By Bill Quain
A personal note to my readers: I created the Six Words on a Boardwalk Bench column to create a “community billboard.” I’d like my six words to bring a new perspective to the table. This week was supposed to be my last column in the “Cutting College Costs” series. But the attacks on Israel were just too important for me to ignore.
When “never again” isn’t long enough.
We’ve all used the “never again” statement. It could be for something minor, like “I’ll never eat that much pie again.” It could also be for a more serious situation, such as being at the beach and taking your eyes off a young child just for a minute, and then finding them down by the water, all alone.
Every “never again” is experience-based.
Every “never again,” no matter how trivial or truly damaging, is based on your feelings of guilt or pain that came when you experienced something. But the most compelling, most life-changing resolutions come when we ourselves personally have to face up to the fact that some things are just too consequential to endure a second time. In those cases, it’s entirely possible that others will have no ability to comprehend our pain, fears, and resolve to adhere to our “never again” decisions.
Israel: The ultimate “never again” experience
The modern, Democratic State of Israel was founded in 1948, after German Nazis systematically slaughtered more than six million Jews, using, among other techniques, poison gas in extermination camps in Europe. (If you do not know the history of Israel and Palestine, both founded in 1948, you owe it to yourself to discover it.) After watching neighbors, parents, grandparents, and children sent off to the camps, and learning of the truly unbelievable barbaric plan to exterminate an entire religion, it is no wonder that the Jews vowed to “never again” put themselves in the position where they would be powerless to fight the centuries-old hatred of them as a people. It’s a legacy that is passed on from one generation to another. But it is also the modern, lived experience of all Jews, especially those in Israel.
Holocaust survivors are still alive today.
We lived in Miami Beach from 1997-2007. One day, my wife Jeanne was at a bakery, when an older woman in front of her reached across the counter to pick up a loaf of bread. Jeanne was shocked to see the tattooed numbers from a concentration camp on the woman’s arm. The camps were liberated in 1945. A child who was 10 at that time would be 88 today. This isn’t ancient history. Many survivors are alive today.
But, if you are Jewish, you don’t need to have live people to remind you of the Holocaust. Your aunts, uncles, neighbors, and friends all have close relatives who lived (or were slaughtered) during those horrific times. Your resolve to “never again” personally witness the powerlessness and hopelessness of facing extermination from a brutal and entirely determined enemy are still today’s lived experiences. Certainly many people are still alive today who experienced the Yom Kippur War of 1973. On that occasion, Israel was unprepared, and completely surprised by the attacks by massive forces, bent on one thing – the destruction and killing of Jews. And now, almost exactly 50 years after the ’73 attacks, Hamas has launched over 5,000 missiles and sent thousands of terrorists in an attack that once again caught the Israelis by surprise. It was not an attack to recover territory, nor to redress grievances. It was an attempt to draw Israeli soldiers into attacking Gaza. It looks as if it is going to work.
This isn’t a war over territory.
Make no mistake about it. Hamas is not fighting for territory. They already have territory. This is a war to exterminate a people, and the Jews have been through this before. Now they just want to make sure it is the last time – at least with this particular enemy. When terrorists took down the Towers of the World Trade Center, it wasn’t for territory. It was to strike a blow to the “Great Satan.” In the attacks on Saturday, Oct. 7, they didn’t do it to capture territory. They did it to terrorize civilians, and they did just that, with rape, kidnapping, torture, beheading, and a complete disregard for any moral conventions. If Israel invades the Gaza Strip (I’m writing this column on Oct. 14) it won’t be to gain territory. It will be to eliminate an enemy that will never stop attacking Israelis – not for land, but to simply kill them. If Israel is able to destroy Hamas, the Israelis are not going to keep Gaza. They don’t want it. Even Egypt doesn’t want it. Instead, they want what they’ve always wanted – a safe place for Jewish people to live, with just one thought – “never again.” And this time, hopefully, they’ll get it.
Is this the last “never again”?
Israel is faced with a difficult choice. They can either heed the world’s pleas to stop attacking, or listen to their hearts and possibly put a permanent end to at least one “never again” situation, by destroying Hamas. I’m not in a position to judge the Israelis. I don’t have the “never again” resolution they do. Israel had vowed to never let it happen again. It must be a terrible burden for the Israelis to bear because it did happen again.
My “never again” wish for all
One final thing: I am not Jewish. I was raised Irish Catholic and heard stories of the cruelty of the British in Ireland. But I never feared extermination. I never lived with serious discrimination. My “never again” resolutions do not involve the fears and anger born of powerlessness and the lived experiences of my community. I’m blessed to live in the United States. I’m sympathetic to all people who suffer. Sometimes, we just have to do our best to imagine the horror and hopelessness of knowing that your very existence is the trigger for an enemy to attack you – not for land or money, but simply because they want you eliminated.
I wish for all my friends, neighbors, family, and those who are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and all other religions more peaceful days ahead. As always, you can respond to my column by sending me an email at bill@quain.com. I value your perspectives.
Bill is a Professor in Stockton University’s Hospitality Management Program. He is the author of 27 books, and a highly-respected speaker. Even though he is almost totally blind, Bill is a long-distance runner and runs the Ocean City Half Marathon each year. He lives in Ocean City with his wife Jeanne, and his Guide Dog Trudy. Visit www.billquain.com or email him at bill@quain.com.
