November 9, 2024

In Poland many years ago, my husband and I visited Chelmno, where my late father-in-law’s entire family was murdered by the Nazis. The local guide had grown up in the area and had been alive at the time of the war. With his sickly, toothless smile, he chuckled as he reminisced and shared his memories: of course they had seen and smelled the smoke of the burning bodies beyond the trees. Then, this guide generously offered us the “reason” that the Jews were targeted.  It had to do with the fact that the Jews were the tax collectors and no one liked that.

How easily, how simply he could justify mass murder. Jews did something people didn’t like, so it stands to reason that they would be exterminated. Period. I was outraged to hear this, and I haven’t felt that way since. Until this morning.

The lead news story today was about the pogrom in Amsterdam. By now, you have no doubt heard that throngs of pro-Palestinian antisemitic barbarians attacked Israeli soccer fans who had come to Holland to watch Maccabi Tel Aviv play. The story is horrific, and new details will most likely emerge by the time you read this. But here’s the thing. Like many of you, I have developed “News-Watching-Antennae”. I notice things that never caught my eye before October 7th. In this morning’s report, the American anchor read the headline that the Israelis were attacked “after calling out Death to the Arabs“. Hmmm. . . .that sounded odd to me. I’ve never heard that chant at any rally or protest anywhere.  Now cut to the reporter in Amsterdam, who also began the story with the alleged Death to the Arabs chants from the Israelis. He continued to report the outrageous events, but the tone was set: The Israelis started it. They had it coming to them.

I have spent the last hour unsuccessfully scouring the internet for any other news report that talks about this “Death to the Arabs” chant. The wording doesn’t sound like something we would say. What I did find repeatedly was what sounded like something anyone would hear at a sports game — cheer your team, condemn the other side with expletives. But that’s not what millions of viewers heard on this morning’s news.

Never mind that the blood-thirsty pro-Palestinians created a Dutch Kristallnacht, an event so violent that Israel actually dispatched airplanes to come and rescue its citizens*. Never mind that there are still Israelis unaccounted for in Amsterdam. Never mind that the Dutch police are actually allowed to be removed from certain assignments if their personal views don’t mesh with the situation at hand.* It’s bad enough that antisemitism is on the rise and that terrorism is spilling into beautiful European cities. But when the news reports in North America begin to sound a bit like the Holocaust justification from a toothless Polish peasant in Chelmno, it’s time for all of us to finely tune our News-Watching Antennae. Let’s call these things out now, before there’s yet another Kristallnacht.

Am Yisrael Chai!

*Two wonderful things that I must point out:
1. We have a State of Israel and are actually able to bring planes in to rescue our own. That is the biggest difference between Kristallnacht 1938 and last night’s Amsterdam Pogrom.
2. At this year’s Toronto UJA Walk for Israel, which was heavily guarded by local police, I asked an officer if all TPS personnel who were present supported Israel. He responded that their personal feelings have nothing to do with their job. Their position is to protect the public regardless. Thank you, TPS. (For that event, at least.)