Yom Hashoa - Speech
Holocaust survivors, Rabbis, Jewish leadership, Ambassadors, High Commisioners and members of the diplomatic core, and dear friends,
In 2006, the UN marked the international Holocaust remembrance day on the 27th of January. The date which marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the darkest place in human history. Although it took 60 long years from the birth of the UN till this day was marked – the cementing of the date in world history is of great importance, as the nations of the world join us in remembering these darkest moments that occurred 75 years ago.
But in Israel, and amongst the Jewish Diaspora, we continue to mark the memory of the Holocaust, as we have always done, on this day. Today marks the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, in 1943. The day that a few Jews, almost without weaponry, stood against the Nazis.
I see dual symbolism to marking the holocaust memorial today. Firstly, the closeness of this day to marking our exodus from Egypt on Passover. In one short week we recall that three thousand five hundred years ago, and 75 years ago, the Jewish people suffered the worst persecution imaginable. Egypt thousands of years ago and Europe decades ago are connected by a clear line – hatred of Jews. If antisemitism has survived these thousands of years, and keeps rearing its head time and time again, it’s my unfortunate conclusion that it is here to stay. The embedded connection between these two days of remembrance are here to remind us, our sons and daughters, our grandchildren and even the most optimistic of us that antisemitism will not disappear. It weakens at times, and sometimes takes different forms such as BDS, but it does not disappear.
The second symbolic importance of commemorating today is its closeness to Israel’s independence day that we will celebrate next week. In Egypt, and in Europe, the Jewish people wrongly thought that they are citizens of equal rights, or at the very least wanted guests. In both cases it ended with escaping back to the only safe place for Jews in the world. The proximity of these days is not coincidental – we mark twice in one week our ability to rise from despair and rebuild. From fear of extinction to a heroic return to our state. Turning the swamps and desert to a flourishing country.
These three events marked, within two weeks, represent both the continuous manifestation of Anti-Semitism and the only possible response to it – a strong and independent Israel, that any Jew can choose to come to. Reaching Israel three thousand five hundred years ago was a 40 year walk through the desert, 70 years ago it was a month’s dangerous journey at sea, and today Israel it’s one or two flights away wherever you are in the world. The line connecting Egypt and Europe has turned into a direct arrow – pointing towards Israel.
Today, we still witness the same ancient and hideous antisemitism but it hides behind a modern disguise. The “modern” anti-Semites understand that in a world where Jews have a safe-haven, a holocaust won’t occur again. That’s why they are aiming their obsession towards undermining the global legitimacy for the very existence of Israel. They know that without Israel Jews will again return to the same fragile circumstance as history has shown us. And then they can try once more… again…
When Omar Barghouti, the founder of the global BDS movement, is asked today in the media if his organization will cease its activity when Israel and the Palestinians reach a peace agreement – he no longer hides that his answer is no. Let me repeat: BDS, that has been claiming for the last 18 years that the reason for its existence is to create a Palestinian state, no longer hides it’s true purpose. They openly declare that BDS will not stop until all Palestinians return to Israel. In other words – when millions of Palestinians join or replace the millions of Israelis, and Israel will cease to exist as we know it. At least the leaders of Iran already say it straight out by demanding that “Israel be erased from the map”. BDS want the same thing… just phrase it in a more politically correct way…
On this note, survivors and dear members of the Jewish community, it’s very important to occasionally zoom-out for a moment. When we are too close to something, it looks very big, but when we zoom out we can see the true size and proportions. As a representative of the State of Israel, allow me to zoom out for you.
What you see all around you here is your country, openly supporting BDS. What I see when I zoom-out, is that in this whole world there is only one country, that isn’t Muslim or Arab, that supports BDS so clearly, and more than 100 countries that act entirely differently.
What you see around you is a country that may downgrade its relations with Israel. What I see, when I zoom-out, are the so many countries that are only looking to upgrade their relations with Israel. African countries, Asia, South America... Even Muslim countries like Chad, Arabic countries from the Middle east and 4 out of 5 of the BRICS countries.
You see official declarations about the “pressure put on them” by BDS. When I zoom-out, I see tens of leaders from around the world that understand that the new BDS is the old antisemitism, and they must responsibly lead the world to a better place and not buckle under pressure. This is the exact reason why 26 American states have already outlawed BDS. This is the reason why the parliaments of Canada and Switzerland have condemned all BDS activities. Governments, parliaments and even municipalities have already acted and many more will follow.
What you see here is 18 years of calling for an economic boycott on Israel, since the birth of the boycott movement in Durban. What I see when I zoom-out, is the simple fact that in the last 18 years, while this so called “successful” boycott takes place, Israel’s economy has grown by 65% (!), more than two times the average of the OECD countries. 400 top international companies have “made Aliyah” and set up their R&D centers in Israel – making it Every 50 square km in Israel with one of these international centers. The scientific, academic and cultural boycott was also so “successful”, that our scientists have almost landed us on the moon, gave us desalinated sea water to drink and printed a 3D living heart, further, the number of international performers in Israel has increased by more than 5 in six years!
Actually, coming to think about it, the last 18 years, Israel has had it’s best years - ever! So you can do the boycott math yourself. If BDS was a publicly traded company – it’s stock would be worthless. If BDS was a country, it would be given “Junk Status”. Sometimes we just need to zoom-out to get the correct perspective.
Dear holocaust survivors, if the Nazis didn’t manage to break your spirits, no one ever will. And it doesn’t matter what disguise they might use nowadays. If we zoom-out, we can see how your enormous sacrifice was not in vain. Your sacrifice has allowed us to return to Israel and make it what it is today. The State of Israel is committed to working tirelessly to ensure that it will continue to be safe for any Jew in need. We owe it to you the survivors, and we owe it to our 6 million brothers and sisters.