’s decision was lenient or harsh, fair or not, less or more than feared, is not the point. That Israel was even mentioned in respect to the accusation of genocide is an utter travesty and cheapens and diminishes the genocide provisions. That it may have created the conditions that could lead to a “genocide” – a claim fueled by shambolic, stupid remarks made by a select collection of its dumbest extreme right politicians – makes this a very bad day for Israel and for Jews across the world.
Adding insult to Jewish injury, the UNRWA, the UN Palestinian aid agency (and the only UN entity dedicated to a single population of refugees), fired a number of staff members after Israel presented evidence that 12 men employed by UNRWA were involved in Hamas’s attack on 10/7. The head of UNRWA said he will “launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay” and “any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.” This is an about face from the UN, which has previously dismissed claims of complicity by UNRWA staff. The US State Dept. as well as a number of other countries, have now paused additional funding to UNRWA and called on the UN to conduct a “thorough and swift investigation of this matter.”Ugh.
Seemingly lost in all this madness, at least outside of Israel, is the fate of the innocent hostages still being held by Hamas. The mainstream media seems to have forgotten about them, as there are fewer and fewer stories reminding folks of their plight and of the soulless inhumanity of their captors. Meanwhile, inside Israel, families of the hostages and of active IDF soldiers blocked the passage of aid trucks at the Israeli border this week, preventing aid from getting into Gaza. The protesters say they view the delivery of aid to Gaza while their loved ones are still being held by Hamas as “a moral failure”. I think I agree with them. But I am also struck by the horror of the civilian casualties and their desperate plight. Meanwhile, negotiations for a ceasefire in exchange for the hostages are ongoing. What a horrible mess. What is the answer to this mess?
I was particularly moved this week by a piece I read in David Volodzko’s Substack blog called “The Radicalist” in which he provides an email exchange he has with Reuven Spero, a history teacher in an Israeli high school. Here is a link to read it in its entirety, which I strongly recommend. He concludes with the following:
I know, I know, but look what happened with Germany. And Japan. Cultures can and have changed. People can change. The question is, what will be required of Palestinian culture to achieve such change? At the very least, I would say, is reeducation, which will probably have to begin by ripping the genocidal how-to garbage out of their UN textbooks. But truthfully, any real solution will probably look a lot like colonization. That’s a dirty word, but running their elections for a decade until democracy takes root and civil liberties allow the people to flourish would be good for everyone. You’d be forcing it on them, but polling tells us what they really want is genocide so your options are to allow the genocide, fight the forever war until a genocide accumulates, or force peace on them for the sake of your kids and theirs. They can thank you later. I would say let bygones be bygones and have your dictatorship if you want it, but your bygones are murdering Israeli children and Israelis are some of the best fighters in human history, so you can sow the wind if you want.
Ok, what else is going on in the Jewish world? Inquiring minds want to know! Here then is this week’s generous selection of Jewie journalistic gems, culled and carefully curated, and copied and pasted from the likes of The Forward, JTA, The Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Haaretz, and other Jewish journals:
- There are approximately 250,000 holocaust survivors still living. A Polish Jew named Rose Girone, the oldest survivor, just turned 112. Nearly half the remaining survivors live in Israel, with 18 percent more in North America and another 18 percent in western Europe. Most are women. Sarah Jackson is one of these women. She was four years old when World War II started. After learning about her families displacement and death during the war, her parents decided to immigrate to Israel in 1949. Then, on October 7th, Jackson found herself sheltering three Israelis fleeing the outdoor Supernova music festival where Palestinian terrorists killed more than 360 people and kidnapped others back to Gaza. Yesterday, they were reunited for the first time.
- Latest from the war…
- Thousands of activists who want Israel to re-establish settlements in Gaza after the war will meet to discuss that goal on Sunday. The last Israeli settlements in Gaza were cleared in 2005.
- El Al, Israel’s national airline, will drop its Tel Aviv to Johannesburg route in April, citing a sharp drop in Israeli interest in traveling to South Africa in the wake of the ICJ case.
- The heads of the CIA and Mossad are expected to meet with Qatar’s prime minister in Europe to discuss a deal for a temporary cease-fire and hostage release.
- Families of hostages still held in Gaza blocked humanitarian aid from entering the strip via an Israeli crossing for the second day in a row, with one demonstrator protesting that “while we don’t know where our families are and if they are alive,” Gazans are “getting humanitarian aid.” The U.S. reportedly responded by pushing Israel to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing remains accessible.
- An Israel Defense Forces report released earlier this month said that nearly 20% of the Israeli soldiers who had so far died in Gaza had been killed by friendly fire or accidents, one of the highest such rates among contemporary wars.
- Democratic U.S. senators are speaking out against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, saying “I’m looking forward to the time when he is no longer the leader.”
- The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claimed that at least 20 Palestinians were killed and 150 wounded when Israeli fire hit a crowd awaiting humanitarian aid. The IDF said it was looking into the incident.
- New York University suspended an adjunct faculty member after video was released of him denying Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities and referring to New York as a “Zionist city.”
- 😔 Close to four times as many antisemitic incidents were reported in France in 2023 as in 2022, new data suggests, with 1,676 reports in 2023 compared to 436 in 2022. Belgium reported 91 antisemitic incidents last year, compared to 57 in 2022. (NY1) When an Israeli soccer team plays in Belgium next month, the game will take place in an empty stadium out of safety concerns, amid a rise in antisemitism since the war began.
- Idan Amedi, an actor on Netflix’s Fauda and an IDF reservist who was injured in Gaza, was released from the hospital. He says once he fully recovers, he hopes to return to acting, and “fighting in the war.”
- 🏈 The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism will air a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl, at an estimated cost of $7 million. The group is funded by Robert Kraft, the Jewish philanthropist and owner of the New England Patriots … Relatedly, Connie Britton, Cindy Crawford and Lance Bass have joined dozens of celebrities in a series of new social media videos to combat antisemitism. (JTA/Wrap)
- 🤦 How did social media help prevent October 7 you despicable antisemite? After a visit to Auschwitz this week, Elon Musk suggested that if social media was around in the 1940s, it could have stopped the Holocaust. Scholars call it a “fantasy scenario” and that Musk should “take an intro course on the Holocaust.” (JTA)
- 🤷 The head of the U.N. will not make his usual appearance at a prominent New York City synagogue’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day event this Saturday. A spokesperson for the U.N. said the service should be “focused on healing and the testimony of survivors.” (NY Jewish Week)
All right, let’s call it a day. My grand daughter Abby is celebrating her first birthday today, so that should put us in a good mood for the rest of the weekend. I hope you all enjoy your weekends, and hey, as usual, let’s remember to be safe out there!
Brad out.
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