"In every generation our enemies rise against
us to destroy us. In every generation, each man must view himself as
though he had survived the Holocaust and went on to found the state of
Israel. In every generation, it is our duty to ensure that the Holocaust
does not recur." So said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday at
the start of the annual ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at
the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
"During the generation of the Holocaust we
were helpless to prevent the destruction. Many failed to recognize the
danger in time, and once they did, it was too late. The trap had been
set, the trap door had shut. The gates of our land were closed to Jewish
refugees, as were the gates of most countries. From that point, it
became very easy to exterminate our brothers and sisters — six million
of them."
"Hatred of Jews, which peaked in Nazi Germany,
the Jews' weakness in exile and the world's helplessness — these three
factors came together to bring about the tragedy of the Holocaust.
However, in the depths of darkness, a major shift in the fate of the
Jewish people began. In the death camps and the ghettos, in the Warsaw
Ghetto, Jewish history shifted. That is where the Jewish resistance rose
up again."
"That is where the spirit of the Maccabees was
rediscovered. That is where the flag of rebellion was waved anew. In
the depths of despair unlike anything humankind had ever known, young
Jews mustered up their power to resist and their Jewish courage, and
fought back against the Nazi enemy. The fact that they were defeated did
not diminish the power of their courage, nor did it diminish the great
transformation they instigated in the history of our people."
"The defenders of the ghetto went from being
helpless victims to becoming brave fighters. Five years later, with the
same spirit, the few versus the many, Israel Defense Forces soldiers,
among them many Holocaust survivors, defeated the Arab armies that tried
to destroy the State of Israel. Our ability and willingness to defend
ourselves are what ensures our continued existence and our future."
"We will know how to defend ourselves"
"Several days ago, I bid farewell to a young
lieutenant colonel who served in the military secretary's office at the
Prime Minister's Office. He is relocating to the Negev to train the
future commanders of the IDF at the officers' academy. He moved me
immensely when he told me about his grandmother Hannah, who survived
Auschwitz. The number that the Nazis tattooed on her arm ended in the
numerals 78. As luck would have it, the identification number that
Hannah received upon entering the State of Israel also ended in 78. Her
number of death had turned into a number of life in the State of Israel.
Hannah, who is watching us from the audience right now, survived the
Nazi inferno, and today, her grandson, an officer in the IDF, is
preparing our future commanders."
"I am proud to be the prime minister of this
people, but there are those who seek to extinguish this light of ours.
Iran has openly declared that it intends to annihilate the State of
Israel. We appreciate the efforts made by the international community to
halt Iran's nuclear program, but at no point will we ever leave our
fate in the hands of others, not even the closest of our allies."
"I am certain of Israel's power, and I have
faith in the Israel Defense Forces. I believe in you, the citizens of
Israel. We are stronger today than ever before, and we will overcome the
challenges that face us, as difficult as they may be. Never again will
we get to a point where it is too late. Never again will we stand
helpless in front of those who seek to kill us."
"We will know how to defend ourselves. In this place, and on this day I vow: There will never be another Holocaust."
The Jewish spirit cannot be burned in crematoria
President Shimon Peres also addressed the gathering at Yad Vashem on Sunday, saying:
"The Holocaust will not sink into history's
gaping hole. It is here with us, burning, real. It resonates as we step
on the stones of the ghettos. It hovers like a ghost in the barracks of
the camps. It cries from the prayer shawls, the hair and the shoes that
we see with our own eyes."
"It whispers from the tears that dried before
we said goodbye. It is reflected in the photographs of the babies in
their mothers' arms. The noise of those murderous trains which have
ceased moving still rings in our ears. The smoke has cleared, but it has
not faded as it drifted into the sky above."
"Survivors walk among us, the Holocaust and its horrors are with them every day. Their blood flows through our veins.
Their bravery accompanies every step of our
lives. There was no greater horror in the history of mankind. Nothing
can undo the greatest darkness mankind has ever known."
"The 74 years that have passed are more of a
biography than a history. Millions of names are still missing, of
parents and children, of entire Jewish communities that were destroyed.
There is no substitute for the culture, for the values, and for the
talents that are gone. They remain as an open wound."
"We will not stop searching for every scrap of
information, for a name yet to be identified, for a photograph that has
been blurred. A third of our people, six million, were murdered for no
reason."
"The Jewish people today are fewer compared to
their number at the eve of World War II. We decreased in size, but not
in spirit. We are working with all our might to fill the void.
Physically and spiritually. To grow out of the ashes, to create
something out of nothing, to defend. To foster our independence, and not
to tire from efforts to better the world we live in, tikkun olam."
"The Holocaust is an orphan with no comfort
and a moral responsibility that cannot be compromised. It does not
permit us, the Jewish people, to turn a blind eye. It must always serve
as a warning to all of humanity."
"The map of Europe still contains local stains
of anti-Semitism. The racism that was rampant on that land in the last
century dragged it down to its lowest point. Ultimately the killings
there damaged it as well."
"To our shame, there are some who have learnt
nothing. Young [neo-nazi] skinheads. False scientists dressed in false
suits. Yes! There remain those who repress the Holocaust and there are
those who deny the Holocaust. Not all the volcanic eruptions have
subsided. Crises are once again being exploited to reestablish
ridiculous, yet dangerous, Nazi parties. Sickening anti-Semitic cartoons
are supposedly part of the freedom of the press."
"The journey for justice and freedom is not
over yet. When I hear the four words, 'Let My People Go' I feel again
and again that the journey out of the house of slavery our people
embarked on has not ended, and must not ground to a halt. It must not
stop until slavery, in every way shape and form, is abolished — in every
place, in every situation, until the winds of freedom blow away the
stench of racism and clear the evil smoke."
"The enlightened world must ask itself how, so
soon after the crematoria were extinguished and despite the terrible
death toll the Allies had endured in the effort to counter the Nazi
devil, the leaders of Iran feel they can openly deny the Holocaust and
threaten another Holocaust."
"Whoever ignores the threat against one
nation, must know that the threat of a Holocaust against one nation is a
threat of a Holocaust against all nations."
"The Jewish people may be small but it they
are large in spirit. That spirit cannot be burned in crematoria. From
the ashes of the Holocaust emerged a spiritual revival and a political
renaissance. Some of our people were cut off from the rest, but we rose
and we built a state of our own."
"We lost possessions, but retained our values; We returned to our ancient homeland; We renewed our moral legacy;
We returned to independence; We returned to creation, to education, and we returned to hope."
"We built a defensive force capable of dealing
with dangers, new and old. The Israel Defence Forces, which was formed
in response to the attempt to annihilate the Jewish state that had just
been created, is also the right lesson from the Holocaust. It is founded
upon the bravery of Jews in the Holocaust."
"Today, Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes'
Remembrance Day is also the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising. There has never been a rebellion like it. They were so
outnumbered, but their bravery remains as a model for so many. From now
and forever! Today we salute their bravery with the flags flying in the
wind of freedom. These are flags of exaltation, not only of grief."
"The resistance in the ghettos, in the camps
and in the forests and the rebirth and bravery of the State of Israel
all have a common thread. This involves dignity, renewed independence,
mutual responsibility and kiddush Hashem [willingness to
sacrifice oneself in the name of God]. As a ray of hope that continued
to beam alongside terrible anguish. The ghetto fighters sought life even
when circumstance screamed despair."
"A few days ago, Peretz Hochman passed away.
The small cigarette vendor who became a great hero. Peretz Hochman came
home to Israel and fought in Israel's wars with the courage that so
typified him. He passed away only a few days before he was supposed to
stand with us, here today, on this stage and light the torch. His flame
is now orphaned, but his light will continue to illuminate."
"Touting the heroism of the fighters is not
just a matter of doing justice to their bravery. It is an existential
need, for each of us, for all of us as a people. We have always praised
their heroism, but not always paid tribute to the actual heroes."
"It is now time we do that. We have not always
listened to their heartbeats or attended their health and taken care of
their well-being. Time has come to right this wrong."
"The history of the Holocaust is not just a lesson from
the past, it is also a lesson for the future so that we know how to
defend ourselves against dangers and thwart them in advance. It serves
as a lesson that we shall rely on ourselves, so that we retain our moral
legacy, which withstood impossible situations. We must maintain our
friendship with friends, and work with them to foster a better future,
for every person, for every nation, for all nations so we can ensure
humanity never again becomes inhumane. We'll ensure that every person
has the right to be unique — unique and equal. We will never despair.
After all, we were commanded: 'Do not fear, my servant Jacob' because
'The Lord will give strength to his people.'"
Indeed,
the Jewish people, who have always sympathized with the oppressed, have
a history of assisting the Native Americans in their just struggle for
civil and human rights. In 1973, over 500 Native American
activists were jailed after battling with American forces at Wounded
Knee. Over 80 percent of the lawyers assisting these Native American
activists were Jewish. Israel has also formed a close relationship with
the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana. Israel assists them with agriculture
and trade, and the Coushatta have shown their appreciation by
recognizing May 14th, Israel’s Independence Day, as a national Coushatta
holiday. The Coushatta nation, like many other Native Americans, feel
a special bond with the Jewish people due to the fact that both peoples
have endured centuries of persecution, relocation and prejudice, while
holding on to a strong commitment to their ancestral homeland.