In the book of Leviticus, the God of Israel gives His children a series of calendar dates to respect and commemorate each year. We read: “The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations (Leviticus 23:1-2).”
These are known as the Feasts of the Lord or the Feasts of Israel, and no, they have nothing to do with Kristallnacht per se, except maybe and within reason, the principle of yearly repetition found in those verses. God knew all along that mankind can have a tendency to become complacent and even forget about important events like His festivals, so He laid them out in a chapter of the Torah for believers to commemorate for years to come.
There is much value in remembering. We must remember not just the good that happened to us but also the bad. This is why many special dates have been set aside by various countries over the centuries to either celebrate the birthday of an important character of history, an event or even a place. Likewise we must remember the days that negatively punctuated mankind’s history such as Kristallnacht each November since the event took place.
Global Muslim Enclaves: Connecting the Dots of the Caliphate!
I grew up playing all kinds of harmless board games like Monopoly® or Clue®. Another one of my favorites was RISK®, where players competed against one another to conquer the world one region at a time, one continent at a time. One of the winning strategies was to slowly increase your army strength all across the globe without much fighting until you had enough in a few places to “connect the dots” and then descend on your enemy, decimate them and take over their territories without much harm to your army.
Hatred wasn’t the only cause for Kristallnacht!
In the book of Leviticus, the God of Israel gives His children a series of calendar dates to respect and commemorate each year. We read: “The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations (Leviticus 23:1-2).”
These are known as the Feasts of the Lord or the Feasts of Israel, and no, they have nothing to do with Kristallnacht per se, except maybe and within reason, the principle of yearly repetition found in those verses. God knew all along that mankind can have a tendency to become complacent and even forget about important events like His festivals, so He laid them out in a chapter of the Torah for believers to commemorate for years to come.
There is much value in remembering. We must remember not just the good that happened to us but also the bad. This is why many special dates have been set aside by various countries over the centuries to either celebrate the birthday of an important character of history, an event or even a place. Likewise we must remember the days that negatively punctuated mankind’s history such as Kristallnacht each November since the event took place.
This unexpected event occurred 76 years ago on November 9-10, 1938, throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria and Czechoslovakia. It continues to be remembered as Kristallnacht or “the Night of Broken Glass”. It consisted of a series of pogroms (organized riots) against Jewish communities during which over 260 synagogues and 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed and 91 Jewish people killed. Additionally, 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
This attack against the Jews of Europe was orchestrated by the paramilitary division of the Nazi Party known as the SA (Sturmabtellung) or “Stormtroopers”, originally under Herman Göring until Hitler took it over from 1930 to 1945. The chief instigator of the riots was Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels
Originally, the reason given for Kristallnacht was the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by a young Polish Jew living in Paris at the time. The life of one German man precipitated the destruction of thousands of Jewish properties and the deportation and death of tens of thousands of Jews. This is somewhat reminiscent of the corporate anti-Semitism demonstrated by Haman in the book of Esther for what appears to be the disobedience of one Jewish man, namely Mordecai. This is quite an imbalance by any ethical or judicial standards.
In reality the death of Ernst Vom Rath was simply a pretext for pogroms and mass boycotts against the Jewish community. Reputable historians see Kristallnacht as the inception of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Problem” that is the Holocaust. But what we must realize is that Kristallnacht wasn’t only a demonstration of hatred against the Jews. It might have been fueled by anti-Semitism but there was also an equally devastating enemy at work there. I call it was apathy.
Whenever there is any kind of abuse in the world being the tight vise of a dictatorship, religious fanaticism or ethnic cleansing to name just a few, the grip of abuse is always facilitated by the apathy of those who could make a difference.
There were many Germans during Kristallnacht who could have made a difference. They could have stood in the way of evil. To be sure, some did and we certainly do want to generalize. As to what other civilized countries could have done to help a wounded Jewonistish community escape a much darker fate, history tells us that it was also too little and way too late, if at all. Doors for immigration were closed except for a few countries like England for a short while. Words come easy but when not followed by actions, they are just a collection of clinging cymbals making noise with no purpose.
Any time in history that a community becomes complacent or indifferent to the fate of one of its minority groups, it is only a matter of time until that minority runs the greater risk of extinction, all of it simply observed by their apathetic neighbor.
76 years after the original “Night of Broken Glass” anti-Semitism is at its highest since that gloomy episode of history that saw the death of 6,000,000 Jews. Do we run the chance of another Kristallnacht? Well, if we consider the level of anti-Israel sentiment displayed around the globe in words AND deeds, I would posit that YES, we do indeed. We could see another event of the sort that might again serve as a catalyst to a greater loss of life. All we have to do is watch the events of the last six months in Western Europe (France in particular). We can also look at what Iran’s Ayatollah Khameini just published against Israel on the very day of the anniversary ofKristallnacht. His nine-point plan on the annihilation of the “Zionist regime” leaves no stone unturned.
When it comes to Israel and the Jewish people, we live in an age of “supporter fatigue”. The events of the Middle East still make the 8 o’clock news but do not carry the same impact as they did even a decade ago. By extension, what happens to global Jewry has also become a rather tiresome story to most. People simply don’t care any more unless there is “something in it for them”. When self-gratification reigns, apathy is a co-regent, crippling those who could help.
We must remember Kristallnacht if only to be able to tell our children about it. We shouldn’t hold a grudge or even seek retribution, but we should simply do our part to remain instrumental in teaching our world about evil and how to fight it.
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
Global Muslim Enclaves: Connecting the Dots of the Caliphate!
I grew up playing all kinds of harmless board games like Monopoly® or Clue®. Another one of my favorites was RISK®, where players competed against one another to conquer the world one region at a time, one continent at a time. One of the winning strategies was to slowly increase your army strength all across the globe without much fighting until you had enough in a few places to “connect the dots” and then descend on your enemy, decimate them and take over their territories without much harm to your army.
France’s Anti-Semitism Reaches New Heights!
When it comes to European anti-Semitism, France is often leading the pack with both creativity and virulence. It is always with great sadness that I write about my country of origin and what appears to be its chronic descent into the bottomless pit of Jew hatred.
I recently chronicled a brief overview of French anti-Semitism in three parts (Part I, part II and part III), positing that it didn’t happen in a vacuum but grew over 2,000 years. The theological differences of yesteryear turned into laws, leading to warped thoughts, followed by actions and eventually culminating in the unnecessary death of millions of innocent souls.
The current Jewish community of France is getting organized to leave the country of “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”. Statistically, France might loose as many as 8,000 Jewish people in 2014. But this is much more than a statistic, it is symptomatic of a trend proving that France is no longer safe for Jews.
The pro-Palestinian stance taken by France is so prevalent that some have given-up on fighting it. They have decided to pack-up and leave. But not all Jews will depart the country that still holds the third largest Jewish community in the world.
One would think that having recovered from the Nazi invasion and the Vichy government, France would humbly but diligently endeavor to make its Jewish community feel welcome. On the contrary, I never cease to be amazed at the new ways that France will find to surpass its own despicable acts of Jew hatred.
It was only last July that a Paris street protest in favor of Hamas and Palestine turned sour and branched out towards the rue de la RoquetteSynagogue where 200 Jewish worshippers were gathered. By God’s grace a pogrom was averted, but until when?
Yet, just a couple of weeks ago, while the French government performs its usual hypocritical game of semantics to reassure the Jews of France that they are safe there, something took place to prove the opposite. At the end of the day, the old adage stating: “actions speak louder than words” still holds true.
France might have cringed at the recent Russian announcement to hold a social network “Miss Hitler” Beauty Pageant, but the ugly staunch of hypocrisy was present all along. President Hollande might appear to be the friend of Israel, yet prime minister Laurent Fabius is considering recognizing Palestine in a move unprecedented in the European Union (following Sweden and the UK).
The French president made a strong statement in 2012 in the company of Mr. Netanyahu at a ceremony remembering the Toulouse massacre victims. He said that: “the Jews of France must be aware that the republic will do everything it can to protect them and to give them security…Their security is in the national interest of all the French.” So where was Mr. Hollande when he needed to put his foot down to stop this recent despicable act of anti-Semitism?
It was just a couple of weeks ago that a man who killed Jews was honored in France, but not just remembered as a “victim”, “militant” or “martyr” for the cause of Palestinians, that of course would be an insult to many already. Instead, in order to make the Jewish people more secure in a very volatile France, a street was named after that man!
The man in question is Marwan Barghouti known as an arch-terrorist who since 2004 is serving five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison for the death of five Israelis. Barghouti still exercises much control over Fatah from his prison cell. He is credited for having led the first and second intifadas. He is seen by many as the most likely leader to replace Mahmoud Abbas who has exceeded his 4-year term by several years. Mr. Barghouti is a terrorist, a murderer and an anti-Semite.
The city of Valenton on the east side of Paris, in the Val-de-Marne regionjust recently named a street “Allée Marwan Barghouti” because, according to its communist mayor Mrs. Françoise Baud, Barghouti is: “the face of the unwavering resistance of the Palestinian people against the occupation, the crimes, the destruction, the apartheid and the colonization perpetrated by the Israeli government.”
As the street was inaugurated, a sign was revealed by the Mayor that read:Alley Marwan Barghouti, Palestinian deputy, activist, arbitrarily imprisoned in Israel, “The Palestinian Mandela” is an honorary citizen of Valenton.
I am still trying to understand how anyone can be “arbitrarily imprisoned” after killing five people? This decision by Françoise Baud was followed by a three-page letter she sent in response to some of the criticism she received. Unfortunately for most of my readers, the letter is in French but it comprises a series of excuses for the mayor’s action in the name of peace and of course a two-state solution. Additionally, Mrs Baud is trying to get her city council to adopt the Palestinian refugee camp of Balata near Nablus as a sister city to Valenton.
Barghouti, Abbas, Hamas and 80% of all Palestinians DO NOT WANT PEACE with Israel but all Jews dead. Has the mayor been misled, lied to or is she deceiving us into believing that Israel is the only problem in the way of true peace in the Middle East?
By elevating a terrorist to the status of hero, Valenton and I am afraid much of France have validated murder, terrorism and hatred against Israel and the Jewish people by proxy. If all it takes to get a street named after you in France is the murder of a few Jews, Mohammed Merah (the Toulouse massacres) will get his street soon and Hitler should get a highway or maybe even an airport named after him.
In the meantime, and for reasons that are becoming clearer by the day, Jews are leaving France in droves.
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