VICHY MON AMOUR…THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…BY RUTH KING
http://www.mideastoutpost.com/archives/vichy-mon-amourthe-more-things-change-ruth-king.html
In 1894 a Jewish military Captain, Alfred Dreyfus, was convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment for passing French military secrets to the Germans. He spent five years on Devil’s Island in French Guiana. During his imprisonment the head of French counter espionage, George Picquart, identified the real traitor as Major Ferdinand Esterhazy, but French military officials suppressed the evidence, acquitted Esterhazy and accused Dreyfus of additional crimes. Eventually he was set free but had to wait until 1906 for full exoneration and reinstatement in the French military.
A young Viennese journalist attended the trial and was startled by the anti-Semitic ranting of crowds in France. While one may argue that the Dreyfus incident was not the only one that inspired his turn to Zionism–there were plenty of examples in his own adopted Austria–it certainly contributed to his conviction that Jews could never be safe anywhere but in their own land. His name was Theodore Herzl.
In 1895 he wrote “Der Judenstaat”- (The Jewish State). His words echo today:
“Palestine is our unforgettable historic homeland.”
“We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national communities in which we live, seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers. It is not permitted us. In vain are we loyal patriots, sometimes superloyal; in vain do we make the same sacrifices of life and property as our fellow citizens; in vain do we strive to enhance the fame of our native lands in the arts and sciences, or her wealth by trade and commerce. In our native lands where we have lived for centuries we are still decried as aliens, often by men whose ancestors had not yet come at a time when Jewish sighs had long been heard in the country.
“We are naturally drawn into those places where we are not persecuted, and our appearance there gives rise to persecution. This is the case, and will inevitably be so, everywhere, even in highly civilized countries—see, for instance, France—so long as the Jewish question is not solved on the political level.”
Herzl died in 1904. (learn more about him at: http://zionism101.org/FF_Herzl_timeline.aspx)
Dreyfus died in 1935 and only five years later, in 1940, following the military defeat of France, Marshal Philippe Petain created the Vichy regime known as “The French State” which collaborated with the Nazis to capture Jews, including thousands of children. The infamous Drancy camp, located on the outskirts of Paris, became the central transit station for those headed to the concentration and extermination camps in Germany controlled Eastern Europe.
Which brings us to France today and the ongoing harassment and murder of French Jews, most recently the murders at the kosher deli in Paris on the heels of the massacre at Charlie Hebdo.
These acts led to a march in Paris unprecedented in size.
For decent French people it was a moment to stand and be counted. But for the participating cowards and appeasers who enable the enemies of the Jews and Israel it was unadulterated hypocrisy. The march was fouled by the presence of arch tyrants like Turkey’s Erdogan, uber terrorist Mahmoud Abbas and assorted thugs and crooks and opponents of free speech. Significantly President Hollande tried to keep Israel’s Prime Minister away and when he insisted on coming, invited terror leader Abbas for “balance.” What does this say of French resolve to combat Islamic terror?
A march has to have more value than street theatre or it is a march to nowhere.
Contrast this with a march focused on a great issue that had results.
On Sunday, December 6, 1987, the eve of the Washington, D.C. Summit between Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, an estimated 250,000 people marched in the National Mall in an unprecedented display of solidarity for Soviet Jewry. The rally was timed to take place 24 hours before Gorbachev was to arrive in Washington for a two-day summit conference on disarmament. It was preceded by several events on the preceding Friday, including the giving of testimony by five refuseniks to the U.S. Helsinki Commission, a news conference, a Congressional prayer service, and a fast vigil.
It was the largest, best-organized protest rally in American Jewish history. A shofar was sounded. Pearl Bailey sang “Let My People Go”. Refuseniks recently released from Soviet prison addressed the crowds, including Felix Abramovich, Yosef Begun, Yuli Edelshtein, Misha and Ilana Kholmyansky, Ida Nudel, and Natan Sharansky. Subsequently Jews were permitted to leave and millions did.
The march in Paris may lull some French Jews, but they now have an option they never had before 1948.
They can go to Israel and as Theodore Herzl foresaw- “live at last as free men on our own soil.”
Will they?
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