What Bigwig found
In a post titled Unseen History, poster Bigwig shares several disturbing pictures of a concentration camp taken by American infantry.
On April 12, 1945, Ohrdruf was visited by Generals Eisenhower, Bradley and Patton. The Generals viewed piles of bodies, implements of torture, and a butcher’s block used to smash gold fillings from teeth, among other sights. Patton became ill and reportedly refused to visit the punishment shed. As the tour progressed, Eisenhower’s mood turned increasingly grim. As recounted by Abzug, Patton’s aide Charles Codman described an encounter between Eisenhower and a G.I., when the soldier accidentally bumped into a Nazi ex-guard and giggled nervously: “General Eisenhower fixed him with a cold eye, and when he spoke, each word was like the drop off an icicle. ‘Still having trouble hating them,’ he said.”
These photos are difficult to see, difficult to comprehend. I grew up paging through my father’s military books and looking at pictures like these and trying to understand the truth of them. The bodies looked unreal — like hideous rag dolls that were tossed aside — and the horror that they conveyed was impossible for me to fully grasp. It hasn’t gotten any easier as I’ve gotten older.
The comments left for Bigwig’s entry illustrate my dilemma about Israel, which I shared in the post below.
UziDoesIt: “If ever there was a reason for Israel to have just a tiny sliver of the middle east for Jews to be secure in, these photos demonstrate so without the need for words.”
Colt: “And they wonder why the Jews need a state, a modern army and nuclear weapons…NEVER again.
Larry Lurex: “[W]hile I am for a Jewish state on balance, I have a lot of problems with modern Israel. She does not need nuclear weapons, and many countries do well without them. Her belligerent attitude towards her neighbours does her no favours either. To have learnt from the Holocaust, Israel must remember that using military force to solve political problems only leads to hatred.”
Greg: “If your political problem is that you’re surrounded by countries that all wish to see you exterminated, and that those countries are willing to viciously mistreat their own people in order to set those people up to be a weapon against you (look very carefully at what Jordan did with the West Bank)… then reasonable self-defense suggests certain military measures.”
It goes on and it’s worth reading.
I absolutely believe in the necessity for a Jewish state; I’m just not sure how to balance this with the reality of what’s happening in Israel.
One commentator on my post reminds me that, “To be pro-Israel doesn’t mean you have to be anti-Arab or Palestinian.” Yes, but how? In practical — not philosophical terms — how?
I’ve been lurking on your blog for a little bit now, but this is the first time I’ve felt called to write. I’m someone who has been to Israel (twice), driven through parts of Palestinian areas, and studied in an Arab country (Yemen). While I am not an Arab or Israeli I wanted to add my 2p as a Muslim.
I think Israel, like any country, needs to have an army and a way of defending itself from external aggression. But apart from a right-wing minority I really don’t believe that Israel’s Arab neighbours all want to drive her into the sea. I think given the chance, if the issues of occupation and differences of treatment for internal subjects based on race/religion were resolved with justice, I think that Israel and her neighbours could and should peacefully coexist.
I think what angers people in the Arab world is that Israel isn’t held to account for breaking UN resolutions the way that say… Iraq has been held accountable.
That being said, there will always be extremists on either side of the fence that want to see the demolition of others unlike themselves, and that is sad and evil.
I remember my two trips to Israel with such fondness. We drove from top to bottom and saw as much as we could. The modern nation-state of Israel - whatever the history of its establishment - is home to millions and it shall stay that way. What I would like to see is an end to the hatred on both sides.
Shalom and salam
Maryam
I am enthralled by my current readings here — and I too have been reading a LOT about all things Israel, Jewish, the Holocaust — and touched on it briefly at *my space* - I went to Auschwitz this summer
I do not understand the sentence about *liberals* being pro-Israel though - being of conservative leanings myself - I recall growing up around pro-Israeli people, but not knowing (or caring) that they were *liberal* - just interested, big-hearted, committed people who had emotional ties to those that had such a rich and sometimes tragic history.
I still have friends - of all ilk - that are pro-Israel, yet struggle immensely (sp) with the ways of American Jews - who I do not think of as being Orthodox (of course there are many that are…)
Ugh - mumbling and bumbling here — but such a deep and intense subject, and one I am very interested in.