On Recognizing the Humanity of the Enemy
(Israelnationalnews.com) A very interesting new display at the US Holocaust Museum's website features formerly unpublicized pictures of an unusual sort from Auschwitz. Among the images, taken from a scrapbook of one of the death camp's top functionaries, one can see SS officers, both men and women, and other camp "staff" laughing and having fun during their "down time."
In one image, they are hamming it up for the camera; in another they are sunning themselves in beach chairs; in a third they are enjoying blueberries as they listen to an accordionist.
As significant as these pictures are as documentary evidence to complete our picture of the horrific past, they only take on true import if we can learn something practical from them for the present.
I think the transcendent importance of these pictures to us, as Jewish Israelis, is in their potential to force us to understand something about the nature of our enemies. What I understand from these images is as follows:
Just because an experienced and veteran terrorist wears a suit, can be sophisticated at posh diplomatic meetings, or knows how to tell a good joke, or just because a resident of Gaza, Ramallah or Shechem seems to be a friendly guy and loves his children - all of that has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on his potential to be intent on murdering as many Jews as he can. In fact, under the right circumstances, he may be the one to literally tear apart a defenseless Jew unfortunate enough to fall into his hands (as happened in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority's "Beverly Hills," in 2000).
That is what these pictures can teach us.
The Nazis were not aliens or monsters. They loved classical music, puppies, art, their children - and many were vegetarians, environmentalists; and some leading ones were "gay". So what?
That's what I have to say to those Israeli leftists who arrogantly claim that those of us on the Right can't see the humanity of the Arab enemy. They have it exactly backwards - it is they who can't see the humanity of the enemy. It is exactly the humanity of our enemies that makes them multifaceted, complicated beings - of whom one aspect is murderous, bloodthirsty, maniacal Jew-hatred.
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