https://www.jns.org/opinion/israels-president-shouldnt-obfuscate-the-particularity-of-anti-semitism/
Shame on Reuven Rivlin for marking the anniversary of Kristallnacht by taking a general stand against all forms of hatred.
To mark the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin hosted a global memorial, livestreamed from his official residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Ahead of the event, he got together with two of his counterparts, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, and created a video in honor of the momentous occasion, which he posted on social media and promoted through his press people.
It is both curious and disconcerting that Rivlin should consider the content of the short clip worthy of highlighting. If anything, he should be ashamed of himself for taking part in a production aimed at erasing the particularity of Jew-hatred.
“Eighty-two years since Kristallnacht, and the dark shadows of the past have not disappeared from our streets,” Rivlin, Steinmeier and Van der Bellen state in the clip.
So far so good.
What follows, however, is appalling, given the occasion in question: the marking of the “Night of Broken Glass”—the Nazi pogrom against Germany’s Jews on Nov. 9-10, 1938—aptly named after the smashing of the windows of synagogues, storefronts and other Jewish establishments.
“We will stand against hatred. We will stand against racism, against anti-Semitism. We will stand together in Vienna, in Jerusalem, in Berlin,” they say, each reciting a snippet of text. “Never again means never again. Let there be light.”