Playing the Holocaust Card

[newyorican]

THE 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which was be marked by ceremonies in Poland this week, is a painful reminder of how little has been learned since the Holocaust. Most obviously, bigotry and religious and ethnic violence have not been eradicated, but seem to be sharply on the rise, from Darfur to Tikrit to Tibet.

As for the Jews, the main targets of Nazi racism, they face a very different sort of problem today, one that is partly of their own making. Jewish organizations have pursued an effective campaign to combat bigotry through a combination of protest and education, hoping to shame wrongdoers and encourage the next generation to shed old prejudices. And yet, as they look around, they see a world increasingly hostile to them and to Israel. It is time Jews recognize that the old strategies no longer work.

Jewish organizations and advocates of Israel fail to grasp that they are no longer viewed as the voice of the disenfranchised. Rather, they are seen as a global Goliath, close to the seats of power and capable of influencing policies and damaging reputations. As such, their efforts to raise the alarm increasingly appear as bullying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/29/opinion/29eden.html?oref=login&oref=login&th">read more...