I try not to write about Israeli politics. I really try. Lately, I’ve become a bit jaded on the subject thinking that any news items concerning Israel just sparks more animosity between the sides in the Middle East and North America. But after reading this article from the New York Times, I can not hold back.
Avraham Burg, former Speaker of the K’nesset and one time candidate for the leadership of the Labor Party, has just come out with the English version of a really crazy book.
In his book, “The Holocaust is Over; We Must Rise From Its Ashes“, Burg basically shatters the notion that mainstream Israeli political figures could ever veer so off to the left. In his book, Burg argues that Israel should no longer be a Jewish State, the Law of Return is racist and that Israel is in danger of becoming more and more like the Nazis every passing day.
This news isn’t new. His book came out in Israel last year in Hebrew with the title, “Defeating Hitler” (his original title was “Hitler Won”). Actually, the English version is somewhat toned down from the original Hebrew. In the original, Burg argues that Israel may go as far as invoking Nuremberg style laws, banning Israelis from marrying Arabs.
The overall theme of the book is that Israeli culture and politics are too focused on the Holocaust. Comparing every enemy of Israel to Hitler and invoking the Holocaust to justify any security measure does not let the Jews set their own future and move past the tragedy of 60 years ago.
I somewhat buy the Holocaust argument, but definitely not to the extreme that Burg takes. Even if you disagree with everything Burg has to say, this looks like an interesting book nonetheless.
