Second Holocaust

The notion of a "second Holocaust" (Hebrew: השואה השנײה, romanized: HaShoah HaShniyah) or "Another Holocaust" (שואה נוספת, Shoah Nosephet) is an assertion that the Holocaust or a similar event is recurring or will recur. It is often used to discuss real or perceived threats to the State of Israel, the Jewish people, or the Jewish way of life.

Examples

Threats to Israel's security

Threats to Israel's security have often been described as a potential "second Holocaust".[1][2] During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, it was feared that defeat in the war would mean a second genocide of Jews, this time at the hands of Arab armies. These fears were based on antisemitism in the Arab world, many Israeli soldiers having lost relatives in the Holocaust, and the temporal proximity of the last genocide. The Arabs did not face a comparable existential threat, and the lack of motivation of Arab armies contributed to defeat in the war.[3][4][5] The Six-Day War also led Israelis to fear another Holocaust.[6][1]

Belief that Jews are threatened by another Holocaust is a key element in support for the Israeli state and its military.[1][7] For example, in 1987, Yitzhak Rabin opined that "In every generation, they try to destroy us" (quoting from the Passover Haggadah) and therefore the Holocaust could happen again.[7] Before he came to power, Menachem Begin compared accepting reparations from Germany to allowing "another Holocaust".[8] Before the 1982 Lebanon war, Begin told his cabinet: "Believe me, the alternative to this is Treblinka, and we have decided that there will not be another Treblinka". He also justified Operation Opera, the 1981 bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor, by stating that by ordering the strike he had prevented another Holocaust.[1]

In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Iran wants a second Holocaust" and to "destroy another six million plus Jews", after his Iranian counterpart described Israel as a "malignant cancerous tumor".[9] In 2020, he expressed that because it has "an independent state and a strong army", "The State of Israel will do whatever is necessary to prevent another Holocaust."[10]

Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States, said in 2019 that "The Iranian regime openly advocates another Holocaust and seeks the means to achieve it", referring to the Iranian nuclear program.[11]

This tendency has been criticized by some Israelis.[7] For example, in 2017 President Reuven Rivlin said that he disagreed with Begin's invocation of "another Treblinka": "According to this approach, the justification for the existence of the State of Israel is the prevention of the next Holocaust. Every threat is a threat to survival, every Israel-hating leader is Hitler ... any criticism of the State of Israel is anti-Semitism." He said that the approach was "fundamentally wrong" and "dangerous".[12]

The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has been likened to the Holocaust by many Israel Jews, including Holocaust survivors, as well as world leaders such as the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the American president Joe Biden.[13][14] However, this analogy has been criticized by some, especially critics of Netanyahu and his government. Raz Segal, an Israeli historian residing in the United States, wrote in Jewish Currents that Israel's "assault on Gaza" in the aftermath of the attack was a "textbook case of genocide" (See: Genocide against Palestinians).[13]

Antisemitism

Some Holocaust survivors have expressed fear that rising antisemitism in the 21st century could lead to another Holocaust.[15] Israel Meir Lau, former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel and a Holocaust survivor, said that while another Holocaust was possible, "this time, the fact that we have a Jewish state that deters Israel's haters, the fact that we have the Israel Defense Forces, and the fact that we have won wars decisively, makes things starkly different".[16]

According to one survey, 58% of Americans believe something like the Holocaust could happen again.[15]

Jewish intermarriage
Main article: Jewish assimilation

In 2019, Israeli education minister Rafi Peretz compared Jewish intermarriage in the United States to a "second Holocaust".[17] At the time, fifty-eight percent of married American Jews were married to a non-Jewish spouse. Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that Peretz' remark "trivializes the Shoah [Holocaust]".[18] Another criticism is that children of intermarriage may consider themselves Jews and belong to the Jewish community.[18]

See also

References
  1. Lustick, Ian S. (2019). Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8122-9681-5.
  2. Peleg, Ilan (2019). Victimhood Discourse in Contemporary Israel. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 63, 95–96. ISBN 978-1-4985-5351-3.
  3. "Professor pens book on WWII veterans' efforts to prevent a second Holocaust | Penn State University". news.psu.edu. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  4. Morris, Benny (2008). 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. Yale University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-300-14524-3.
  5. Yablonka, Hanna (2016). Survivors of the Holocaust: Israel after the War. Springer. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-349-14152-4.
  6. Brenner, Reeve Robert (2014). The Faith and Doubt of Holocaust Survivors. Transaction Publishers. p. 8–9. ISBN 978-1-4128-5315-6.
  7. Levin, Irene (2016). The Holocaust as Active Memory: The Past in the Present. Routledge. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-1-317-02866-6.
  8. Segev, Tom (2019). The Seventh Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-8090-8579-8.
  9. Harpin, Lee (June 5, 2018). "'Iran wants second Holocaust', says Benjamin Netanyahu". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. "PM: Israel ready to defend against another Holocaust". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  11. "Pence accuses Iran of pursuing 'another Holocaust,' lashes out at allies". NBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  12. "Tel Aviv Diary: Two very different takes on what the Holocaust means today". Newsweek. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  13. "Hamas attack evokes memories of the Holocaust for many Jews". NBC News. 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  14. "A 'Zionist in my heart': Biden's devotion to Israel faces a new test". AP News. 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  15. "Survivors, scholars say threat of another Holocaust is not to be ignored". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  16. Greenwood, Hanan (23 January 2020). "Another Holocaust is possible, warns former chief rabbi". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  17. "Israel's education minister: Intermarriage among US Jews 'like second Holocaust'". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  18. Beauchamp, Zack (10 July 2019). "Israeli minister says US Jews marrying non-Jews is "like a second Holocaust"". Vox. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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