I was born in Germany on January 5, 1924. It was not long after the end of World War I and long before Hitler came to power in 1933.
At that time, the government was known as the Weimar Republic, and although antisemitism was somewhat covertly present, life was relatively normal for Jews.
After Hitler came to power, everything changed. It began with Jews being blamed for all the ills of society in Germany at that time: the economic situation, the fact that Germany had lost the war, and that it had to pay a heavy price to the winning Allies for reparations, which caused massive inflation. In fact, Jews were accused of using that to make money. And so began the slow and progressive strangulation of Jewish life, culminating with the Holocaust.
With that in mind, when assessing the antisemitic outrages of today, I used to say that we live in an era equivalent to the 1930s. I now have to say that Jews experience antisemitism, particularly in the Western world, as it was in 1938, when synagogues were desecrated, Jewish shopfronts were defaced, and Jews were attacked in the street and even murdered. The Nuremberg Race Laws were strictly enforced, preventing Jews from leading a normal life.
The physical manifestations of antisemitism will get far worse
Although I live in my beautiful home in Jerusalem, it is extremely difficult to distance myself from the anti-Jewish outrages that again pervade all over Europe and America, particularly because, having experienced it once in my life, I think I can foretell the progression of what will happen next: The physical manifestations of antisemitism will get far worse.
Unfortunately, regarding the massive anti-Jewish demonstrations in the world, I cannot exclude the possibility of attacks like Kristallnacht from happening again, as I actually experienced it firsthand myself. It will not culminate in another Holocaust, though, because, thank God, we have a state, a strong state that will prevent that from happening.
In the 1930s, the general attitude of Jews was to be apologetic and keep a low profile. There was no hint of any attempt to counter the aggression, and while I can understand those Jews who remove all symbols of Jewish identity for fear of their lives, particularly in such countries where antisemitism is virulent, such action does not contribute one iota to reducing antisemitism.
To remove mezuzot from the doorposts has been shown not to prevent any attacks on Jews because those who want to find you know exactly where you live, and secondly, it is of, course, counterproductive because it is a command of the Torah to affix these mezuzot to the doorposts and, therefore, a measure of God’s protection, so if you remove it you actually remove your protection.
Antisemitism has existed since certain factions of the Christian Church have accused Jews of killing Jesus, and therefore, Jew-hatred is ingrained in their doctrine.
However, the evangelical church treasures and loves Israel and promotes and supports Israel as the Jewish homeland. Christianity and Islam have their origins in Judaism, and therefore, the only effective way to try to eradicate or at least to reduce antisemitism is by an international campaign of education.
For that, we need the cooperation of many quarters. Yet, this does not preclude hitting back when attacked. To achieve such worldwide cooperation is no easy task, as antisemitism has become the panacea for all the ills of the world.
Consider making aliyah while you can still get out
As we commemorate the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, we must impress on future generations that until we have succeeded in destroying this destructive steamroller that is antisemitism, there will be little chance for Jewish life to be able to thrive and develop, particularly in Europe and the US.
Many empires, throughout the ages, with their antisemitic undertones, have totally disappeared, yet we are here!
Now, I regret to say we live at the beginning of an Islamic empire, which will last for some time, until it too will pass into oblivion. Therefore, the only hope for Jews to live freely and to be able to practice our religion and our lifestyle is to live in Israel.
So, my final appeal to Diaspora Jewry is to seriously consider making aliyah while you can still get out with all of your possessions and don’t have to run away with a small suitcase like I had to.
Am Yisrael Chai!
The writer is a 101-year-old Holocaust survivor and one of the last living eyewitnesses to Kristallnacht.