But for the Grace of…Would I Even Be Here?

Fill in the blank of what you are comfortable with. For you is it Allah? Hashem? God? Jesus? The Universe? Or maybe you even prefer to leave it blank.

The fact that my family and I have experienced Grace is enough. As we commemorate Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, I am truly grateful to exist. I understand that the Holocaust is not an easy subject to read nor write about. It can be disturbing and frightening. But isn’t that the least of what we can do?

In my last blog, “Passover the Holiday of Freedom—In What Part of Your Life Are You Still Bound?” I commented that my much older half-brother’s birthday, April 20, 1943, was Hitler’s birthday, and that he was born during the Holocaust. Until writing that very blog, I had never tied that fact to the year he was born and our family’s background. My mother’s family came from Russia, and my father’s family came from Poland. What might have happened to my parents if my grandparents had not been able to come to America? Thus, my thoughts, would I even exist?

Admittedly, it is unfair (hopefully for most Germans), but it seems to be in my DNA to be wary, if not scared of Germans. Yes, I know this person who prides herself on openness to all cultures, really stepped into this pile. What did we do on April 20th, the last day of Passover, Easter, and coincidentally, Hitler’s birthday?

We ate in a German restaurant. It was a family choice, and I went along with the decision upset with myself regarding my hesitation. The food was great and strangely familiar with its potato pancake, and other hearty fare. As I learned doing further research, especially if you are an Ashkenazi Jew, living closely to the region caused our foods to blend with local ingredients and spices. Next time, I will probably be the one to suggest enjoying another meal there.

We have just passed through three holy days of the three Abrahamic religions, Ramadan, Passover, and Easter. This year Yom HaShoah is April 23, 2025. Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day was inaugurated in 1951 in Israel, to commemorate the lives of the six million Jewish people, brutally murdered in the Holocaust during WWII, as well as honoring the survivors, the Jewish resistance, and those who rescued them. Yearly, air raid sirens blast for two minutes throughout Israel at 10am, and the nation stops to remember.

During this time, I cannot help but think of the lives destroyed. How many inventions, and songs that were never created, nor dreams lived out? Just the simple family experiences of birthday and holiday celebrations, never to be enjoyed?

So many decades of terrorist attacks, devastation and October 7, 2023. Now, throughout these 2025 holidays, so many lives have been lost. Please stop yourself from jumping to who you feel is to blame. Can’t we all just say that loss of life is tragic no matter…

One of my favorite songs, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” lyrics lays out the wish that dreams really do come true. Who wouldn’t love to have our deepest desires become reality? I have dreams held in my heart, don’t you? When I looked further into the song’s background, my writing journey led me to discovering that the song was written by two Jewish men, the lyrics by Yip Harbug, (his real name was Isidore Hochberg), who was the son of Yiddish-speaking, Russian-Jewish immigrants. Harold Arlen, who wrote the music was also Jewish and his family came from Lithuania.

What I didn’t realize was that they won an Oscar in 1940 for the “Best Music, Original Song” for The Wizard of Oz , and it won acclaim by both the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts for the number one song of the Twentieth Century.

No doubt they had heard of Kristallnacht (or the Night of Broken Glass), a pogrom carried out by the Nazis. Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues windows were smashed. Jewish homes, hospitals and schools were ransacked as attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers. Rioters destroyed over 1,400 synagogues and prayer rooms throughout Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland (parts of former Czechoslovakia). More than 7,000 Jewish businesses were damaged or destroyed, and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps.

Illustrative: The aftermath of the ‘Kristallnacht’ pogrom in Germany, November 1938. (public domain)

An article written in Christian’s United for Israel made me stop and pause, and their video I’ve shared above, gives me the chills. The Holocaust took place 1941-1945. Did Harbug and Arlen have a premonition? As the article outlines, “when you apply this song to the Jewish people and the Holocaust, the song takes on a whole new meaning. “

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

I have always loved and been fascinated by the beautiful, multi-colored rainbows since I was a kid. I have mentioned before that whenever I see a rainbow today, I tell my family that it is Grammie Cille (my mother-in-law) saying hi. Her birthday would have been April 12th, may she rest in Peace. Her memory truly is a blessing. She loved her family and never hesitated to tell them so. As we see pictures of past family occasions scrolling by on our digitized frames, she always has a huge smile on her face, surrounded by hugs.

And the dreams Jews dared to dream did come true—Am Yisrael Chai! Finally in 1948, returning to our homeland, Israel, after centuries of longing. I should mention here that Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) will be celebrated in Israel on April 30-May 1, 2025.

After the horrors of the Holocaust, we were ultimately allowed back home. Of course, history is never so pretty. The unimaginable terror of the Holocaust, no one wanting the Jews to be allowed into their country afterwards, and then Israel being established, has its own lingering sadness. For the Palestinians, we also can’t look away from the misery caused by the establishment of Israel when they call our celebration “The Nakba, The Catastrophe.” Yet another verse in the song breaks my heart…

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That’s where you’ll find me.

One can imagine Jews in concentration and killing camps wishing they were anywhere but there. Tragically, many would find themselves soon floating high above the chimney tops. May their memories be for a blessing. As much as I love sitting by an open fireplace in the winter, I must admit on occasion my mind wanders at least for a minute or two, on other horrific smokestacks and again the thought is always closely followed by, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”

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Auschwitz was the largest of the extermination camps where 1.1 million people were murdered. 960,000 were Jews (865,000 of whom were gassed on arrival), 74,000 were other Poles, 21,000 were Romani, sometimes called gypsies that the Nazis thought were racially inferior, 15,000 were Soviet prisoners, and approximately 15,000 others were slaughtered. The victims were gassed, and then the emaciated bodies were shoveled into crematoriums and burned to ashes in the chimneys in the photo above to reduce the space required to store the bodies. Additional ways they were murdered included, “via starvation, exhaustion, disease, individual executions, or beatings. Others were killed during medical experiments. All ways savagely inhumane and demented.

We Jews wanted to believe that there could never be another Holocaust. A famous Jewish expression comes to mind by the revered Jewish sage, Hillel. The full context is: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” It is a powerful call to act and seize the moment. Yet, what sticks in my mind today given the devastating rise of antisemitism throughout the world accepted in politics, on college campuses, and even in elementary schools—who is acting, doing what and when?

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was established in 1910 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and others in the United States. The ADL was founded with “the understanding that the fight against one form of prejudice cannot succeed without battling prejudice in all forms. “At the time Jews were undergoing pervasive antisemitism and discrimination. Sound familiar? It has been the same throughout the centuries. Each decade brought new challenges. The world just loves to hate Jews. It is a conundrum that baffles me until this day.

The ADL began tracking Arab propaganda in the 1950s which “explicitly sought to foment anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments.” That sounds familiar too, except with today’s communications, disseminating the hate is instantaneous. The use of trigger words associated with the cruelty toward Jews during WWII and The Holocaust, just adds to our pain as Israel and Jews are described as Nazis and accusing Israel of genocide.

In the latest ADL Global 100 survey, published January 2025, 58,000 people were surveyed which they say represents 94% of the people in the world! The results show that, “46 percent of the world’s adult population – an estimated 2.2 billion people – harbor deeply entrenched antisemitic attitudes, more than double compared to ADL’s first worldwide survey a decade ago and the highest level on record since ADL started tracking these trends globally.” Take a minute. Even to the most aware Jew, that statistic must leave them speechless. Amongst young adults (18-34) the statistics are worse—50%. You know the folks, with the most energy to fix a problem— how can they recognize the disinformation and that it is a problem when they believe it themselves?

Look at what is happening on college campuses. The energy is there, but where is it being spent? Attacking Jews while the administrations look the other way, distracted counting the donations in their financial statements by countries like Qatar.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) describes themselves as ”a global Jewish human rights activist organization that confronts antisemitism, hate, defends the safety of Israel and Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations through its advocacy and education programs, investigations, research, reporting, media, films, and museums.”

The SWC has outlined the 2024 Top Ten Worst Global Antisemitic Incidents. These are categories not individual incidents. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of each.

1. IRAN’S AXIS OF EVIL: WAR AGAINST THE JEWS
Iran launched thousands of missiles, supplied weapons, and built tunnels used by their proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis against Israel.

File: The Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, October 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Avi Roccah)

2. UNRWA: THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION

UNWRA bias has been a concern for many years. Post October 7th, led to the discovery of hundreds of miles of terror tunnels under Gaza, including UNRWA facilities and the rampant infiltration of Hamas within UNWRA which led to the discovery of 13,000 UNWRA members are active in Hamas. How has this fact shaped the education of the generations of Gazans?

3. SYNAGOGUES TARGETED AROUND THE WORLD

In 2024 synagogues were targeted throughout the world including Sfax, Tunisia; Oldenberg, Germany; Moscow, Russia; Trondheim, Norway; Athens, Greece; Los Angeles, USA; La Grande-Motte, France; Philadelphia, USA; Melbourne, Sydney, Australia, and multiple threats and attacks across Canada.

A supporter of Israel with blood on his face after clashing with pro-Palestinian protesters blocking access to the Adas Torah Orthodox synagogue, in Los Angeles, June 23, 2024. (DAVID SWANSON AFP)

4. The International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ): WEAPONIZING THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

The report charges that the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) have been ”weaponized to punish Israel and Israeli leaders for the crime of protecting their citizens from more terrorist mass murder.”

5. PROMINENT INFLUENCERS: OF THE FAR-LEFT & FAR-RIGHT

The report warns that influencers both on the far-left and right with millions of followers such as Greta Thunberg and Candace Owens have each demonized both Jews & Israel. Thunberg has advocated boycotting Israel and Owens has questioned the veracity of the atrocities of the Holocaust. The hostages and October 7th do not seem to be anything important to talk about.

University of California Police officers face off against anti-Israel protesters demonstrating, outside Dodd Hall at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, June 10, 2024. (Etienne Laurent/AFP)

6. ELITE UNIVERSITIES: DEMONIZING ZIONISM, NORMALIZING ANTISEMITISM

The news has been full of the antisemitic and anti-Israel protests that Jewish students have had to contend with—imagine walking to class to take a final and passing by people threatening to annihilate you! The administrators looked the other way not knowing how to deal with the fact that the Jewish students were being attacked but not wanting to upset their deep-pocket donors. Could you imagine if the same were happening in 2025 to other minorities on campus? Rightly, there would be a demand for immediate cease and desist.

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7. FRANCESCA ALBANESE: BLAMING ISRAEL FOR HAMAS’ MURDERING JEWS

Who is Francesca Albanese? She is the (UN) “Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Her job is to report on human rights issues in the Palestinian Territories. Let’s just say she does her job from a slant that demonizes Israel, applauds Hamas’ actions on October 7th, and accuses Israel of actions comparable to the Nazi Holocaust.

Reported are the remarks of the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who “declared that Albanese is “unfit for her role” and that “the United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from an UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights.”

8. NGOs POISONOUS AGENDA

For decades we have heard of civil rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. The name alone gives a feeling of comfort. However, the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) reported that the HRW has demonstrated extreme bias in their reporting accusing Israel of genocide and blocking water deliveries to Gazans. SWC Details “12 Lies of Omission” in Human Rights Watch’s Accusation that Israel is Committing “Genocide” in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 19, 2023. (Avi Ohayon GPO)

9. PRESIDENTS TARGETING ISRAEL

The presidents of Turkey, Ireland, South Africa, and Columbia have accused Israel of genocide.

10. SPORTS: ISRAELI OLYMPIANS & OTHER ATHLETES TARGETED

Good sportsmanship has been lacking internationally as at the UEFA football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam. Israeli soccer fans exiting the game were attacked by organized rioters, in what was described as a “Jew hunt.”

Israeli athletes faced Nazi salutes at the Paris Olympics, personal threats, exclusion from some international competitions and in November, players from TuS Makkabi, an under-17 youth soccer team in Berlin were chased by a crowd wielding sticks and knives and faced jeers of “Free Palestine.”

And where is the public outcry to protect Jews, if not Israelis? It is obvious that many do not agree with Israel’s current government’s stance on the I-P War, especially as it is portrayed in the media. Many Jews don’t either, but what is behind carrying it forward to attack all Jews? The long reach of antisemitism and Jew hatred has been unleashed upon us, no matter how small our numbers, these ethnic mathematicians want even less of us.

The Abrahamic religions are very intertwined and yet they struggle to get along. Instead of realizing their similarities, celebrating their differences, and banding together to fight against hate, separation and isolation seems to be the path most take.

What we need is action beyond word service espousing the ethics of religious observance. We’ve got troubled waters, where are our friends who will be our Bridge Over Troubled Waters?

May You Live in Peace, שלום and سلام.