Every day of the Holocaust we must repeat the main lesson. It is an unpleasant lesson, but it is the right lesson. And as time goes by, it only sharpens, and this year especially. It is impossible to provide security to the Jewish people without political, economic and military power.
Because we’ve had it all in the last two thousand years. Except for power. Therefore we could not defend ourselves.
We were right. We did not hurt or threaten anyone. We contributed to all the countries and all the peoples we lived in, more than any other minority. In return we received hatred, deportation and murder.
We had an ideological and cultural influence, with the most popular and most influential book in the world that we published, with the most popular and most admired figures in the world that came out of us, the most quoted by world scholars, with the greatest influence in every field of philosophy, culture, medicine, economics. We donated them for the sake of the world and out of faith and desire to fix the world and make it good. In return we received jealousy, hatred, deportation and murder.
When we separated and closed, and did not integrate, so as not to disturb others, so as not to assimilate, not to introduce our customs into the majority in which we lived - we hijacked. When in response to this we went out and assimilated and integrated and imitated the customs of the majority that lived within us and spoke their language and behaved like them and looked like us - we were kidnapped again and sometimes even stronger.
We had connections. We were everywhere, we whispered in the ears of leaders, we were their doctors, their poets, their purses, their morals, their families, their loyal assistants. We received forced favors, deportation and murder.
We even had money. In every country where we lived we were a wealthy minority, with influence on the economy, ownership of leading companies and industries. We want technological development and livelihood. In return we received jealousy, hatred, deportation and murder. God we didn’t have power.
And also in the days of independence 2000 years ago, when we had independence and our own place, we were deported. Because even then we didn’t have enough power.
Right. It is not possible just by force. Without justice and without contribution to the world and the ability to integrate into it, to share values and a way of life. But it is not enough, without power.
The conflict with our neighbors will not end until they realize that the violent struggle against us has no chance. Because their violent struggle was decided and we won it. Only then can a settlement be reached. No one will talk to us, if we can be deported. No matter how righteous we are. Ask the six million victims who are hard to even grasp that this happened only 80 years ago. But yes, that’s the truth. And so that’s the lesson.
