Why Talking about the Holocaust Matters

According to the recently released Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report, antisemitic incidents broke a record for fourth straight year in 2024. Last year, they identified 9,354 antisemitic incidents, a 5% increase from 2023 and a staggering 926% increase since it began tracking in 1979. There were more than 25 “targeted anti-Jewish incidents” per day in 2024, more than one every hour.  Eighty years after the Holocaust, instead of “Never Again,” attacks on Jews are now occuring once an hour.

This week, we mark Yom Ha’Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Nations around the world are called on to remember that hate led to the extermination of six million innocent people, among them one million children. The Holocaust erased two thirds of Europe’s Jewish population, one third of the Jewish people on the globe.

While the Holocaust is obviously not the only tragic event in our history, it is by far the most heinous and devastating. Consider how devastating October 7^th was and is for our generation and yet, all of the victims of that horrific attack and the war since were the casualties of one hour in a death camp.

But the Holocaust much more than just a tragedy of the greatest magnitude, it is the symbol and the synonym for antisemitism and in that one word conveys a warning for how the world’s oldest hatred can lead to a democratically elected, “civilized” nation carrying out a genocide.  While Jews were not the only victims of the Holocaust, the term should be reserved specifically to invoke hatred directed towards the Jewish people.  That is why it is so offensive and dangerous when it is invoked flippantly and casually and when it is used in grossly inappropriate contexts and comparisons.

Combatting Antisemitism

We must continue to confront antisemitism, and Holocaust education to the general public is one critical component. We must create a culture in this country of the same intolerance, hypersensitivity and opposition to antisemitism, Jew hatred, and Holocaust appropriation as we do other forms of hate, bigotry, and racism. “Ugly Jew” should be taken as seriously as the N-word: triggering, traumatic, and simply unacceptable and intolerable. Good-hearted people—not just Jews—must never allow this country to become a place where Jews cannot comfortably and safely walk around in a visibly identifiable way.

Some argue that Jews should be defended because we are the proverbial canary in the coal mine. When Jews are allowed to be attacked, it is a sign of the collapse of the society.

This sentiment essentially suggests that the only reason to care when Jews are murdered is because it is a warning that later, actual people might be attacked or killed.

German pastor Martin Niemöller famously wrote: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”  In her book “People Love Dead Jews,” Dara Horn argues that we should not be grateful for this quote or way of thinking, rather we should be offended. This sentiment essentially suggests that the only reason to care when Jews are murdered is because it is a warning that later, actual people might be attacked or killed. We obviously should not accept this argument and certainly should not perpetuate it.

Learning From Survivors

But there are two other reasons Holocaust education is vitally important within our Jewish community. When we reference the Holocaust, we are often referring to the millions of martyrs, the victims who were murdered. But there is another population who should come to mind, maybe even first: our Holocaust survivors.

Survivors are entitled to be bitter, resentful, and to give up on people. But instead, overwhelmingly, they rebuilt, they worked hard, they maintained positivity, optimism and hope.

The Holocaust is not just a part of history like the Crusades or Inquisition. Holocaust survivors may be the most heroic population of all time. Their resilience, strength, fortitude, and faith may be unparalleled. There has never been a group more entitled to be bitter, resentful, to feel entitled, or to give up on the world and on people. But instead, overwhelmingly, survivors rebuilt, they worked hard, they maintained positivity, optimism, and hope. Most exude deep faith, determination and a selfless devotion to Jewish continuity, to Jewish community, and to the Jewish state.

However, time is running out for the world to engage with Holocaust survivors. A report published this week by the Claims Conference projects that of an estimated 211,300 Holocaust survivors alive in the world today, almost half will no longer be with us in seven years. By 2032, there will be fewer than 100,000 living survivors remaining in the world.

Though we are more prosperous than ever and have more comfort and conveniences than those who have come before us, many are still struggling with finding happiness, hope, meaning and purpose. Find a survivor. Latch on. Draw from their energy, ride their enthusiasm, be carried, and lifted by their heroism. If you struggle with faith, piggyback off their unwavering emunah, be inspired by their dedication to Torah and Jewish practice.

We can learn much from the six million martyrs who lost their lives in the Holocaust, but we can learn even more from the 3.5 million who survived and then built thriving, rich Jewish lives.

Why Judaism Matters

Lastly, I believe we should use Holocaust education and current campaigns against antisemitism as outreach opportunities. While the majority of American Jews believe that the Holocaust is essential to their Jewish identities, only 15% said that observing Jewish law is an essential element of what being Jewish means to them personally.

With the rise in antisemitism, the world is presenting us with the opportunity to remind our fellow Jews about why Judaism matters, what it means, and why they should care.

With the rise in antisemitism, the world is presenting us with the opportunity to remind our fellow Jews about why Judaism matters, what it means, and why they should care. With people increasingly hating us for being Jewish and once again excluding us for being Jewish, we should double down on Jewish pride, Jewish practice, Jewish continuity, and a Jewish lifestyle.

We say at the seder, v’hi she’amda la’avoseinu v’lanu, and it has stood for our forefathers and for us. What stood for us? Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, a great biblical commentator, answers it is that b’chol dor vador amad aleinu l’chaloseinu, that in every generation they have risen to attack us. While we do not welcome or want antisemitism, it often takes our enemies’ reminder that we are Jewish to inspire us to fight for our people.

A non-observant Jew told me that when there was an antisemitic event at her son’s college, her son, who previously had little to no interest or investment in his Judaism, put a mezuzah on his door and hung a Magen David around his neck. While we confront and combat antisemitism, let us simultaneously leverage it to remind and inspire our fellow Jews about their Judaism.

Continue to study and speak about the Holocaust, not as the central part of our identity as Jews, but as an important way to honor our survivors, to motivate us to fight antisemitism and as an opening to engage unengaged Jews to learn more about why being a Jew matters.

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