A Holocaust survivor worries about his ‘death sentence’

Si Frumkin survived the Holocaust—that’s him at a refugee camp in 1945—and fought to bring awareness to the plight of Soviet Jews. A well-known Republican Jew who I see at all the Christian Zionist events, Frumkin writes a twice-monthly newsletter called “Graffiti for Intellectuals.” I don’t often read “Graffiti,” but a column Frumkin wrote for the Children Of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Los Angeles listserv just caught my eye.

Frumkin is deeply concerned by the level of anti-Semitism that has been part and parcel of the protests against Israel’s war against Hamas. (The latest from the front lines.)I’m not sure what Frumkin thinks of Israel’s actions—I assume he strongly supports them—but it’s clear he’s bothered by the anti-Semitic rhetoric. And who wouldn’t be? Comparing Zionists to Nazis; calling for “Death to All Juice;” telling Jews to “go back to the oven”—those are fightin’ words, to say the least.

Referencing a few of the incidents I’ve written about, Frumkin writes:

It had never occurred to me that there might come a time when I and my family might be sentenced to death once again for the crime of being born Jewish. It never crossed my mind that the world would once again be hearing the shouts of “Kill the Jews” and “Jews to the ovens!” I realized that there were some who hated Jews but I was sure that this was a tiny, mindless, insignificant minority – surely smaller in numbers than those who believed the Earth was flat or that Elvis was alive.

I was wrong.

Hatred is with us again. The legions of haters are proudly waving their flags and flaunting their slogans around the globe. And just like the nazis of seventy years ago they are not bashful or apologetic in disseminating the ideology of mass murder. They are dedicated, enthusiastic, committed, and ready to die for their deadly doctrine. One of their religious leaders put it best: “We love death as much as the Jews and Christians love life!”