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Sunday, February 3, 2013

Egypt and the Holocaust


For John, BLUFWhen there is no common ground there can be no negotiations.

Egypt seems to be a recurring theme on this Blog.  An important nation because of its geographic location and because of its past history and because of the role it is playing today in the transition of the Near and Middle East, and North Africa, toward a liberal democratic approach to government.

On the other hand, sometimes its past has a strong pull, as when an aide to President declares that the Holocaust is a myth, invented by the Americans.  "Invented by the Americans" means that it is a fiction foisted on the rest of the world by us here in the US, including us here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts—we do have our own holocaust Memorial, down in Boston.

“The myth of the Holocaust is an industry that America invented,” Eddim said, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Eddim, who is reportedly responsible for appointing editors for the country’s state-run newspapers, asserted that 6 million Jews actually moved to the United States during World War II.

Not everyone sees the past the way we do.

I would think that if Egyptians do not accept the Holocaust, the Shoah, then they can not understand the pain that informs the Jews living in Israel.  Until each side is able and willing to recognize the pain of the other sides this confrontation in the Near East will continue and will continue to be a possible fuze to a larger war, involving more than just the nations in the local area.  It might even involve nuclear weapons.

Regards  —  Cliff

  The problem if it goes nuclear is not the hundreds of thousands to millions who will die, immediately or soon thereafter, but the fact that it might convince the rest of the world, as my wife noted, that it is "safe" to employ nuclear weapons.  That is to say, their employment does not mean the end of the world.

4 comments:

Neal said...

I am guessing that there are very few Jews in Israel today who have any factual firsthand knowledge of the holocaust. But, the majority of the Jewish population....and people....wave the holocaust story like a red badge of courage and a universal invitation to feeling sorrow. The Holocaust serves as the excuse for every aggressive act taken by Jews against others in the world. The American similarity, though not nearly as horrific in its impact is the issue of slavery. Today a sizable portion of the American black community use slavery as an excuse for nearly everything that affects them and justifies whatever actions they take or not take.

The effect on the world is profound. It maintains a chronic tension that is unrelenting. Moreover, it "justifies" aggression against others. The myth becomes the rationale. I say "myth" because beyond the horror of the death camps, much has evolved "about it."

The Israeli persona reminds me of the "long suffering" Jewish mother who tells all around her that "she doesn't want to be a bother so don't mind me." Well....you had BETTER mind her or experience a sort of living hell that is just agonizing. I know, my best friend in HS is Jewish.....and his mother could have garnered academy awards for her many performances.

That said, Egypt is living their own invented raison d'etre. It is provided today by the Muslim Brotherhood whose holy mandate is the elimination of the Jewish state.

This mix of emotions is further complicated by all of the peripheral players in the game. Everyone in the Near and Middle East has skin in the game. They've chosen up sides and the sides despise each other. Then, add to that the "major powers" and their self interests in operation. Egypt has Russia's backing. Iran of course has China's backing. The US more or less backs Israel. And on and on.

And from my perspective, it is not about resources or access to them. It is about hatred for the other guy thinly veiled as protective concern.

All of the players in this endless conflict feel terribly justified by wrongs real or imagined that have been done to them in the past.....generally by bigots long ago dead. As in America with its chronic black unrest, you can never move forward if you refuse to give up the myths of the past and create the truths of moving forward.

Martha is right about her fear about going nuclear. I'm not sure that their eventual use will be because its safe. I think it will be because of pure unadulterated hatred......not necessarily by the great unwashed...but, just as we see in America with our polarized political factions.....it is the few with their finger on the trigger.

C R Krieger said...

Anonymous made a post about diet products, but I deleted his comments as not directly relevant.

The Twentieth Century was a time of mass murder, what with the Armenian Genocide, the Holodomor (and Siberian work camps), the Holocaust (and the other six million the Germans killed in death camps), the Great Leap Forward and the Killing Fields of Cambodia.

I don't remember all of those from my personal experience, but they inform my response to things.

For the Jews, after centuries of pogroms, a sufficient number decided "never again" and thus we are stuck with the fact that they think that their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness requires eternal vigilance—a sort of Jewish "Second Amendment".  Sort of like Blacks in these United States who actually got guns to protect themselves from the KKK and KKK like elements.

The Jews picked a rough neighborhood, but where in Europe would they have been able to set up shop?  Nowhere.  And, it isn't like they are strangers in a strange land (Ex 2:22b).

Regards  —  Cliff

Neal said...

Oh believe me, I am not picking good guys and bad guys. The good guys have done their fair share of bad guy stuff and all in the name of some righteous reason. The US has been very good at that BTW. Ask an American Indian, and our forefathers certainly did their part with regard to repression of black folks who really never wanted to sneak across the border. We can thank the British slave traders for their arrival here...but then...the Brits can't wear than shame alone....we had a flourishing market awaiting those slave ships.

Yes, the Israelis said no more. And I think with justification. The problem is this. Everyone has a justification for what they do and to whom they do it.

The long suffering Israelis are like an exposed raw nerve...and the Muslim world keeps tweaking it. It's a game of tickling the dragon's tail. One of these days, they won't stop in time and we will be off, IMHO, to the prophesied Armageddon. And I do believe when that war finally erupts, the blood will flow knee deep. There is just THAT much hatred stored up.....and of course...we know from Pope John about energy conversion. If you back a rat into a corner far enough, it can quickly become a Tasmanian devil. What does Israel have to lose??? And that is the problem.

Mimi said...

Cliff:

You are right, not everyone sees the past the way we (U.S. government) do.

For example, in France it is a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide.

While here in the U.S. the government refuses, for political reasons, refuses to acknowledge it took place.

It makes it difficult for the U.S. government to lecture others when it is selective as to which "man's inhumanity to man" it chooses to champion.

Mimi