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Barbara Aiello

October 7 Memorials – Pitfalls to Avoid

Several years ago I wrote an article, “Hijacking the Holocaust,” where I outlined how many worldwide Holocaust commemorations had diluted the memory of six million murdered Jews and instead had turned these memorial events into a forum on genocide.  In that piece I described an experience where clergy and academics, invited to join me on the dais for the January 27 European Holocaust Remembrance Day, persisted in speaking less about the industrialized murder of European Jews, and focused instead on human mass tragedies that had taken place around the world.

During their presentations my colleagues spoke passionately about Rwandan massacres and Yazidi persecutions. One colleague, a professor of Islamic studies, was so impassioned about what he termed “the genocide of Palestinians” that he even led the audience in the antisemitic “Nakba” chant that decries the formation of the State of Israel.

Why this unpleasant trip down memory lane? Why now? As the world recalls the October 7th massacre and considers appropriate ways to memorialize those murdered, injured and taken hostage, it would be wise to remind ourselves that over the years the meaning of Holocaust memorial events has been diminished to the point where on occasion Jewish genocide is given only a cursory mention.

Eight years ago an article published in the Jerusalem Post (Terra Incognita: The Holocaust: Between Dilution and Equivalence, 2016), journalist Seth J. Frantzman cautioned that what is unique about the  Jewish Holocaust experience will soon be lost in the homogenous pool of similar worldwide tragedies.  Nearly a decade later Mr. Frantzman’s observations have proven true.

Will October 7th observances suffer the same fate?  Maybe, especially if those organizing these events become distracted from their primary purpose – to memorialize peace-loving Jewish civilians who were murdered  by Jew-hating terrorists.

If our synagogues and Jewish organizations find themselves sidetracked by inclusivity issues so much so that October 7th becomes just one of many examples of genocidal evil, then it will only be a matter of time until the October 7 massacre is diluted to the point that its unique position as an antisemitic homicidal tragedy is lost.

Words matter. The Jewish men, women and children were not “lost” (like in an avalanche) and  they did not “perish” (like in an explosion). They were not  “killed”  (like in a car crash)  and they didn’t “die” (like in old age). They were murdered because they were Jews.

So as those in the position of  Jewish leadership discuss ways to approach an October 7th memorial it would be wise to remember that each worldwide genocide has its own designated memorial day.  For example April 7 is the official International  Day of Reflection on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, while April 24 marks Armenia Genocide Remembrance Day. Bengali Genocide Day is observed on March 25 while May 20, the annual National Day of Remembrance for the Cambodian Genocide, was observed by none other than the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. .

Over the years each tragic genocide boasts its own day of remembrance, so why has it become necessary to dilute Holocaust memorial observances with worldwide genocidal tragedies? Could this be a not so subtle ploy to diminish the unique character of Europe’s continent-wide extermination of the Jews?

Nearly a decade ago journalist Seth Frantzman warned, “In recent years there has been a tendency to revise the history of the Holocaust. In the West this takes the form of universalizing it and diluting its meaning.”

If we Jews are not cautious and observant,  October 7th memorials will suffer the same fate.

About the Author
Rabbi Barbara Aiello is the first woman and first non-orthodox rabbi in Italy. She opened the first active synagogue in Calabria since Inquisition times and is the founder of the B'nei Anousim movement in Calabria and Sicily that helps Italians discover and embrace their Jewish roots
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