never again, again

[posted this morning]

Never forget.

It's April 2023, and listening to testimonials from Holocaust survivors I find myself becoming more and more upset. The stories themselves, the horrors that were inflicted upon us, they're upsetting enough as it is.

But more upsetting than that, is that after the ordeals that we've been through to come home, both nationally and personally, I find that everything said during last night's speeches was nothing more than lip service. We are deep in the process of forgetting, not on a personal level, but on a state level.

We have forgotten that we returned to our home, that we built this state, that we defend our homeland, as a home and as a refuge and as a last resort for the Jewish people. We have forgotten, in the midst of yet another period of rising antisemitism, that we are fighting a never-ending war against the hatred of our people.

Why do I say "we have forgotten", when the country is in mourning today for the millions we lost?

I say "we have forgotten" because, over the past two decades, our state's attitude and approach to "aliyah" - immigration to our holy land - has changed. Dramatically. No longer is it sufficient to be Jewish, and to come in via the Law of Return. We are, in frightening numbers, turning away Jews looking for safe haven. We care less about an oleh's Jewishness and more about their observance and affiliations. We care less about an oleh's Jewishness and more about their documentation and police clearances from other countries. We care less about an oleh's Jewishness and more about whether we think they can make ends meet, or will be a burden on our society.

I want to take this opportunity, while we remember the Holocaust, and also next week when we remember our fallen soldiers and our independence, to remember why we're here, and to remember why we need to be here.

I want to take this opportunity to raise awareness in the general population that our governments and our institutions are failing us on what really matters most. That they've been failing us in ways that run a lot deeper than simple left/right politics, they've been failing us regardless of who has been in power.

Never forget.