Antipathy

The antipathy that has been and still is extended towards Jews by certain non-Jews may be an irrational one but it can be very real nonetheless. There are even some Jews whose beliefs and practices are the cause of much disquiet and resentment among their fellow Jews.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day recalls when antipathy gave way to an outright attempt at the extermination of Jews on an industrial scale. And the consequences of that are apparent to this very day. In a strange twist of fate, the oppressed are said by some to have now taken on the role of the oppressor, the results being just as regrettable except that they are nowhere near the same level in size or intensity. Not yet.

But what is it about the Holocaust that should be remembered?

Maybe one thing above all is this. It came to an end and, in doing so, it did not achieve the purpose for which it was intended. And what ended it was courage, determination, not a little luck and the taking of risks so great that even today they defy comparison with any other point in our recorded history.

And, if tragic and terrible episodes like the Holocaust can eventually be made subordinate to the decisions and dictates of ordinary and, sometimes, quite extraordinary human beings, then what cannot be achieved by this generation, one that is reckoned so much wiser, resourceful and better informed than those of yesteryear?

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If risks need to be taken, then taking them for the best possible reason of all must be the right thing to do.

And now, it may be the only thing left that is worth doing.