Tiauna Lodewyk
The sky was clear blue — a deep, beautiful Israeli blue. The landscape that stretched before me encompassed 8,000 Jewish people wending their way together toward their destination — Auschwitz, one of the most prominent extermination camps of the Nazi regime, infamous for its optimal performance of systematic murder.
This scene is forever etched in my memory, as I had the privilege to join a diverse representation of Jewish people from around the world at the 2024 “March of the Living” in Poland.
The heaviness was tangible. The ground itself seemed to groan for the atrocities that it had witnessed. It was a time of solidarity, a curious mixture of mourning for the unimaginable evils of the past, and celebrating the miracle of the very existence of the Jewish people despite centuries of hatred.
Some sang, others chattered lively, and still others wept as they walked the ground of death, hell on earth for 1.3 million people during the Holocaust.
The sanctity of that powerful moment was jarringly disrupted. Before entering the secured area for the event, I passed by the flags and angry screams of “Free Palestine.” A few moments later, I saw another rally just outside the compound: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free.”
I asked myself, “how can anti-Zionism rear its ugly head in a place grieving the tragic outcome of antisemitism?” Nevertheless, it had. Holocaust survivors witnessed an anti-Israel protest while entering Auschwitz — the iconic sight of actualized antisemitism and the embodiment of their suffering.
Anti-Israel rhetoric has become the modern-day platform for antisemitism — the deep-seated, conspiratorial hatred of the Jewish people. Because it is thinly veiled beneath slogans of political progress, modern antisemitism has been allowed to fester and thrive around the globe.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, since October 7, 2023, France and Denmark have seen more than a 1000% increase in antisemitic events, while Austria and Argentina have seen a rise of over 500%. North American antisemitic incidents have also skyrocketed.
Holocaust memorials have been vandalized with swastikas and “Free Palestine” — homes of Holocaust survivors have endured the same. Physical assault, synagogue vandalism, and harassment of Jewish students on university campuses have become regular occurrences in the name of “freeing Palestine.”
If anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, why does it so often target Jews? Where does a slogan such as “Free Gaza” and the use of Nazi swastikas find common ground? Fundamentally, it is the same root of hatred fueling both movements and producing the same results.
The events of October 7th are nothing less than an attempt to implement the anti-Zionist call, “From the river to the Sea.” 1,200 innocent people were horrifically murdered in their homes, including men, women, and children on that day. Many were raped, burned alive, and brutally tortured. Hamas and their allies freely proclaim their intentions of committing October 7 “over and over,” as well as destroying Israel and murdering the Jewish people. And yet, many in the West dare to call these acts the result of “freedom fighting,” justified in the name of anti-Zionism.
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