In our darkest days, I discover myself returning to the sensible ceiling of the picket synagogue that after stood in Gwoździec, Ukraine. Its splendid hues, fantastical illustration, and pleasant ornamentation belie the truth that its neighborhood had not too long ago rebuilt itself from unimaginable terror: the Chmielnicki Massacres, during which tens of 1000’s of Jap European Jews had been murdered from 1648 to 1649.
After all, this neighborhood grieved. However their despair was not countless. Believing that they had been punished for divine sins (additionally a fancy tragedy in itself), there started an outpouring of mysticism and a steadfast dedication to pleasure within the face of hopelessness. I think about that as these artisans painted double-headed eagles, unicorns, and lions, they had been nonetheless stuffed with the grief of every little thing they’d misplaced. And but, they weren’t about to let those that wished them in poor health extinguish their hope.
Some say that this hope stored the Jews alive for 1000’s of years. Its flame was burning brilliant when the Jewish anti-Zionist labor motion referred to as the Normal Jewish Labour Bund exclaimed: “Doikayt!” A typical translation: “Strengthening Jewish communities wherever they live.” They rejected the concept a mass migration to Palestine (and the following expulsion of the Palestinian folks) would convey Jewish security. As a substitute, they fought for that Jewish life of their homelands, intertwined with the struggle for staff’ rights. At this time, as then, many anti-Zionist Jews in diaspora maintain tight to our cultures in that very same rejection of “safety” in Israel that comes with the value of blood. Zionism, I imagine, requires us to desert that hope, that we are able to succeed within the struggle in opposition to hatred.
Reconstruction of the synagogue in Gwoździec on the Museum of the Historical past of Polish Jews in Warsaw (picture by way of Wikimedia Commons)
By the tip of the Holocaust, the nice and cozy glow of candles contained in the Gwoździec Synagogue was eclipsed by the fires set by the Nazis, burning it to the bottom. As within the massacres of the 1600s, Jews had been being scapegoated for financial hardship. It’s terrifying to know that so many individuals miss out on the identical merciless sample repeat — or worse, want it. Our subsequent president has promised to expel tens of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, whom he says are “poisoning the blood of this country.” Certainly, I’ve thought of my very own escape plan, if this genocidal imaginative and prescient grows to incorporate the not-so-well-hidden antisemitism of Trump and his allies. My solely try at hope is to do not forget that we, like so many others all through historical past, have been right here earlier than. Refusing despair, embracing one another, and holding on to our personal humanity is the one approach we’ll proceed to outlive.
