Never Again: The Lesson We Have Failed To Learn
I have a cold, and I'm cranky, so let's talk politics.
Image credit: Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay
In the wake of The Holocaust, two words were the guiding light of people around the world, Jewish and non-Jewish people alike: Never Again. The lesson was clear: A tragedy of this magnitude must never happen. We, as a nation of survivors, have an obligation to make sure of that. That's why the young state of Israel was a driving force in the The 1951 Refugee Convention.
But in later years, that lesson seems to have been modified. When Israel's leaders say "Never again," what they're actually saying is "Never again TO US." The universality of the lesson learned by a nation founded following the worst atrocity in human history has been left by the wayside.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the country's treatment of African refugees. Labeling refugees from countries such as Eritrea as "work immigrants," and blaming them for anything from lost jobs to a surge of crime (despite the fact that statistically, they commit fewer crimes than the general population). Now why would politicians foster such hate? Because hate works. Because finding an external source to blame for people's hardships is a get out of jail free card for politicians, and has been for many years.
And it's also about money. Because refugees DO work, but being protected under the refugee convention, it is not as easy to take advantage of them as it is of workers being imported, their passports taken from them.
When people say "Zionist" with a sneer, I am always uncomfortable. The line between that and antisemitism is a very narrow one. Israel was founded for very good reasons, and those reasons are evident worldwide. But when we give up the moral high ground - and out treatment of refugees is just one example of that - we lose the basis for out nation's existence. We must be a state with "Never Again" in our hearts. We must change our self perception and replace "to us" with "to anyone."
Beautifully said. This has always and will always be a hard topic, I think, but we must open our hearts to recognize that the plight of others is just as real as our own, and that no one trauma outranks another. This lesson needs to be applied in the U.S. as well. Fear-mongering and politically-endorsed terrorism is absolutely not okay.
Exactly so. I just commented pretty much that on @yahialababidi's post about immigration and the US in 45's presidency.
Well Said! Unfortunately, humanity doesn't seem to have evolved that far since just a couple generations ago........ I hope the future can be brighter but that is up to all of us I guess
While I believe the overall trajectory of humanity is towards enlightenment, there have always been some steps back before and after steps forward.
Thank you, for this... Hate works & is only the tip of the iceberg. Maltreatment of African refugees in Israel is unconscionable—as is, of course, the elephant in your piece, the Palestinian people who have, at least, as much right to the land as the Zionist claim.
Difficult work, Pity, and expanding our hearts to overcome inherited enmity and blind bias... Until we realize that we are One, we continue to suffer.
Hope you feel better, soon 🙏🏼
It is, of course through our treatment of Palestinians that we have hardened our nation's heart to the degree that the actions towards refugees seem acceptable to some.
I focused on the refugees as my example because it's a more recent issue, and because there's no "but terrorism" counter argument one could use to derail.
Thank you, for acknowledging this - the silence can be deafening.
Hi @didic, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Join us on Thursdays for Pimp Your Post Thursday at 11am EST or 7PM EST in the Steemit Ramble Discord or:
If you’d like to nominate someone’s post just visit the Steemit Ramble Discord
Thank you so much!
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by didic from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
I am anti zionist and anti Israel, i am also jewish by descent... I have spent almost 30 years digging the mud and i guess i will write about this at some future point. It is way more complicated than most people know or even care to know. Who knows, for instance, the difference between the Torah and the Talmud or between Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox? The answers might surprise you... For now i will just post a few pics. Some food for thought.
I have close friends and family who are Jewish Anti-Zionists. Some who are active in BDS. And I seriously don't need to be told my current government is awful. That was, in fact, the point of the post.
On point.