On January 9th, 1952 the Knesset passed the resolution that would lead to Israel accepting the German offer of reparations for the Holocaust, the resolution passed with a 61-50 vote. The reparations stood at $800 million over the period of 14 years and would eventually be used by the young state for purchasing necessities like oil and building materials.
While most countries or people, especially the Palestinians who play the victim as a fundraising tool, would gladly accept money thrown at them, the Israeli decision to accept the reparations was anything but an easy one.
Victimhood is practically non-existent in Jewish history and theology, it is even the basis for the old joke about a Jewish woman not wanting to bother anyone to change a lightbulb, 'no darling, I'll sit in the dark.' To be seen as a victim is so taboo in traditional Jewish culture that there is not even a proper term for victimhood in the Hebrew language. The word typically used is “Korbanot” which is the same one used for ‘sacrifice.’ Despite the fact that Jews throughout history had many things to cry about, playing the victim it is simply not something that had been done widely.
“Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.”
— RedLehi (@LehiRed) January 7, 2023
― Yehuda Bauer pic.twitter.com/jxdo8E4ubX
Throughout The Diaspora period, there was no room for victimhood in Jewish communities, if you were to feel sorry for yourself and not push forward, life between the pogroms and sanctions placed on Jewish communities in Europe and the Arab world would very quickly become unbearable. Nevertheless, what is extremely common is the Jewish tendency to not forgot what has been done to them and that frequently gets mistaken for victimhood and pettiness; pretty much every traditional Jewish holiday involves the remembrance of an event that tried to harm Jewish sovereignty and was uprooted, either within or outside of Israel.
The rebirth of the Zionist movement, in the eyes of conservative and revisionist Jewish leaders, was the exact opposite of victimhood and was perceived as the ultimate version of triumph. Instead of staying put in the hostile European and Arab environments, Zionism pushed for Jews to move past all the sorrow and create a new positive reality for the children of Israel in the land of Israel.
The Holocaust was a huge blow to Jews and the Zionist movement not only for the obvious mass amount of casualties but also for its impact on the Zionist persona. The Jewish “Yishuv” (community) in Israel saw themselves as strong, competent, and capable and would easily follow the Torah’s guidelines of “an eye for an eye”. To suddenly learn of the millions perishing like sheep to slaughter was tremendously unsettling and completely defied the entire Jewish and Zionist ethos.
📅 ON THIS DAY in 1952 Israel accepted $800 millions Holocaust reparations from W.Germany. Menachem Begin was STRONGLY opposed to what he called "blood-money". pic.twitter.com/JPYt7iJOOD
— Jewish News Syndicate (@JNS_org) January 9, 2023
That is why the Holocaust was not spoken of in Israeli society and no Zionist education would dare speak of Auschwitz, Dachau, or any of the thousands of other camps. It was only after the Adolf Eichmann trial that Israeli policy changed regarding Holocaust education and the leaders realized the importance of never forgetting, just like they have not forgotten slavery in Egypt or the destruction of the two temples.
All these reasons are exactly why Menachem Begin, the leader of Israel’s right-wing party “Herut” in 1952, called the German reparations “blood money” and led massive protests against the left-leaning government who was willing to accept ‘money for the heads of 6 million Jews.’ For the Jabotinsky disciple and so many other Zionists, the European atrocities against so many Israeli citizens were unforgivable, but in no way justified the Jewish state’s acceptance of the victim card. Still, the financial situation of Israel in the 50s was awful, leading many to throw away their anti-reparations ideology for the sake of Israel’s stability and security. Israel, however, was not yet ready to fully accept West Germany as an ally, only officially establishing diplomatic ties in the 1960s with the country that had just recently been led by the Nazis.
One day there will be a Palestinian leader who will say:
— Asher Fredman אשר פרדמן (@fredman_a) November 23, 2021
"The path of terror incitement, boycotts and perpetual victimhood has gotten us nowhere.
Let's try the path of cooperation, normalization and investing in our human capital and our future."
Let's hope that day comes soon
In complete contrast to the Jewish-Zionist approach, the past 60 years of Palestinian nationalism are literally based on the victimization of the Arabs living on the lands of the newly founded state, Israel. According to the PLO narrative, their struggle begins with the great “Nakba” also known as Israeli independence in 1948, and they have been struggling ever since as victims of Zionist oppression.
Victimhood is not only the foundation of Palestinian nationalism but its entire strategy for global crowdfunding, along with its greatest downfall. With no positive ambitions and the feeling of triumph being non-existent as it relies not on the creation of a Palestinian state, but the destruction of the Jewish one, the prospects of cultivating a functional sovereign entity is next to impossible.
Going to a anti-Israel protest makes you look cool, reading their poetry and literature, adopting those asthetics in get ups, striking a pose to post online- that's all they really want to do- ride one fad to the next. They just go home afterwards.
— Uri Pilichowski (@RationalSettler) February 16, 2022
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Israelis on a daily basis are reminded by both the educational system and antisemites that post vitriolic comments on social media that the Holocaust is no reason to sit on the sidelines of life as a beggar and victim; It is time Palestinians do the same with their “Nakba”, especially when all it really marks is the changing of the guard from Britain to the establishment of Israel and the failure of the Arab states to stop it.
