THE HOLOCAUST IS OVER WE MUST RISE FROM ITS ASHES

use the refugee problem to denounce our leadership in every possible way and try toundermine the moral basis of the Jewish people’s state. The Palestinian refugeeproblem, born when we fled from their fathers as surviving refugees ourselves, is theirmost powerful argument against us.I believe that the world and its spirit develops gradually as a chain ofcontradictions that complement one another and create a new reality. The chain isobvious here. Israel could not have been born without the Shoah, which crystallizedthe world’s will to solve the Jewish problem. The Shoah supplied the masses ofrefugees and survivors that became Israel’s human base and enabled the conversionfrom a haphazard territory to a viable state. Conversely, without the family of nations’recognition of a Jewish political framework, and the Jewish resolve to rebuild theirnational home here, the Palestinian refugee problem would not have been created.The state was born, some refugees were taken in and others were forced out.Sixty years later, we are a state, and the ousted are still refugees with almost no hope.The victims of this war became political persecutors, using propaganda as a weaponagainst us everywhere on the planet. They torment us in the major capitals, in thediplomatic arenas and in the media. They have taken our place as objects ofidentification and empathy by do-gooders and evildoers alike. In this reversal ofroles, we now hide behind the inaction of Arab leaders, who use our culpability toshield themselves from criticism. We became Goliath and they became David. Somuch so that the world’s guilt, which was indirectly responsible for their plight,creates a whole new culture of equations that are expressed in graffiti thatsimplistically equates the Star of David with the Nazi swastika and Sharon withHitler. Only a comprehensive recognition by Israel, the Arab states and theinternational community regarding the moral responsibility for this necessary historicalevent will enable the opening of hearts and minds. Once recognition is granted,technical negotiations on compensation will ensue. Restitution will be discussed in lieuof the refugees’ return to their properties. My mother will not return to her home inHebron, which became the slaughterhouse of her family; the Zaken family will notreturn to their home in Zaku, Kurdistan; the Cohens will not return to Cairo; theShertoks will not return to their home near Ramallah. Likewise the Naqbas and therefugees of 1948 will not return to Jaffa, Jerusalem, Majdal, or Acre. This is life andthese are the facts of life. We will recognize them, draw a line in the sand between thepresent and ever-present the past, and try to build a better future together.