Yad Vashem

It's been a while since I posted a blog. There just hasn't been much time or opportunity to sit down and write. I never expected this sabbatical to be so painful because I have gotten used to putting my thoughts down on this virtual paper. So I missed you, Blogger. Since the last time we spoke, I have been to Jerusalem again and to an oasis near Tibereas. I'll talk about the latter some other day but now I really want to get Yad Vashem off my chest.
Yad Vashem was very emotional for me and I've been trying to comprehend how to deal with it. It's not a museum; it's a lesson, an argument, a memorial, a reminder, commemoration, and so many other things all at once. I truly believe that everyone needs to go there over and over again. For me, it was the second time. First was with birthright and even though it was sad, the effect wasn't the same. I think that the guide plays a big role since I got to compare different guides. We had two, one speaking in English and one in Russian. I switched between them but somehow when I listened to the English speaking one, I had to fight off tears with all my strenght. When I listened to the Russian, I just got angry and determined to never let this happen again. What's equally as effective though was just walking around on my own. Yad Vashem is designed in a certain way. The architecture of the building sets the mood and as you're going down, the images and the environment become darker. It's simply incomprehensible. And I'm doing an aweful job of describing it. It's just not something that I can let go. For me, some of the most powerful exponents were letters, songs and pictures written by the people on the brink of death. There is a certain clarity and despair in them. We have become so desenticized toward imagery of death and suffering from the movies and TV that a simple picture just doesn't deliver the horror of the situation anymore. So when you're presented with a stark proof of human thought behind the person, the realization of what has actually happened is much stronger. I realized just how important it is to leave something after yourself. I want to keep writing these amature notes, I want to keep taking pictures, I want to keep living. It's strange how in light of this tragedy, it seems so unimportant how we make our everyday comfort the most important thing in our lives. People are not remembered for what they had, but for what they gave. Continuing on the understanding of memory, I realize that I belong to the last generation that is seeing and hearing the people who went through the defining moment of our history. We are the link between the past and the future. So it's extremely important to talk to those people. To get their stories. Find out names and events. To not let the memory die. Without it, we're all bound to repeat the same events. And Yad Vashem is trying to do that too. They try to gather all that information and get those names and circumstances and record it. After over 50 years of existance they only have 30%. And it's getting more and more difficult with every passing day. They have forms on their website for relatives or acquaintances of the wictims to fill out and I really hope that no names will be forgotten.
Another effect of Yad Vashem is that it's perfectly clear that there is an undeniable link between the Holocaust and creation of Israel. There are a lot of quotes from the Bible around the buildings. Also, things are organized in a way to show that link. First thing you see when walking into the main building is a moving mural with videos, pictures and sounds from the Jewish diaspora before the war. Those were mostly taken by visiting family from US. At one point, we see children singing Hatikva. The last thing you see before coming out of a building is also children singing Hatikva. However, now, these are different children. Singing in Israel - the country that rose from the ashes of Aushwits and woods of Vilno. And as you realize that, you walk out to the beautiful view of modern Jerusalem.
Maybe that's why I don't feel the same way as I did about people like Norman Finkelstein anymore. He's the professor at DePaul who denies the Holocaust. Before, I just ignored it, thinking that he's just one person with a crazy opinion. But now, I understand what he and other people like him are trying to do. Without the tragedy of the Shoah, there is no reason for existance of Israel. So it would be easier to convince others that life without Israel would be better. It's the same policy that Iran is publicly following right now. People like that need to be stopped. I hope that my friends in United States will understand that every minute that voices like that are heard are taking us closer to the next tragedy. And I hope that they are doing something to not let those voices get louder.