A response to the threat of white supremacists and hatred....

This summer one of the highlights of our stay in Jerusalem was a personalized tour of Yad Vashem.  We were fortunate that Daniel Neiden connected our tour group to Susan Kokkonen, the director of Christian relations at the memorial, who assigned us Alice as our tour guide who took us through the winding path of the exhibits turning the horrific story of the Holocaust into more than just facts and figures. 

What stood out for me as I was listening to the explanation about how Nazism took hold in a country like Germany was that it resulted after a democratic election was held.  Hitler took the opportunity to vilify the media and to create a system of propaganda that was portrayed as truth.  Run of the mill individuals who thought they were looking out for their own best interests became immune to the interests and needs of others who were depicted as being less than human.  They were capable of supporting actions of extreme hatred because in their minds they could find nothing in common with those who were shown to be vermin not human.

What was frightening, was recognizing that the very same scenario could easily be played out today.  In fact that thought would have had a paralyzing effect on those of us viewing “history” had it not been for another aspect of the Holocaust which is often overlooked.  That feature was shown in photographs showing the basic humanity that was never lost during this period of great darkness.  We saw pictures of soup kitchens that were started in the Warsaw Ghetto to help feed those who were starving.  We heard stories of how the residents of the ghetto reached out their hands to one another to help anyone less fortunate with clothing and shelter.  Actors and musicians kept performing in order to bring a sense of order and light into the lives of the ghetto residents.

As it states on the Yad Vashem website, “Even when Jews were forced to live in confined ghettos, when they feared deportation, and starved for food, there were those who were able to rise above the daily struggle to survive and help others. These individuals, and groups of people, are an example of those who were able to maintain their humanity in the face of unprecedented inhumanity.”

“he Jewish community organized a social welfare committee known as the Zydowska Samapomoc Spolczna (Jewish Social Self-Help), or the ZSS, in order to provide assistance to Jewish residents.

"Centos", (the "National Society for the Care of Orphans"), ran schools and provided food, clothing, and shelter. These self-help organizations employed hundreds of people, offering a daily bowl of soup as salary. Among the most important elements of self-help were the "House Committees," which functioned in almost every apartment house. House Committees were not bodies that were appointed from above, but rather, emerged voluntarily from amongst the house tennants. There were almost 2,000 House Committees that fulfilled important functions, such as providing medical care for the needy, and organizing cultural events.

Masses of people ate meals at its soup kitchens, which gave out a bowl of soup and a piece of bread to all those who came. During the first half of 1940, the organization’s aid activities focused on opening public soup kitchens and distributing food to the needy. In addition they also helped thousands of Jewish refugees and captives who were pouring into the ghetto, and established institutions for child care.

What I learned is that it is not necessary to let one’s heart succumb to the hatred that fills the hearts of many.  Love and caring and a sense of chesed are stronger and cannot be erased. We must always act with justice and righteousness, calling out hatred when we see it and replacing it with goodness.

Here’s an example that Abby shared with me today about the neo-Nazis marching in who were “defeated” by an option that did not include confronting the loud groups with violence.  Here’s how it worked:

In 2014, after enduring the annual Nazi march for over a quarter century, Wunsiedel residents responded with “Germany’s most involuntary charity walk” — a project of the Center for Democratic Culture in Germany (ZDK Deutschland).

The idea of the walk, labeled “Nazis against Nazis,” was to make the neo-Nazis’ march the trigger for an anti-Nazi fundraiser. For every meter the neo-Nazis walked, donors agreed to give €10 to EXIT-Deutschland, an organization that helps neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists escape radicalism and build new lives.

Residents marked the path of the march with milestones thanking the neo-Nazis for how much money they’ve raised so far — including a big banner at the end of the march announcing that the marchers raised a total of €10,000 to fight Nazism. Banners with slogans like “If only the Führer knew!” and “Quick like a greyhound! Tough like leather! And as generous as never before” taunted the neo-Nazis along the way.

This tactic is brilliant in that it speaks loudly without encouraging the kind of attention white supremacist groups would like to attract. It has been utilized in other locations here in the U.S. after the Charlottesville tragedy.  …being respectful of free speech while being dismissive of the message portrayed by the Neo-Nazis.

As upsetting and frightening this past week has been in the U.S. I am encouraged by the outpouring of thoughts via good people of all religions and races who do not want anyone to think that white supremacist statements are a “normal or right way to think.”

May we all continue to let it be known that we stand against hatred and bigotry.  May we see the power of goodness overtake those who design ways to harm us and others.

Shabbat Shalom.