When The World Looks Back

When we look back at events that led up to the Holocaust, we wonder: why didn’t the Jews see the writing on the wall? Why didn’t they leave in time to be saved?

And when we look back at the Holocaust itself, the systematic gassing and burning of the Jewish population of Europe, we wonder why the world looked the other way. Why did FDR look the other way? Why did the New York Times bury the story that was the biggest story that ever was?

Today, Israel’s death warrant was signed.

It was signed because American Jews have lost their tribal affiliation to their people.

It was signed because American Jews preferred to think about climate change, gay marriage rights, and affordable health care over the fate of 7 million Jews, one more million than were gassed by Hitler.

Dachau
Dachau

Because some things are more important than Jews. Or Israel.

It’s much more important to American Jews today, to have good conditions for themselves in America. That comes before all other considerations including their brothers in Israel.

And so of course they did not vote for Romney, who was the Not Obama, or McCain before him. They couldn’t have.

And they thought it was okay to vote for Obama as long as they mouthed the words, “Never Again,” once a year on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It really was that simple. As long as they said Never Again on that one day a year, they felt sure they’d acquitted themselves well. Done their duty.

And some did more than that. Some also shared with their Facebook friends, a gif of a flickering yahrzeit candle, or forwarded a touching email, reminding their friends that a lot of “people” had “died” once.

NER

It is a chutzpa that anyone would ask them to vote away their rights for the sake of 7 million Israeli Jews, so far away.

On the other side of the world.

Not their concern.

And they didn’t want to hear about it.

So they put on blinders, as Obama, a modern day Hitler, fed them lines.

Obama_SHH

Lines like: what other alternative is there to making this deal?

And none of them cared whether or not that phrase actually made sense.

And none of them cared enough to pick that sentence apart and analyze it to see if it actually means anything.

None of them WANTED to know how this would impact Israeli Jews.

Because that would have bust their bubble.Taking Out Trash

And the bubble must be protected against any encroachment by the truth, such an unlovely truth.

That Iran has Israel in its sights.

And that its foremost aim is to wipe out the Jews for good.

To finish the job that Hitler started.

And take out that trash.

The 7 million Jews of Israel.

74 thoughts on “When The World Looks Back”

  1. Norman_In_New_York

    Just because a death warrant was signed does not mean that the signatories will be able to execute it. Death warrants were signed in 1948 and in 1967 when Israel was considerably weaker than it is now. In 1973, the enemies even had the added advantage of surprise and still couldn’t execute the death warrant. Nor has Israel’s military been standing still as the ayatollahs thumped their chests. By the way, I twice crossed party lines to vote for McCain and Romney.

    1. Hrundi V. Bakshi

      The big difference is that only 2 nuclear bombs, one in the center, one in the south, plus a barrage of rockets on the North from Libanon is needed to finish Israel off. The Mullahs know whis very well and when they talk genocide, they mean just that. Also, bickering between Netanyahu, Barak, Ashkenasi and Dagan makes you wonder if the Israeli leadership is really that inept or just very, very tired.

        1. Hrundi V. Bakshi

          Even more worrying if political ambitions were at work when the Chief of Staff (Ashkenasi) and the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Institute (Dagan) refused to plan a military option at the PM’s request. Probably discussions like these take place all the time, everywhere. But leaking them to the sensationalist press for small political gains did a lot of damage and is part of the reason why Israel was considered irrelevant by the P5+1.

          1. Norman_In_New_York

            The last I heard, opposition leader Isaac Herzog has joined Bibi in rejecting the deal. Ashkenasi and Dagan are no longer in power.

    2. ahad_ha_amoratsim

      Death warrants were signed by another Persian madman centuries before that. Halevai that we do tshvua as effectively as our fathers did in the days of Mordechai and Esther.

  2. Your words are harsh and uncalled for. This agreement with Iran is not the fault of American Jews but the fault of one man and his flunkies. You in Israel have nothing to fear – the Rebbe always said the eyes of Hashem are on the land of Israel 24/7. It is we, Americans who have much to fear. Iran will not destroy the little satan while the big satan stands. We here in America are on mortal danger.

      1. Like American Jews were the only voters in America. You have no clue what Iran will do or if they will survive long enough to do it. once again, G-d controls this world and has guaranteed the Jewish people that we are part of the big plan. Admit you don’t believe in G-d which is what your post is really about, and get a job.

          1. Then don’t single out American Jews as the culprit and that might end the infighting. 70% of American Jews voting for Obama is 70% of 1% of 300 million people.

          2. I don’t see any infighting. I said what I feel to be the truth and it was pretty brutal. People are hurt. They would like to think what I said is not true. They’re expressing their hurt.

            It’s easier to call me rude than to see my point. That’s okay. I said what I needed to say and they are doing the same.

            That is what freedom of expression is all about.

            Don’t know how much longer these freedoms will be maintained. As long as we have them, I reserve the right to use my freedom to say my piece, in hopes that someone will get something useful from the exercise.

            1. I was actually replying to Baba Wawa, whose “stick it where the sun don’t shine” remark was completely uncalled for, not to mention “Admit you don’t believe in G-d which is what your post is really about, and get a job.”
              Since you aren’t the only one in this thread to have made this mistake, I would like to point out to you all that there are little arrows next to comments with the name of the person to whom it is in reply.
              “Don’t know how much longer these freedoms will be maintained.” – Who do you fear is threatening your freedom of expression?

              1. Shimona, I do find Disqus less than user-friendly. Thanks for explaining.

                It’s not who I fear, it’s what I fear. Obama is trying to make this one world where no one has more privilege than anyone else. It’s big government and it’s intrusive.

                Teachers in the U.S. are being told they can’t teach things that make students feel uncomfortable.

                At the same time, Obama is reaching out to enemy states and aligning with them. I fear Bibi losing hold and the left getting back in and throwing in their lot with Obama and his one-world headspace in which, of course, Israel is the Devil.

                If that happens, we might well end up living with the sort of Lois Lerner-style/Cultural Revolution-style intrusiveness that makes it hard to be different.

                What is happening is about the world and not just about America and Iran.

                On the other hand, paving the way for Iran to get the bomb makes this all a moot point. Freedoms are for the living.

                1. Bush was no different when he tried to bring Democracy to Iraq. It really comes down to ” don’t put your trust in princes.”

      2. I’m not quite as angry as Ms. Wawa, but your point is much exaggerated. On many of the right-wing & libertarian sites I read, there’s a tribe of trolls always lumbering in to blame “the Jews” for Obama and for the Left in general. The Left itself cultivates this for all the familiar reasons, and too many American Jews react like abused spouses. Then the same Left, and the same “conservative” trolls, blame “the Jews” for Wall Street when that’s convenient. Can we in America at least expect our fellow Jews not to peddle familiar antisemitic tropes?

        1. Most pundits, no matter which side of the political divide they stand on, view the Jewish vote as influential. Obama got 70% of the Jewish vote.

          This isn’t like saying: Jews have big noses.
          That would be antisemitism and bigotry.

          Expecting American Jewry to take responsibility for its overwhelming vote in favor of a man who has endangered Israel’s existence, on the other hand, is not a trope.

          This is really how I feel. I am American. I expect my birth country and coreligionists to support Israel. I feel betrayed. I am scared. I have a son in the army. I have 10 grandchildren and one on the way who now live under the threat of nuclear attack because of this man that 70% of American Jews voted for.

          You want me not to feel what I feel? You want me not to say it in public, because it’s rude or hurtful to your feelings?

          We begged you not to vote for this man. And you voted for him twice. Maybe not you personally. But the vast majority of American Jews.

          I think that bears introspection and repentance and a resolve to do something productive to improve this situation immediately, if such a thing is even possible.

          Alas, I do not think it is possible.

          You do not know how much I love America. I love America SO much. And my (Jewish) brethren have kicked me under the bus when I and my country are a force for good in the Middle East.

          1. What did the Nazis say about the Jews – we were the cause of all the world’s problems. Now it’s American Jews and they’re ALONE voted in Obama. Neither I nor any of my friends (Chabad) voted for Obama, and your post was definitely directed at me. This post is rude.

            1. Kol hakavod that you didn’t vote for him. Bless you. And if you tried to convince others not to vote for you, even more so, blessings on your head.

              During WWII, only the frum community tried to do something. Then you had Stephen Wise and his ilk. The liberal left of that time. See: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007309

              This is a repeat. I call it how I see it. The Jews have always been considered a significant voting bloc and the majority of them voted for Obama, despite the warnings of Israel and the frum community.

          2. With respect, it is a trope to talk of “American Jews” as if they are an organised influential group that controls world politics or even US politics. While it is true that Jews who live in Jewish communities do influence politics in countries where voting is tied to demographics (ie not one person = one vote), your description does conjure an image of this powerful Jewish group, who, though small in number, controls everything. This does play into the antisemitic playbook. Just like in Israel, there are many varied opinions among Jews in the U.S. I thought it was outrageous that Obama should try and influence how Israelis should vote for their own leadership. I also thought it was inappropriate and arrogant for American Jews to dictate to Israelis how to determine their own future, but it does go both ways doesn’t it? I imagine it’s a tough and painful choice for liberal Jews in the U.S. – Republicans don’t at all reflect their ethos and Democrats are led by Obama. Some of that is the conditioning we get from early childhood (Allies vs Nazis; Goodies vs Badies…) Some of that is the human psychology of organising oneself to a group or alliance first and then making decisions accordingly – whereas logic dictates it should be in reverse.

            1. Thanks for your thoughtful response, Inessa. I think we are going to look back on this time and conflate it with how we didn’t do enough to stop the Holocaust. I place myself inside this group. Kol Yisrael areivim zeh l’zeh. We are one people and we are all responsible for each other. And yet we insist on dividing ourselves into camps.

              I didn’t tell 70% of American Jewry to place their domestic concerns ahead of Israel’s existential welfare. They did that on their own. They separated themselves from their brethren in doing so.

              Interestingly, the word “kedusha” means “separate.” We are supposed to be separate from other peoples. Special. Different. We are supposed to be there for each other. What one Jew does in France, affects a Jew in Yemen. That is how it is.

              Here, you had a huge group separate themselves from their people to join a liberal sensibility that swept over America.

              Jews have influence beyond their small numbers and some of that influence is spiritual.

              I spoke the truth. It’s a hard truth to swallow, no doubt. If one person drinks it in and learns something from it, I will be happy.

              If not, at least I will have tried. And I will continue to try.

              1. Except that Israel is key. To paraphrase that wise saying “I won’t tell you about how he died, I will tell you about how he lived”; we shouldn’t only reflect on how six million were murdered, but also how those who survived against all odds, didn’t just survive; they were miraculous. How Israel created an army, at least half of which was these same starving and beaten survivors, and won against six established Arab armies. Maybe we could have done more to prevent those deaths in the Holocaust, but we were the victims and it was the World that should have done more. Israel lives, Am Israel lives, and living against the odds is what we do. Who knows, maybe a time comes when liberal American Jews can help in other ways, maybe they can yet be like Esther in the ear of Ahashverosh.

          3. Begging your pardon, but I voted AGAINST him twice, and prevailed upon many of my neighbors to do the same. Of my closest friends, one family is in Israel, one is making aliyah next month, and a third has a son there. We are praying as frantically as anyone else, writing to our representatives, and doing anything else we can think of to help. Stereotyping and blanket-blaming is unseemly.

            1. Of course you did. This article isn’t about you, but it is about us. Meaning, Jews. 70% of our people betrayed us. You, me, and them. It’s something we will all suffer for. Something we will all eat.

          4. I don’t know what chrystal ball you think the average Jew was looking into when he/she voted for Obama. From my frme sister and her friends it doesn’t look like they care enough about the world to vote. I doubt that most of them do. You are kavetching at the Conservative and Reform Jews who at least take the time to go to the polls. People on the West Coast think he’s a Muslim. To me he is behaving like typical Christian. And Christians hate Jews as much as Muslims do. Just because the Christian Right is anti-abortion and anti- gay doesn’t mean they have the foggiest understanding of the Law or morality or anything else.

      1. Damn straight I’m an American and I’m not about to apologize to you for it. You don’t know me or know why I live where I live. Stick your judgements where the sun don’t shine, which is where they belong. G-d controls this world, not you. For all your bravado you have no clue what is in store for this world and what part the American Jews you obviously detest will play. I’m a long time reader of israellycool and will be sure to give your columns a miss for now on.

      2. actually varda, you are just as much in galus and at the whim of the other goyim as we are

        so we all need to do teshuva and hope that hashem hears our plea and wipes out this evil decree

    1. I think demonizing Obama gives him and the Evil One too much credit for intelligence. The area is small and too many Muslims live in close proximity. And Jerusalem is important to Muslims also. Republicans don’t care about us Jews either. They know America is the real target.

  3. Of the many, many disappointing things about this deal, one of the most frustrating was when Obama went on TV this morning and w/in the first 3 minutes of his speech announcing the deal he blatantly lied to everyone regarding access to inspections yet not one of the major news networks or newspapers called him on it. He claimed inspectors have 24/7 access to any site but that’s just a flat out lie. Iras has the right to reject inspection requests and can delay the process at least 24 days.

        1. Do you have any evidence that the Jewish vote provided the margin of
          victory for Obama, either time? Remember, Obama won by a large margin
          in the electoral college both times, and in the big states (CA, IL, etc)
          the margin of victory was higher than the total Jewish percentage of
          the population.

  4. It just might be that Israel will survive and prosper? This dilly dallying with Iran has been going on for more than 25 years with GOP and Dems on the watch, and little except for some sabotage acts has been done to slow it down. Why has the Iranian leadership not been made to account for its acts of hostility? That’s my question for the “bipartisan” group that goes back and forth “running” the U.S. Blaming U.S. Jews for this agreement of Obama and Iran, as if it was apparent before the election is a silly statement. It was not apparent such an agreement was in the cards or even desired. It would be nice to have an agreement, just not a non-verifiable and non-enforceable one.

  5. Varda, you’ve gone off the deep end. This ‘tea party’ type finger pointing of blame reveals more about you than American Jews, of whom you claim to know, but in reality know nothing about.

    1. Don’t equate me with your little groups and divisions that you have in America. I don’t belong to any of these groups. I live in Israel, not in America. P.S. I was born and raised an American Jew.

  6. And another thing Varda, this “blaming the Jews for their own suffering” plays right into the anti-semitic playbook.

  7. Norman_In_New_York

    Last year’s congressional election may have been a belated repudiation, but a repudiation of Obama it was. If all 100 Senate seats were up for grabs instead of one-third, the Republicans would have a veto-proof majority. Every American public opinion poll over recent years has shown support for Israel at an all-time high.

      1. ahad_ha_amoratsim

        All true. But if every American Jew bald voted against Obalma would it have tipped the election the other way? Still, most disgusting of all, is how many are still prepared to vote for Hillary.

          1. ahad_ha_amoratsim

            Varda, I looked at the link you posted. It is 14 years old — nearly half a generation — and relies on data that must be even older. Some random thoughts:

            The recent Pew study show that assimilation and intermarriage continue to take their toll. As late as the 1960s and 1970s, intermarriage was rare, and frowned upon. The intermarriage rate among non-observant Jews is not close to 50%. And we see the results.

            According to the study, fewer and fewer American Jews see anything important in being Jewish. More think that a sense of humor, eating deli, or working for liberal causes is more important to being Jewish than performing mitzvos, learning Torah or identifying with Israel. Does this suggest to you that the importance of the Jewish voting block has declined? Sad to say, but Christian supporters of Israel may be a much more influential block today.

            And we Orthodox Jews should not pat ourselves on the back, no matter where we live. Are we living in such a way as to show non-observant Jews (many of whom may be immediate family, given the prevalance of BTs) the beauty of a Torah life, or do we bicker and find fault? (I’m guilty, on both counts.) Even within the Torah world, do we treat each other with the respect due to children of the Makom? Do we keep in mind that what Obama tries to do, and his success in doing it, may reflect the way we relate to each other, and to Our Father? As a Chabad rabbi remarked to me recently, Hashem likes it when His children get along.

            Too many Jews are still voting straight Democrat, no matter what, because they remember how FDR stood up to isolationist Republicans who wanted to keep us out of WWII (and forgetting how FDR and his friends kept Jews fleeing the Nazis out of the US), or remember Humphrey’s fight against anti-Jewish discrimination in the 1950s. Those of us who were too young to remember those things were raised by people who did. In the process, too many of us lose sight of what today’s Democratic party is doing.

            And too many of us, as indicated by the Pew study, just don’t care.

            And I’m plenty mad that there are even Torah Jews who voted for this rasha, not once, but twice. And who are prepared, after all this, to vote for a woman who kissed Suha Arafat after hearing her say that Jews were using nerve gas against Arabs, and who said recently that religions will have to change what they teach about mishkav zachor.

            Why is a nobody from nowhere able to thwart the will of Congress, and successfully manipulate some of the most effective and best organized grass roots lobbying groups? Of all the Jewish alphabet soup organizations, why are only the relatively small and uninfluential groups like ZOA, NCYI, OU or AFSI even willing to publicly criticize him?

            Obama is the stick in the hand of the Master, striking a disobedient dog. Barking at the stick is not as important as doing what the Master told us we are supposed to do.

            Does that mean we should not do our hishtadlus? Of course not! We need to vote more intelligently, call and email our elected representatives, and fight this evil agreement. But we also have to ask why and how this came to happen, and in my opinion Jewish voting patterns are a symptom, not a cause.

            Sorry for the disorganized rant.

            1. I found that link fairly quickly. Could probably come up with something more current. I do believe that proof exists that the Jewish vote is far more influential than one would guess by the percentage of Jews in the total voting population.

              1. ahad_ha_amoratsim

                I am now even more sick to my stomach. This statement is all the indignation that one midwest Jewish Federation could muster:

                “JCRC Statement on the Announcement of the Iran Nuclear Deal

                July 14, 2015

                The Jewish Community Relations Committee(JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of *****hopes that the agreement announced today in Vienna will resolve the issue of the Iranian nuclear threat, but we are concerned that this deal may be insufficient. We look forward to learning the specifics of the accord in the coming weeks as we seek to understand its implications and its efficacy.

                The organized Jewish community has consistently preferred a diplomatic resolution to the threat of a nuclear Iran. The possibility that the world’s leading exporter of terrorism could pose an existential threat to its neighbors is a scenario too grave to ignore. We appreciate President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and the team of diplomats for their tireless efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution. We hope that the agreement announced today successfully curtails the Iranian threat.

                At the same time, we have good reason to be concerned that today’s agreement may not be good enough. Reports in recent weeks – including statements by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei – suggest that Iran would not compromise on key conditions that were identified by U.S. officials early on in the negotiation process as ‘red lines’ for any acceptable agreement including: sanctions relief that includes provisions for a ‘snap-back’ in the event of Iranian violations of the agreement; an enduring agreement that does not sunset in 10 or 15 years leaving the world no safer and possibly at greater risk than today, and; a rigorous system of effective inspections by the IAEA, including at military sites. After years of assurances that these negotiations would not curtail restrictions on Iran’s ability to support terrorist forces in the region, recent reports suggest that in the end, concessions may have been made to end restrictions on Iranian access to arms shipments.

                We do not yet have sufficient information to form an opinion of the agreement announced today, which is why JCRC is appreciative of the Congressional review that will take place in the coming weeks. We look forward to that thoughtful debate and to consultations in the coming days with other concerned parties.

                We need no reminder that Iran’s regime does not share the interests and values of the U.S. and our allies; not because of forty years of history, but because of events as recent as this past week when they staged a rally in which thousands marched through the streets of Tehran chanting “Down with America” and “Death to Israel.” While we remain hopeful that today’s agreement will end the nuclear threat, history – and current threats by the Iranian regime – dictate that we remain concerned and vigilant. [Signatures omitted.] ”

                They do not yet have sufficient information to form an opinion? I shudder to think what it will take.

                  1. ahad_ha_amoratsim

                    I can sum it up in two sentences.
                    1. A lot of our major donors supported Obama twice and we don’t want to risk future donations by even hinting that Obama is not Moshiach.
                    2. The paid professional leaders who wrote this pablum also voted for Obama twice and cannot bear to admit to ourselves that we made a terrible (or even minor) mistake.

            2. I think the Jews were given a test. Are you still Bnai Yisrael? And they decided they are not. This is the result of that.

              There’s a bigger picture. There always is. I think people have to consider what I wrote and think if it applies and what they need to do to rectify that, if it is even possible.

              One more thing, my friends are all writing me in support of this piece. They needed me to say this for them. It is what they all feel. And believe it or not, some of those people voted twice for Obama. They regret it now, so deeply. They came to be my friends on Facebook, wanting to rectify this tragic mistake. They are following every news piece I share, avidly.

              They are learning what that vote meant. They are mamash repentant.

              1. ahad_ha_amoratsim

                I think you are right that too many have decided they are not. And sadly, that is one of the many parallels to the 1930s in the US. If have been signing petitions, emailing my congresswoman and senators, but have no idea what other hishtadlus to be doing. Too much of the damage was done when the voters put this paskutnyik in office.

  8. And things always work out for the better under the Republicans?? This
    piece is obnoxious. The writer does nothing to explain how Iran could be
    tamed, but vents her anger at American liberal Jews who will only dig in
    deeper after reading ugliness like this. It doesn’t help to put in
    atrocious claims like Obama=Hitler.

    1. Yes. Things would work out for the better under the Republicans who would not have made this deal.

      There is only one way to tame Iran. Sanctions and might. You have to cow them. It’s the only thing they understand. You know that only if you understand the Middle Eastern psyche. They despise Obama for giving into their demands. They are laughing all the way to bank and giving out candy in the streets because Obama is helping them get the bomb. With which they will destroy him.

      1. And just how well did the Republican might work out in Iraq??

        And by the way, Iran was steaming ahead towards the bomb even with sanctions. I don’t trust Iran at all, and I do believe they will cheat and also continue to do all they can to hurt Israel. But it’s foolish to rely on republicans as the saviors. Foolish also for you to alienate the very people–American Jews– you need to bring to Israel’s side. Besides, there are other points of view on this. Have some humility.

        1. I don’t rely on them as saviors. God forbid. But they wouldn’t have made this deal. Period.

          HAVE SOME HUMILITY?? You really don’t get it. This is an existential threat. You want me to be humble and eat it?

          1. Cynthia Morris

            In the interest of full disclosure, “NessieG” is an unhinged left-winger from Baaston who drank the Obama Kool-Aid years ago and has never recovered. Like those Jews you are writing about, her priorities are national healthcare and abortion on demand – not to mention an African-American president in the White House. That the latter might actually be hostile to Jewish nationalism (Israel) and be directing policy that is inimical to the security and longevity of the Jewish state is only now beginning to stir some cognitive dissonance.

        2. It’s absurd that you think American Jews are so removed from Israel that they need to be somehow courted to be on its side. No. Israel will survive with or without American Jewish support. You need to have some humility.

  9. I agree with almost all of the article.
    One sentence stuck out though: “… as Obama, a modern day Hitler.”

    I haven’t yet fully deciphered the motives behind Obama’s actions on the International arena, but I still don’t see him publishing the equivalent of Mein Kampf, or ordering a Conference in a DC neighbourhood (Wannsee) to order any Final Solution.

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