Dear Editor:
If not for the Jews there would be no Auschwitz. This was a sad joke purportedly pushed by neo-Nazis. In other words, the Jewish so-called trouble-makers and Christ killers were responsible for Auschwitz. Today, we hear from elements within the American Jewish community who share that, ‘if not for Israel, we American Jews would be safe’. This somehow implies that we American Jews are paying the price for Israel’s so-called ‘genocidal’ war or indeed, paying the price for Israel’s very existence. Of course this is the Big Lie. Anyone who is familiar with international law would know that Israel’s government never expressed any ‘intention’ to exterminate any people, nor is there evidence of such. It is the modern day Jewish blood libel (the first of which was purportedly to have been instigated by a Jewish convert in 12th century England). Nonetheless, some in our community pass over actual government sponsored genocidal campaigns (with the required legal ‘intent to commit’) that have occurred in the Middle East in the last century, such as (1) Turkish genocide against (a) the Armenians (2 million in the 1880s and 1910s, including use of poison gas), (b) Greek Catholics (300,000 in the 1910s), Kurds (500,000 in the 1910s and throughout the 20th and 21st centuries), (2) Syrian genocide against Sunni and Druze Moslems (500,000 including poison gas, crossing Obama’s ‘red line’, 21st century), (3) ISIS genocide against the Yazidi people (50,000 in the 21st century and more recently the Druze of southern Syria), among others. So while Israel fights a war against the Hamas government that articulated its genocidal intentions against Jews and who instigated a war that included the indiscriminate killing of Israeli innocents, rape and mutilation of women in front of their children, Israel is to blame! Israel is to blame for the 350 miles of tunnels to protect Hamas and its weaponry. Israel is to blame that these tunnels were not used to save one child! Israel is to blame for Hamas’ use of UN electric feeds for its tunnels. Israel is to blame for food shortages in Gaza while Hamas absconds and hoards free food and then proceeds to sell this food at inflated prices! Israel gets no credit for vaccinating Gazan children or giving prior notice to civilians to leave Hamas controlled areas before an attack. And all the while, in the most unconventional way, Egypt refuses to allow Gazan civilians to leave for temporary refuge and safety, while it opens its western borders to refugees fleeing the Libyan civil war! Egypt is not accused of genocide. To some of my American Jewish brothers and sisters, I feel sorry for your discomfort over Jews who wish to live with dignity and defend themselves from apocalyptic Islamic theocrats. Having volunteered to provide support on Israeli military bases for many years, I am awed and gratified with the resilience of 18-20 year old Israeli recruits and their 20-something officers who have not capitulated to these lies or succumbed to American Jewish insecurity and, proudly defend their country and Jews. I feel proud of and moved by the recent Israeli survivors of the FlyDubai flight. On their reunification flight from Saudi Arabia to Israel, Israelis started to sing the poem written by the hasidic master Nahman of Bratslov, ‘All the world is a narrow bridge and the main thing is not to fear.’ This is not the first time that a segment of the American Jewish community have abandoned Jews. You only have to look back a few decades to Adolf Hitler. If not for the Jews there would be no Auschwitz.
Raphael Warren
Cincinnati, OH
