A Day in Jerusalem

[eumelia]

On Wednesday my Granny and uncle Peter arrived from South Africa for a visit and today; Daddy, Granny, Peter, Robbie and I all went to Jerusalem to see the new Yad Vashem institute museum (the Holocaust Institute).
It was quite extraordinary, much better than the old one which concentrated too much on the number of people and not the people themselves; which is so much more important in my opinion than the quantity of the dead.
The only thing that detracts from the experience is the sheer amount of information available and presentable.
There's too much and it really gets over whelming at times, it's one of the things that I don't like about Holocaust movies is that after seeing so much suffering you become numb to it, much like war movies, you watch the killing and eventually the killing doesn't matter anymore.
I'm glad real life isn't like that; in the real world I am always overwhelmed by the amount of violence and sheer brutality that we (humans) are capable of. It's not the shock that overwhelms me, because I know from the history of my people and from the actions of the people currently living all over the world that humans are capable of tremendous cruelty towards each other. I am overwhelmed by my reaction towards this cruelty and brutality, how much I a disturbed by it and how much I wish we didn't resort to it.
Is the Holocaust the lowest humanity got to?
It is certainly an unprecedented occurrence in human history, no other genocide before or since was so systematic, so well thought out and so universal in it's intention.
I resent the mystification of this time, because while it is difficult to understand, to accept, to think about the meaningless loss of human life, but to say that the Holocaust was the most inhuman act of all... I disagree.
Only humanity is capable of such destruction.
And to say in that mystification that the suffering of the Jews was the greatest... how can we compare one kind of suffering to another?

After we rested a bit, since as I said it was quite overwhelming, we went to the gift shop and bought a few books, Daddy bought Ellie Wiesel's "Night" and I bought K. Tzetnick's "The Doll House".
Afterwards we went to have lunch in Abu Ghosh, I love the Hummus and Pita in Abu Ghosh, in my opinion it's the best in Israel, better than Yaffo or Haifa. After we were full we drove home, I slept in the car.
It was a very good day, a great way to spend some quality time with adults and not be cooped up with Mummy, Leigh and the kiddies everyday. This is especially good because Jade is coming with Shvo and Libby for ten days on Sunday, so I'll be spending a very long time with most under six year olds for company.
I also gave in my resume to Shira who is going to try and get me a job at the local DVD rental store.

Ah, life.

Comments

[lifeofresearch.livejournal.com]

I think there are several reasons many say the holocaust was the worst in humanity. First, obviously, it was the magnitude of the genocide. Second, this was a western act on white people because the atrocities in Cambodia were similar but the people are of a different color. Even the plight in Africa does not get press coverage here in the United States because the people are black and poor. In the movie Hotel Rwanda this was brought out very clearly. Third, Nazi Germany lost the war and were not able to write the history from their distorted perspective. Finally, the Jewish people have earned a voice in the world and the story gets told. IMHO all suffering and destruction is bad and I usually don't think in superlatives. However, I am glad for the museums and memorials that keep this human tragedy before us.

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

Yep... It's estimated that we wiped out around 500 native american tribes with diseases like influenza, small pox, and chicken pox. This was not by accident, we gave them blankets infected with the diseases.

[morin.livejournal.com]

you're welcome to crash at my place whenever you need a bit of space for yourself, while your sister visits.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

In Petach Tikvah? Or down the road?

[morin.livejournal.com]

Either one. :)

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

That's not true my dear... In the old testament YHWH orders a genocide, and tells the hebrews not to leave a single blade of grass standing.

I do not agree with what Nazi Germany did at all, but I think that these tendencies lie dormant in us all. There are criminals in all societies, and we must be vigilant that they don't get into positions of power.

I'm not sure how religious you are, and perhaps that is a discussion for another time, but there is mention in the OT as well as the NT concerning such people in places of power.

As for sinking low... I believe the Nazi's knew exactly what they were doing, and they were highly spiritualy evolved on the side of evil and darkness. I believe they were run by occult master minds. Again, perhaps this is a topic for another time?

Long Reply :)

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

There is a difference between genocide and Holocaust, and of course it is Human to do this sort of thing, I even say so, that Nazi Germany's actions were all too human.

I believe the difference between genocide and Holocaust lies in the motivation, never before or since was the intention to decimate a people simply by being born. In the past it was due to territory (like the Native Americans by the Europeans and the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire and the Khmer in Cambodia) and due to religious doctrine (the current massacre in Darfur and the Serbia).

Most often (not always for sure) genocide refers to not only the murder of the people, but also due to the fact that those committing genocide rape the women in order to perpetrate their seed and make them (the women) a part of the conquering culture, one of the reasons the Hebrews were punished (again) by God in the Old Testament was because they did not commit complete genocide but take the women as their own and left one man (in one particular instance) alive.

The Turks didn't kill all the Armenians, because not all the Armenians were of interest to them, the Iraqis didn't kill all the Curds because not all of them were in Iraq, it is only the Iraqi Curds that were murdered, the Muslim Sudanese are not out to kill all the Christians and Animists, just the ones in their territory.

The Nazi's (by their own documentation) intention was the eradication of anything Jewish and creating a hierarchy based on race, not just in Europe, but everywhere.

That the Nazi head honchos were members of an occult society is not a new theory (at least to me) and it was certainly a part of their indoctrination (just read up about the way the Einzatsgruppen - Murder Squads - were trained and it's there).

Re: Long Reply :)

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely right, although I don't see much of a difference.

Speaking of the Curds, what do you make of the Yezedi religeon?

You seem very well educated... =)

Re: Long Reply :)

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I don't make anything on the Yezerdi religion since the only thing I know about it is that it's old :)

Got any links?

Re: Long Reply :)

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

There are a few links on them out there, but they seem pretty white washed to me. I have a hand written book that has a lot of their scripture in it (which I believe is passed on orally, and was not written down until really recently).

The Yezidi believe in YHWH and Lucifer, but believe Lucifer (whom they call by another name, Melek Taus) is a peacock god, and ruler of physical creation.

They are extremely patriarchal and cheuvenistic... One portion of the book says this concerning marriage: "On her arrival at the bridegroom's house, he must hit her with a small stone in token of the fact that she must be under his authority. [...] If a man steal the wife of his neighbor, or his own former wife, or her sister or mother, he is not oblidged to give her a dowry, for she is the booty of his own hand. Daughters may not inherit their fathers wealth. A young lady may be sold as an acre of land. If she refuses to be married, then she must redeem herself by paying her father a sum of money earned by her service and the labor of her hand."

Another really bizarre one was that men are not allowed to urinate standing up. The book warns that this is a practice of heathens, and a way to identify an outsider...

Re: Long Reply :)

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

Er, oops... Not hand written, the thing is typed.

Re: Long Reply :)

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

I'm not making a jab at you, btw... I know you are feminist (I'm egalitarian, and feminist sympathiser). The reason why I bring this topic up is I wonder why we were helping these people... They seem as bad as the previous Iraqi regeime. I guess an enemy of your enemies is an ally though. =/

Re: Long Reply :)

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I know you aren't making a jab :).

Re: Long Reply :)

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Don't have Yahoo, I have gmail chat.

Re: Long Reply :)

[hakuzo.livejournal.com]

seamas.macsionnach@gmail.com