Remembering
In Israel it is almost impossible to not remember and reflect upon the horrors and tragedy of the Holocaust. Especially on this day of remembrance, the Holocaust permeates every aspect of Israel’s existence.

But for those living outside of Israel, it takes effort to remember. Even if you try, the sheer numbers — 6 million — are simply overwhelming. How can anyone possible even begin to try to understand the suffering, brutality and horror inflicted upon millions of Jewish men, women and children in homes, schools, hospitals, on streets, in forests and in ghettos and concentration and death camps? It’s impossible.

The only way to attempt this awesome task of remembrance is to start with individuals. The Holocaust destroyed individuals — the kind of people you see in your own family and community.

Imagine the accomplished woman dressed in her finest business suit (is it you or someone you love?) being marched to her gassing. Imagine the accountant, professor, musician, storekeeper, carpenter or plumber being suddenly torn from his daily routine, herded into a forest and gunned down into a mass grave.

The sun shone, the birds sang and the local gentile population looked on (for the most part) as the Jewish populations of entire towns (like Teaneck, Lakewood, Monsey, Houston, San Diego etc.) were hunted down, collected in a central square and then forced onto trains heading to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec, etc.

Distinguished rabbinic sages with long white beards and young yeshiva students immersed in Torah study alongside secular university students and communist activists went to their deaths with dignity and shared their final resting places in mass graves or ash piles.

If you’re willing to go one step further into a place that is almost too painful to even consider [if you can’t then please stop reading here]— take a look at your own young children or grandchildren (or nieces and nephews) and imagine those pure and innocent souls marching to their deaths — and imagine yourself helpless to do anything to help other than watch them…

Now you can begin, in the tiniest sense, to fathom the Holocaust, remember the tragedy and strive to ensure that it never happens again.

So on this day of remembering, try to take some time to reflect on the tragedy by identifying with the victims, even if you have no direct connection to any of them. They were people just like you.

As part of remembering the martyrs, try to do a good deed or act of kindness (mitzvah) in their memory.

May the souls of the millions that perished in the Holocaust be elevated and may they finally find some form of rest knowing that the Jewish nation can now live securely in the homeland they prayed and yearned for.

Remembering Aids
Reading books and watching movies about the Holocaust can help you better remember, understand and identify with the tragedy. In the spirit of Yom Hashoah I’d like to recommend a book that I believe is a must read.

It’s called Defy the Darkness by Joe Rosenblum. This guy went through so much and actually describes it in such great detail — more than I’ve seen anywhere else. It’s really mind blowing. 

I actually borrowed it from the library, read it, and then bought it (used) just to have a copy on my bookshelf — it’s that important.

But I warn you, it’s scarier than any horror movie you’ve seen. So if you can handle it, you should read it. 

If you’ve never seen the movie Schindler’s List, or if it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, I highly recommend watching it. It is, I believe, the greatest non-documentary Holocaust movie ever made.

Forgetting
A poll entitled “National Survey of Holocaust Awareness and Knowledge Among Adults in the United States”, taken by the Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), found that 22% of Americans aged 18-24 said they have never heard of the Holocaust and 11% of 25-34 year olds said they were unfamiliar with it. Fifty-eight percent of the 1,350 people polled said that they believed that another Holocaust could take place again in the future. While 94% of all respondents said that Jews were the victims of the Holocaust, a significant percentage believed that only 2 million or less were murdered.

For further reading click here.

Russia Blames Israel
Russia today blamed Israel for attacking a Syrian air base. The attack on the base near the city of Homs came after a suspected chemical attack by the Syrian army killed over 60 civilians near Damascus over the weekend. Russia’s Defense Ministry said two Israeli fighter jets launched the attack on the T4 air base in central Syria from Lebanon’s air space and that Syria shot down 5 out of the 8 missiles fired at the base. The other 3 reportedly killed 14 people, including Iranians.

Yesterday President Trump strongly condemned the chemical attack, blamed Russia and Iran and threatened that there would be a “big price to pay”. But the Pentagon denied attacking the air base. So did Israel.

For further reading click here.

Gaza Strikes
Yesterday afternoon 3 Palestinians crossed into Israel from northern Gaza. After hiding for a short time they were discovered and fired upon by IDF tanks. The 3 managed to escape back across the border unharmed. After a thorough search of the area, the IDF found 2 explosive devices. Meanwhile another Palestinian was apprehended crossing the border.

In response to the incursions, Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked a Hamas military base in northern Gaza early today.

For further reading click here.

Gaza Protests
On Friday, around 20,000 Palestinians demonstrated at the Gaza border in a protest that soon turned into day-long rioting. Nine Palestinians were killed as a result of clashes with Israeli forces including Yaser Martuja, who was wearing a blue protective vest with the word PRESS in bold lettering. The IDF released a statement saying, “The IDF does not intentionally fire on journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were hit, allegedly by IDF fire, are unknown to us and are being examined.”

The protest march (riot) was a continuation of the “Great March of Return” that began last Friday when 30,000 Gaza’s marched towards the Israeli border and tried to break it down and cross into Israel. Eighteen protestors were killed in clashes with the IDF, who prevented them from crossing into Israel.

The IDF has appointed a panel to investigate the clashes over the last two weeks that have claimed a total of 30 Palestinians.

For further reading click here.

Stabbing Attempt
A terrorist attempted to stab an Israeli man at a gas station in Mishor Adumim near Ma’ale Adumim (Judea – West Bank) yesterday morning. A civilian driving by noticed the attack and opened fire at the terrorist, neutralizing him. The terrorist was taken to Hadassah Medical Center in serious condition. Three people were treated for shock.

For further reading click here.

Chief Rabbi on Syria
Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef called on the government to work towards ending the massacre being committed by Syrian President Bashar Assad against his own people.

A statement released by the Chief Rabbi’s office said:

“I have said in the past and I will say it again: What is happening in Syria is genocide of women and children in its cruelest form, using weapons of mass destruction. We have a moral obligation not to keep quiet and to try and stop this massacre. As Jews who have experienced genocide, as Jews whose Torah is a light to the nations, it is our moral obligation to try and stop this murder. It is an obligation no less important than the moral obligation to destroy the nuclear reactor in Syria.”

In response to the statement, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid tweeted, ““Though I have my disagreements with the Rishon Letzion (Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel), the things he said about Syria today are the words of a true spiritual leader.”

For further reading click here.

Hezbollah Hit
Arab media outlet Al Arabiya reported Sunday evening that Israel attacked Hezbollah outposts in the Lebanese Beqaa Valley region of Baalbek adjacent to the Syrian border. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen network denied the reports. The IDF did not comment.

For further reading click here.

Going National
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat officially announced last Wednesday that he will forego running for a third term as mayor and instead run on the Likud party’s national ticket in the coming elections. He said, “I have decided to serve Israel on the national level and strengthen the Likud movement, whose path I wholeheartedly believe in.” Barkat has been mayor of Jerusalem for the past 10 years.

For further reading click here.

Tariff Exemption
Israel is pressing the US administration for an exemption from the new tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. Israel’s official reason for the request is that its metal exports to the US are marginal, totaling $25 million a year, and pose no threat to the US economy. The request also states that limiting aluminum and steel exports from Israel to the US and setting high customs duties will affect dozens of small and medium-sized companies operating throughout Israel. So far, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Argentina, Australia and the European Union will be exempted from the tariffs.

The Israel Metal Industries Association in the Manufacturers Association of Israel said that 50-60 companies in Israel would be affected by the high customs duties on steel and aluminum in trade with the US. According to the Metal Industries Association’s figures, exports of steel products to the US market totaled $21 million in 2017, and exports of aluminum products totaled $3-4 million. “The quantity of exports is purely marginal, and poses no threat to the US market, but stopping it will deal a hard blow to dozens of Israeli companies.

For further reading click here.

Syrian Synagogue
In an official complaint filed with the United Nations Security Council last week, Syria accused Israel of smuggling religious books and other artifacts from the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in cooperation with Turkey and with terrorist groups operating in the area.

The Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, located in the Jobar district of Damascus, is believed to be built on the spot where the prophet Elijah is believed to have hid in a cave and in the place where Elijah is said to have anointed the prophet Elisha. According to a plaque on the building, the synagogue dates from 720 BCE. Jobar was home to a large Jewish community for hundreds of years until the 1800s.

The synagogue was said to have been mostly destroyed in mortar attacks during a May 2014 battle between troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar and rebel troops. The synagogue reportedly was looted following the battle.

Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari wrote in the letter of what he called “credible evidence” that “the terrorist groups that are active in the area of Jobar, near Damascus, cooperated with the Turkish and Israeli intelligence services to loot artifacts and manuscripts from the ancient synagogue there.”
The letter continued: “The items were then smuggled through local and foreign intermediaries to Istanbul, where they were received by antiquities experts who certified that they were extremely valuable antique objects. The items were subsequently smuggled to New York.”

For further reading click here.

Colombia Anti-Semitism
A Colombian Jewish journalist, Channel 1’s Cathy Bekerman, was ordered to resign from her TV news anchor post after she refused an order from her boss to cross herself while she was on the air. She refused to resign. The Colombian constitutions guarantees religious freedom. Her boss ended up issuing a public apology.

For further reading click here.

Aiding Terror
Police arrested Monday night eight people suspected of not trying to prevent a deadly terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday which claimed the life of Adiel Kolman. According to the police investigation, the eight traders aged between 15 and 67, who live on HaGai street where the attack took place, were in the area when the bloodletting began and despite realizing what was taking place, did nothing to try and prevent it.

However, the court released all 8 suspects to house arrest until March 25th, due to weak evidence. They are forbidden from making contact with the defendants in the case.

For further reading click here.

Abbas Slur
Speaking to Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Monday, PA President Abbas lashed out against US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman saying, “The US ambassador in Tel Aviv is a settler and a son of a dog.”

In response, Friedman said, “His response was to refer to me as ‘son of a dog’. Is that antisemitism or political discourse? I leave that up to you.” The White House called the slur “highly inappropriate.”

Jason Greenblatt, top Mideast negotiator, said, “The time has come for President Abbas to choose between hateful rhetoric and concrete and practical efforts to improve the quality of life of his people and lead them to peace and prosperity. Notwithstanding his highly inappropriate insults against members of the Trump administration, the latest iteration being his insult of my good friend and colleague Ambassador Friedman, we are committed to the Palestinian people and to the changes that must be implemented for peaceful coexistence.”

PM Netanyahu said that Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem has caused Abbas to “lose it”.

Abbas was responding to a tweet made by Friedman relating to a terror attack saying “Such brutality and no condemnation from the PA!”

For further reading click here.

Sinai Threat
Speaking at the Negev Conference in Dimona yesterday, PM Netanyahu called the “flooding” of illegal African migrants from the Sinai into Israel the most serious threat Israel faces on the Egyptian border. He praised his own decision to construct a security wall along the entire Egyptian border, from Gaza to Eilat, claiming that it has stopped terror attacks and infiltration by illegal migrants.

The PM said, “How could we guarantee a Jewish and democratic state with between 50,000 and 100,000 infiltrators each year? The number could have risen to 1.5 million.” He added, “We completed a tremendous operation—the construction of a fence that is 200 kilometers long on the Sinai border. There was strong resistance to the idea of the fence from Gaza to Eilat. They said it would cost so much money, who knows if it will work, but I believed in it.”

For further reading click here.

Gaza Relief
Despite mounting tensions along the Gaza border recently, the IDF has decided on the following steps to improve humanitarian conditions there:
1. traders from the strip will be allowed to enter Israel to participate in business dealings
2. the amount of fruit and vegetables allowed to be exported from Gaza was increased
3. entrance permits to younger Palestinians were granted
4. increased truck traffic was allowed to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
5. Gaza fishermen will be allowed to go out to sea for longer periods of time.

For further reading click here.

Tragic Accident
An IDF soldier from the elite Duvdevan unit was accidentally killed yesterday on a base in the center of the country. According to reports, the soldier, 20 year old Shachar Citrog from Givatayim, was sitting in his room with another soldier who was apparently playing with his handgun when it accidentally was discharged. The IDF Spokesperson’s Office stated that the military police has opened an investigation into the incident.

For further reading click here.

Attack Confirmed
Israel has finally officially confirmed that it attacked and destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007.
To read more about the details of the attack, click here.

Musk Meeting
PM Netanyahu met with Elon Musk yesterday at the PM’s residence in Jerusalem. He said, “I met with Elon Musk this morning. He told me that Israel was a technological power, and that he appreciates what we’re doing here.” Sources say Musk’s visit to Israel is linked to cooperation with Israeli startup Cortica.

For further reading click here.

Lebanon Army
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hariri said that his country would increase its military presence along its border with Israel. The move would be an attempt to curb Hezbollah’s power in the region. Hariri is meeting with European leaders to raise funds for the Lebanese army.

For further reading click here.

Budget Approved
After nearly causing a coalition crisis and new elections, the 2019 state budget finally was passed by the Knesset this week. The budget passed by a vote of 62-54.

The largest sums of the budget are earmarked for defense (NIS 73 billion), education (NIS 64 billion), health (NIS 42 billion) and national insurance (NIS 46 billion). Another NIS 20 billion will be pumped into public transport and NIS 19 billion into the Ministry of Public Security. Both higher education and the Ministry of Welfare will receive a financial injection of NIS 11 billion each, while local authorities will receive NIS 6 billion and the Ministry of Housing will get a NIS 5.3 billion boost.

In exchange for supporting the budget, the Haredi parties are getting a Draft Bill passed, to exempt yeshiva students from serving in the IDF.

For further reading click here.

To see the Haredi reaction to the compromise (and the PM), click here.

Stop Deportations
Israel’s Supreme Court has issued a temporary injunction ordering the government to halt deportation proceedings against asylum seekers. According to the ruling by Chief Justice Esther Hayut, Deputy Chief Justice Hanan Melcer and Justice Neal Hendel, the injunction will not apply to anyone agreeing to leave Israel willingly. The order, moreover, will not apply to preparations for the expulsion, which may go through as planned.

Israel is drawing sharp criticism for its plan to deport thousands of illegal African migrants.

For further reading click here.

US Navy Visits
The USS Iwo Jima aircraft carrier is currently docked at the Port of Haifa after participating in the recent joint US-Israel Juniper-Cobra military exercise. The ship is home to over 2,000 personnel.

For further reading click here.

Happy Place
Israel has been ranked as the 11th happiest country in the world according to the 2018 World Happiness Report, which ranks countries according to criteria such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption. A total of 156 countries were ranked.

The top 10 countries are Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden and Australia. The US is 18th. Burundi (Africa) came in last.

For further reading click here.

Hidden Jews Return
A fascinating video about hidden Jews, who lived as Catholics for hundreds of years, returning to their heritage in Bello, Colombia. Click here