laurenfelton

First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Today is Yom Hashoah, and I have been reminded throughout the day to remember the Six Million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. But when we say “never forget” and use the figure “6 million,” we are forgetting. When we say “never again” and intend it to be applicable to Jews only, we let it happen again… in Rwanda, in Bosnia, in Sudan, in Palestine…

So today, I am not only remembering the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. I’m remembering the 12 million who lost their lives, and those who continue to suffer around the world as we forget, and rationalize, and ignore. And that is why I will not say “never again.” Not because I don’t care, not because I’m anti-Semitic, not because I’m racist, but because it is happening again… and we’re forgetting, and forgetting, and forgetting.

Things that are anti-Semitic:

- When swastikas were spray painted on my local synagogue.

- When the Westboro Baptist Church protested Rutgers Hillel.

- When Sarah Palin misuses the term “blood libel.”

- When young children like the girls from Prussian Blue are brainwashed and encouraged to sing Nazi songs. 

- When white nationalists attempt to rewrite history and pretend the Holocaust never happened.

Things that are the opposite of anti-Semitic:

- When BAKA, a progressive student organization that opposes all forms of social injustice, holds an event titled “Never Again for Anyone.” Among the speakers: two Holocaust survivors.

- Progressive Jews and gentiles who attended this event and respectfully supported these pro-Jewish, anti-Zionist speakers.

Things that just make no fucking sense:

- Hillel protesting said event, leaving a Holocaust refugee completely shaken.