When I express certain views in these columns, I am aware that I am simply sympathizing with those who sympathize.
The vast majority of readers of this newspaper, both in print and online, are good, decent and honest people with high moral values.
But maybe one or two of the vile haters out there (some of whom have been kind enough to write me personally wishing death upon me and “my kind”) might read this and take a moment to reflect on how far they have fallen, and the honorable Nazi philosophy they appear to be espousing.
So, you may ask, what made me so angry?
I’ll try to explain calmly.
Few things are more sacred to Jewish collective memory than the Holocaust, a singular event in the history of human misdeeds against their fellow man, during which six million Jews were murdered, not because they “stole” anyone’s land, or “killed” anyone’s God, or because they were an “aggressive, colonialist regime,” but purely for the fact that they were born into Jewish families.
It didn’t matter one bit whether the “dirty Jew” was from the upper echelons of society or the poor, downtrodden peasant version of “the race.”
Nor did the degree of belief in God or of practicing Judaism have any influence on the Nazis’ choice of victims.
Jews were targets, no matter who they were or what they had done or had not done.
The whole world certainly knows and acknowledges that this was the most despicable act not only of the 20th century but of the entire history of horrors that humanity has wrought over thousands of years.
And who above all else represents and embodies the victims of the Holocaust, written in an untainted and innocent teenage diary that captures the essence of the crime, the utterly inexplicable evil that was happening all around her?
Anne Frank has nothing to do with Israel or Gaza
I am referring, of course, to Anne Frank, the Dutch teenager who, through her diary, left an indelible mark on the world and epitomized the essence of youthful optimism during one of history’s darkest hours.
Despite the fear and anxiety that surrounded her, Anne’s words exude optimism and a yearning for a normal life. She writes about her dreams, hopes and desire to become a writer. Her diary reveals a girl who was hopeful and persistent despite being confined to a small attic. This hope is not only personal but also universal, reflecting the essential human desire for freedom and happiness.
However, Anne’s harsh reality cruelly shattered this innocent wish. The normal teenage experience she craved – going to school, making friends, and exploring the world – was cruelly denied her. Her simple wish to be a normal girl living in a peaceful world became an unfulfilled dream.
Her writings often reflect her struggle with unfulfilled aspirations and highlight the contrast between her vibrant inner world and her oppressive outer environment. That her dreams were so cruelly shattered underscores the tragic loss of potential experienced by many young victims of the Holocaust.
The pain and grief Anne must have felt is clear throughout the diary. A sense of abandonment from her friends and the outside world is a recurring theme. As the war raged, news of her friends being taken away and the constant fear of being discovered weighed heavily on Anne’s mind.
Anne’s reflections on her loneliness and isolation reveal a deep psychological pain that many young people can relate to, amplified by the extreme circumstances she found herself in. Her betrayal by people who were once neighbors and friends adds an additional layer of tragedy to her story and speaks to the pervasive fear and mistrust that characterized the Nazi occupation.
Ultimately, Anne Frank symbolizes the evil of a regime that systematically exterminated six million Jews for no reason other than their natural-born religion. Her diary reveals the human cost of hatred and prejudice and serves as a powerful indictment of Nazi ideology.
To you, this is nothing new, but this week our haters, who pretended to care about the victims of the Gaza war, crossed a very clear line and showed their true colors.
They reached the height of depravity by destroying the Anne Frank statue near her first home in Amsterdam, a monument to that traumatic time.
“A statue of Anne Frank in Amsterdam’s Merwedeplein, where the Jewish diarist lived until she went into hiding in 1942, has been defaced with red paint and the word ‘Gaza’ written on it,” the Hague-based Israel Documentation Center wrote.
Please tell me, explain, because I don’t understand. What does Anne Frank have to do with Gaza?
We understand that Muslim people are supporting their brothers in Gaza, and we will do the same.
I understand that many are saddened by the tragic deaths in Gaza, and no one is happy about it, but Anne Frank died tragically of typhus in February 1945, three years before Israel came into existence.
No, my friends, the secret is out. This act and many others, perpetrated mainly by the regressive and perverse so-called liberal left, in the name of supporting the “Palestinian cause”, is nothing but pure, old-fashioned, deep-rooted, evil and rotten anti-Semitism – hatred of Jews – and blaming us all for what is happening in Gaza.
The perpetrators revealed their true colors by defaced the Anne Frank statue with the word “Gaza” in red paint.
And those colours are not the black, white, green and red of the Palestinian flag, but the blood red, black and white of the Nazi coat of arms, which is what it all symbolises.
The author is a rabbi and physician who lives in the Ramat Poleg neighborhood of Netanya and is co-founder of Techelet-Inspiring Judaism.
