A00074 - Israeli Apartheid and an American Response

 

In response to my post regarding Ken Burns' "The U.S. and the Holocaust", one of my classmates wrote:

I just watched the first two hours yesterday as well and had the same reaction and takeaways as Skip. And in case it wasn't obvious from the Skip's summary, America not only provided a primer for Hitler, Hitler recognized it as such, writing:

The immense inner strength of the United States came from the ruthless but necessary act of murdering native people and herding the rest into cages.

After watching the full program, and after reviewing strikingly similar patterns of genocide and apartheid in the United States, Germany, South Africa and, now, Russia, it seemed to me that some folks do learn from history and, in an continuation of evil, strive to repeat it.  However, what is encouraging is that the World appears to have learned from history as well and decided that with regards to Germany, South Africa and now Russia, action should be taken to fight against the evil ... to fight against genocide ... to fight against apartheid.

I think this is good. I think this is what we should do in the face of evil.  But what happens when the face of evil is our own?  

I will not repeat the litany of grievances against the United States. Those you know all too well.  However, while visiting UC Berkeley last month, I was made aware of another country that appears to be engaged in actively practicing the illegal seizure of land from a native people, herding those native people into "cages", and essentially practicing apartheid. According to the card handed out, that country is Israel. 

I have not uploaded the card that the student activist handed to me.  However, I have subsequently attempted to educate myself on the issue and came across the following:

  

https://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/200205_land_grab

https://countercurrents.org/2021/05/israels-land-grab-and-its-unquenchable-lust-for-more-palestinian-resistance-and-the-familiar-cycle-of-violence-when-would-it-end/

If one finds that an "evil" history is indeed repeating itself in Israel, does recent history indicate what our response should be? 

Peace, 

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

       Fairfield, California

       October 7, 2022 

-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To: skipjen2865@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Sep 20, 2022 2:34 am
Subject: September 2022 Must See TV: The U. S. and the Holocaust

On my Amherst College calendar, I have penciled in "The U. S. and the Holocaust" as the most important television program to watch for the month of September 2022.  "The U. S. and the Holocaust" is the latest offering from Ken Burns' and, according to Mr. Burns, it is his most important work to this date. 

https://www.pbs.org/show/us-and-holocaust/

The importance of this particular offering stems from the ties between what led to the Holocaust and domestic events of today.  A recent Los Angeles Times review highlights the concerns.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-09-16/us-and-the-holocaust-ken-burns-pbs-review

Having watched the first two hours, I suspect that this Ken Burns offering will not receive a warm reception.  After all, the subject matter is especially grim and, perhaps most importantly, American complicity in the Holocaust casts a light on the dark history of this country that many would like to ignore.

One of the more compelling takeaways from the first episode of "The U. S. and the Holocaust" is that the history of the United States actually provided a primer to the Nazis on how to conduct a Holocaust.  The genocidal wars against the First Nations in the lands that comprise the United States and the subsequent mass re-locations of the subjugated Indigenous Tribes echoes later in the Nazis genocide against the Jews.  The United States enslavement of Blacks and the institution of Jim Crow laws would serve as a model for Nazi Germany to follow in enslaving and disenfranchising the Jews. The American justification of Manifest Destiny in invading and taking the sovereign lands of other people could similarly serve as a model for the Nazi concept of lebensraum  

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/lebensraum

And the popular theory of eugenics, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics

which was seemingly accepted by such luminaries as Theordore Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh, provided a "scientific" rationale for brutalizing and ultimately killing, those who do not fit the perceived "ideal".

Based on its discussion of these issues, I will be watching the next two episodes of "The U. S. and the Holocaust".  

I pray that I will not be alone.

Peace, 

Everrett "Skip" Jenkins