12 | JANUARY 28 • 2021

VIEWS

stand when we do not accept
that it is not perfect, and that
we don’t always get what we
want. It requires compromise
and agreeing to uphold the
outcomes even when we are
disappointed in them.
Life in Germany was hard
after WWI. Weimar democ-
racy was fragile and messy. It
required patience, hard work
and belief in its value to make
life better and fair for every-
one. Ultimately, the Germans
found it too hard to sustain.
Choosing to scapegoat the
Jewish people for Germany’s
ills was easier than taking
responsibility. Choosing to
believe propaganda was eas-
ier than seeking the truth.
Choosing to believe the rhet-
oric that confirmed long-held
antisemitism was simpler
than questioning it. Choosing
authoritarianism over govern-
ment of the people by the peo-

ple for the people was easier.
Choosing to boycott Jewish-
owned stores and silently
accepting the Nuremberg
laws was easier than standing
up for one’s neighbors and
friends. Choosing to accept
the notion that the entire
Jewish people should pay for
the crime of one young man
without considering the injus-
tice of that idea was simply
easier. The violence and mur-
der of Kristallnacht happened
because people made it hap-
pen. It was a choice.
I have the great honor of
working with children and
their teachers to instill the val-
ues upon which these lessons
are built. Through our teacher
workshops and museum edu-
cation, we at the Holocaust
Memorial Center teach about
the values of compassion and
speaking out when we see
injustice. Through the exam-

ples of the Righteous Among
the Nations we teach that
choosing to fight hatred is
always the better choice, even
when it is hard and dangerous.
We teach that history does
not happen; we make it hap-
pen. We can make a differ-
ence. We can make choices
that matter. We can influence
others to make ethical choices
and stand up for what is right.
But it is not just educators

who must teach these lessons.
It is all of us. Despite the
pandemic, despite living in
a broken and hurting world
(or maybe because of it), it
is more important than ever
that we stand up for all people,
fight for democracy and value
our neighbors. There is no
Other. There is only Us.

Ruth Bergman is the director of
education at the Holocaust Memorial
Center in Farmington Hills.

Academy, the day camp, the
nursery and the Berman
Theater).
Let’s move forward.

— Harvey Bronstein

Southfield

Heschel and King
had Zionism in
Common

Marc Jacobs describes many
aspects of the connection
between Rabbi Heschel and
Dr. King. (“This year for
Martin Luther King Day —
Be a Heschel”). Curiously, he
ignored one of the most obvi-
ous connections between the
two men, their Zionism.
Rabbi Heschel said:

“However it was not justice
as an abstract principle which
stirred us so deeply [in 1967].
Auschwitz is in our veins. It
abides in the throbbing of
our hearts. It burns in our
imagination. It trembles in
our conscience. We, the gen-
eration that witnessed the
Holocaust, should stand by
calmly when rulers proclaim
their intention to bring about
a new Holocaust? … One of
the insights from the great
crisis of May 1967, is the
deep personal involvement
of every Jew in the existence
of Israel. It is not a matter
of philanthropy or general
charity but of spiritual iden-
tification. It is such personal

relationship to Israel upon
which one’s dignity as a Jew is
articulated.”
Of course, Rabbi Heschel’s
comrade in arms, Dr. King,
famously articulated his
Zionism at Harvard shortly
before his death in the wise
and prescient words cited by
Congressman John Lewis in
an op-ed in the San Francisco
Chronicle commemorating
Martin Luther King Day in
January 2002: “When people
criticize Zionists, they mean
Jews; you’re talking anti-Sem-
itism.”
Dr. King also said: “Peace
for Israel means security, and
we must stand with all of our
might to protect its right to

exist, its territorial integrity. I
see Israel, and [I] never mind
saying it, as one of the great
outposts of democracy in the
world and a marvelous exam-
ple of what can be done, how
desert land almost can be
transformed into an oasis of
brotherhood and democracy.
Peace for Israel means secu-
rity and that security must be
a reality.”
Since readers of the Jewish
News are asked to emulate
“the spirit of Dr. King’s and
Rabbi Heschel’s friendship,”
then their Zionism should
be proudly mentioned — not
omitted.

— Richard Sherman

Margate, Fla.

LESSONS continued from page 10

LETTERS continued from page 10