Reflections on My Life and Times
Reflections on My Life and Times
was unbelievable. I feel it is important that someone who actually experienced it should inform and educate future generations. By knowing what happened, future generations of Jews will be more vigilant and understand the necessity for strong support for Israel, so that we are never again as vulnerable as we were in Europe. I hope that this book will contribute to accomplishing this task. At the time of Hitler’s rise to power, the Jewish people were unprepared to fight or defend themselves against such an atrocity. I hope that the coming generations, knowing what happened, will be better prepared. Perhaps they will be able to prevent another disaster before it occurs. Perhaps they will be able to defuse it in its earliest stages, at the first signs of serious anti-Semitism. Jews must be strong, and we cannot permit anti-Semitism to flourish. In this world, the weak do not get privileges. No one is gener- ous enough to hand things over to weaker people for a prolonged period of time. Some may throw a bone or be “charitable,” but the weak and the poor never have much say in this world. Thus, Israel must be a nation equal to other nations. Only by being strong and having our own state, one that is economically viable and militar- ily strong, will our people be respected. Only then will old prej - udices, inborn hatred, and negative stereotypes vanish. Only by having our own proud and vibrant nation will this change. Only by having our own state will people stop blaming us for all of their troubles. The Jewish people have had a miserable past. For hundreds of years, we were persecuted, held back, and pushed from one country to another. In many cases, we were used as scapegoats because we were a people without a land, with no one to stand up for us. When we were exiled from the Land of Israel by the Romans, we made a choice not to be warriors, not to be a military people. Instead, we chose to accept our fate and to focus on being scholars. Realizing that we would have to live within other nations, we left ourselves to the mercy of other rulers. Of course, Jews have served in the militaries of their countries. They did their duty and then went back into civilian life. Few
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