Never Again

It was this past April 18, the day of Yom HaShoah and the noise around me was bothersome and irritating. Loud Jackhammer drilling through the building’s concrete that was being performed to make our condominium in Florida safe, was a necessary project to extend the life of our beach front home that Julie and I have lived in for the past 33 years. And so, as I gathered my towel and book to head down to the pool to escape the constant noisy, drilling around me, I suddenly began to see a connection between what our building was going through and the Holocaust that killed six million of our fellow Jews. I know that sounds like a stretch but bear with me.

On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South in Miami collapsed in the middle of the night and as a result, ninety-eight residents lost their lives. The cause of the collapse was a condominium board that failed to respond to needed repairs of the building over several decades due to a reluctance to make necessary assessments to pay for the needed repairs.

In response to this tragic event, the State of Florida’s legislature passed several regulations that required buildings older than 40 years to undergo rigid evaluations by professional engineers to search for structural damage that needed lifesaving repair. The condominium I lived in underwent such an examination and much damage was found, therefore the disturbing noise I was experiencing as repairs were being made. One could say, as many did, that the ninety-eight individuals who died in the Miami building collapse would eventually, save many lives by preventing other buildings to collapse.

So, you may ask, how does this tragic loss of life in Miami, relate to the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust? Clearly the number of deaths is unequal, yet our Jewish teaching that to save one life is to save all humanity and conversely to kill one human is to destroy all humanity, would apply here making the disparate number a non- issue.

Just as our condominium would now be repaired and the safety of its inhabitants assured for many years to come, so did the Holocaust result in the United Nations in November of 1947 vote to create the State of Israel. That vote, in the opinion of many historians, was a direct result of the death of six million Jews in World War II. The world finally understood that the Jewish people needed their own country to survive. That vote, much like Florida legislature’s vote, resulted in the creation of the State of Israel which gave Jews all over the world, a safe place to live. “Never again” were two words that had its origin in the creation of Israel and with this creation a new era of safety for Jewish people all over the world was realized.

Interestingly, while the Holocaust gave rise to the creation of Israel, it also aided significantly in the survival of the State. In October 1973, the armies of Egypt and Syria invaded Israel in a surprise attack on the holy day of Yom Kippur. Because Israel was surprised and not prepared for such an invasion, the Arab armies were poised to overrun the entire country of Israel and so the Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir called Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and told him that he must immediately send replacement aircraft, tanks, guns and ammunition or Israel would be lost. She added that two airplanes were loaded with an atomic bomb and that they would be used against Cairo and Damascus if help did not arrive soon. It was in part because Israel had atomic weapons at its disposal that the USA quickly responded to Golda Meir’s request and threat, and it was because of the Holocaust that Israel had such modern and destructive weapons. Let me explain.

In 1956, the Minister of Defense of Israel, Shimon Peres requested an atomic reactor from the French government. Peres was eager to have at Israel’s disposal atomic weapons so that his small country, surrounded by enemies eager to destroy the entire nation would be able to survive and give meaning to the concept of “never again.” The French government gave Israel what it wanted, because it understood how much Jews suffered during the Holocaust and understood that Israel needed such weaponry to survive.

The Holocaust played a significant role in the creation of the State of Israel and so did it play a significant role in its survival. The pain and agony of what happened in Nazi Germany can never be forgotten or forgiven. It will always remain the greatest tragedy to befall humankind. Yet in an important way, it led to the establishment as well as the survival of the country that would forever be a haven for the Jewish people. The words, “never again” rose from the ashes of six million dying Jews and gave life to God’s chosen people.

Dr. Frank H. Boehm can be reached at frank.boehm@vumc.org