The Holocaust is no excuse

Today, on Littlegreenfootballs, there was an article about how Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, commented that the Jews are hiding behind the Holocaust. He said that Israel was over-reacting to the Holocaust and that they should move on from it saying, “It is a very good example of [how] a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends.”

Arun Gandhi says that Israel uses the Holocaust to make the rest of the world feel guilty about what happened to the Jewish people and through this be an exception. They shield themselves with their weapons and are not willing to live in harmony with neighboring countries. With this kind of attitude Gandhi says, “The Jewish identity in the future appears bleak. Any nation that remains anchored to the past is unable to move ahead…”

He proposes that the Jews should instead, “befriend those who hate you. Can you not reach out and share your technological advancement with your neighbors and build a relationship?”

It is never good for an individual or a nation to hold onto past grudges for long periods of time, even if we’re talking about the Holocaust: the infamous massacre of approximately 6 million Jews that happened just within the past century. I agree with Arun Gandhi that Israel will need to change and move on for a better future; however, the Holocaust still remains an event that has significantly impacted history—this will never change.

Many Koreans and Chinese people still hold grudges against the Japanese because of what happened during the Rape of Nanking and Japanese Colonization. Perhaps, Gandhi’s words are applicable to these countries as well. Maybe these countries have held grudges against each other for too long and it is time to move on and focus on the future rather than hanging onto history.