Playing the Holocaust Card

[newyorican]

THE 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which was be marked by ceremonies in Poland this week, is a painful reminder of how little has been learned since the Holocaust. Most obviously, bigotry and religious and ethnic violence have not been eradicated, but seem to be sharply on the rise, from Darfur to Tikrit to Tibet.

As for the Jews, the main targets of Nazi racism, they face a very different sort of problem today, one that is partly of their own making. Jewish organizations have pursued an effective campaign to combat bigotry through a combination of protest and education, hoping to shame wrongdoers and encourage the next generation to shed old prejudices. And yet, as they look around, they see a world increasingly hostile to them and to Israel. It is time Jews recognize that the old strategies no longer work.

Jewish organizations and advocates of Israel fail to grasp that they are no longer viewed as the voice of the disenfranchised. Rather, they are seen as a global Goliath, close to the seats of power and capable of influencing policies and damaging reputations. As such, their efforts to raise the alarm increasingly appear as bullying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/29/opinion/29eden.html?oref=login&oref=login&th">read more...

[Kagemusha]

1. Sharon's speech made it pretty clear.

The memory of the Holocaust is not a shield, but a sword, because Israel chooses it be so.

Loud and clear, Mr. Sharon.

[IndianaGreen]

2. And when the persecuted becomes the persecutor

then what happens?

[Kagemusha]

3. The new persecuted suffer.

That's the march of history.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[QueerJustice]

5. it seems past taboos...

...are now acceptable and even fashionable....it shows that 60yrs is about the right amount of time for the skeletons of society to come out of the closet and fall into old comfortable ways....even with the few minority Jews in support and ``me too `` mode....same as in 1930...No different....History truly does repeat itself.....