We are in a special period of time going from Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) to Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day). A nation like no others, as mentioned in the second book of Samuel (7:24), the Jewish people defy the laws of nature that apply to other nations. For example, normally, before something can be destroyed, it must first be created; something that was destroyed does not get born.

Since the time when Jacob took the blessing from Esau, Esau's anger has manifested itself for all his generations
We see Amalek in almost every generation.
to come. Many historians trying to understand the minds of anti-Semites conclude that hatred for Jews is a natural and inexplicable phenomenon. The holy scriptures tells us that Esau had a son, Eliphaz, who had a son named Amalek (Genesis 36:12). Amalek inherited the hate from Esau for not being blessed as the first-born, because it could have been him and his descendants who would have become a chosen nation; instead Esau's descendants became southern European nations. The Amalekites, seeking every way to destroy the Jewish people, are implacable because their hatred is eternal.

We see Amalek in almost every generation, including Haman (the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which is the title of the Amalekite rulers) and the Crusaders, who sought to destroy Jews because they believed that Jews contributed to the death of their god. During the Inquisition, the Spanish Amalek, while retaliating against the Muslims who occupied Spain, also went against the Jews who were peaceful citizens. Various Amalekites have presented themselves throughout history, including the pogroms in Russia and other European states. And then there was the horrible Amalek of the twentieth century, Adolf Hitler (may his name and memory be obliterated). Those who believed that Hitler was the last Amalek have been proven wrong by today's incarnation, Persia's current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who hates Jews with all his might and dreams of wiping Jews off the face of the Earth.

I've met many people who have studied the minds of Nazis and failed to uncover some reason or source for their Jew-hatred. Yesterday, the world openly spoke of destroying Jews, but in the current era of political correctness, the world finds it necessary to be more subtle. Since Israel represents world Jewry today, it is much easier to be anti-Zionist and advocate wiping Israel off the face of the Earth - euphemisms for the rabid-sounding anti-Semitic reality. However, at the end of the day, the anti-Semites go and destroy Jewish cemeteries, attack Jewish people, vandalize Jewish property everywhere else in the world in addition to Israel.

We are told by the sages that the Amalekites assimilated all over the world, yet it shocks us that the president of Switzerland invited the Iranian president to openly deny the Holocaust and shook his hand at the Geneva conference against global racism. We remember 1948, when five large Arab armies mobilized to attack the newborn Jewish State while the whole world stood idly by. But when the Jews became victorious, all of a sudden the whole world, represented by the United Nations, demanded that Israel stop and placed its troops on the temporary borders. And we remember when the Arab armies wanted to wipe out Israel in 1967, and the UN peacekeeping troops simply walked away.

We remember that the Soviet government was able to bomb Nazi crematoria and gas chambers during World War II, but purposely delayed, resulting in tens of thousands of Jewish deaths. And we especially remember the American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who refused to bomb railroads that lead to Auschwitz despite having all the military plans in hand. Yet, a year later Roosevelt bombed oil tankers that were right next to Auschwitz without freeing Jews, because he was afraid that the "Jewish problem" would become an American problem. And we remember how he turned away the ship named <I>St. Louis</I>, filled with Jews seeking sanctuary from death in Germany. He did not have to send warplanes; all he had to do was to allow 936 Jews into the United States. We remember that England refused to allow Jews to escape the Nazis by migrating to the land then known as Palestine, instead turning the ships around, sending them back to their death in Germany.

The world stood idly by during the Holocaust. And if, G-d forbid, something similar would be on the current horizon, the world will stand idly by again.

The world loves us after every Holocaust. They get the pleasure of building us museums and monuments
The answer to the Holocaust is Israel, the third Jewish commonwealth.
dedicated to the Holocaust Era. They love to accuse one another of doing nothing to help us. As Hitler said once, he hates Jews because they bring "ethics and morality". But it is not up to the Gentiles to change course; it is G-d who runs history and He swore that He will keep Israel until the end of times.

The answer to the Holocaust is Israel, the third Jewish commonwealth that is the beginning of the final redemption. Despite the world's hatred, Israel will survive, with G-d's help, and will emerge more powerful than ever. Our prophets said that in the final days, the nations will gather their armies around Jerusalem, and then G-d will reveal Himself and crush the evil nations into oblivion.

The world witnessed a miracle after the Jewish people were almost annihilated; the new State of Israel was miraculously reborn. A day before, the world thought that Jews would be history, but the next day they were on top. It is no coincidence that Yom HaShoah falls on the 27th of Nissan and Yom Ha'Atzmaut on the 5th of Iyar. There are eight days in between, just eight steps. The distance is almost infinite, but reachable if we believe that everything is in the hands of the Creator of heaven and earth. It is according to His will alone that our fate unfolds. It is no coincidence that those dates fall during the counting of the Omer between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot, when each day, for fifty days, is like a step; and each day, we take one step higher.

Do not cower at the world's babbling about the Jews. Strong faith in G-d is the only Jewish way.