The
Boomerang Effect: Britain And Holocaust Learning Direct
15 April 2010
By Gilad Atzmon
In case you didn’t know, in Britain the Holocaust is
part of the National Curriculum. Thanks to the ‘The
Holocaust Educational Trust’ our children are
guaranteed to learn how bad the Nazis were. This is
probably much easier for our kids to acknowledge than
to look into the ways in which the embarrassing legacy
of the British Empire reverberates throughout almost
every contemporary disastrous conflict on this planet.
It is deemed far easier for our kids to learn about
Anne Frank than to absorb the fact that Britain is
directly responsible for the robbery of Palestine and
the Palestinian ordeal. Learning about Auschwitz is
also far easier than accepting the devastating reality
created by Britain’s latest illegal wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, a colossal crime which has cost more than
1.5 million innocent lives so far. Thanks to The
Holocaust Educational Trust we can brush history and
our current crimes aside. Learning about the bad Nazis
is far easier on our children than learning about the
complicity of Britain in the holocaust. I guess that
toughening British immigration laws to stop Jews
escaping to Britain in the 1930s is not a prominent
chapter in our kids’ text books.
The Holocaust Educational Trust was established in
1988 says their official website. “Our aim is to
educate young people from every background about the
Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for
today.”
Wonderful, I think to myself. My 9 year old son told
me that a Shoa guru visited his school recently to
talk about the holocaust. My son raised his hand, he
wondered whether the lesson of the holocaust could be
applied to the Palestinian ordeal. “We are not here to
talk about politics” answered the ‘trusted’ trained
Shoa mentor. For my son the message was clear: The
Jewish people's suffering is universal, other people's
suffering is ‘politics’.
“The Trust” says the website “works in schools,
universities and in the community to raise awareness
and understanding of the Holocaust, providing teacher
training, an outreach program for schools, teaching
aids and resource material. One of our earliest
achievements was ensuring that the Holocaust formed
part of the National Curriculum for History.”
This is indeed a great achievement, I cannot agree
more. I also know that during the next Israeli
murderous operation in Gaza, Lebanon or Iran our kids
will watch TV and even briefly glance at the papers.
They will understand it all, they are not as stupid as
the ‘Educational’ Trust believes them to be. They will
grasp that the Jewish State is currently the world's
most terrorist state, that it is a genocidal democracy
and is, not only a danger to world peace, but also a
danger to our notion of humanism.
The reaction to the 2009 IDF genocide in Gaza was
overwhelming. It matured into a clear rise of
antipathy towards Israel and Jewish lobbies around the
world. Haaretz reported yesterday of a record rise
(100%) in anti-Semitic incidents around the world.
Interestingly enough, the highest rise was reported in
Britain. I also learn from friends and parents around
me that in London high schools the word ‘Jew’ is an
offensive derogatory term. It is a signifier for
immoral and abusive behavior. Seemingly, the
Educational Trust efforts’ boomeranged. Teaching our
children about Jewish suffering made them universally
ethically attentive.
“We continue to play a leading role in training
teachers on how best to teach the Holocaust.”, the
trust's site goes on and I wonder, what is indeed the
best way to teach the holocaust? How can the trust
ensure that youngsters out there won’t come up with
the inevitable conclusion? How can you teach students
about unspeakable horrors and yet curtail them from
landing at the vital understanding that Israel, is
actually the ultimate racist expansionist state
specialising in genocidal tactics? The answer is
simple. You can’t. Imposing the holocaust on our kids
will backfire. If anything it will lead to an
increased focus on Israeli crimes committed in the
name of the Jewish people. If Holocaust indoctrination
is as successful as the Trust argues, it will
necessary lead our children to grasp that killing in
the name of Jewish suffering is a total ethical
disaster.
I would like to leave you with the Trust’s latest
initiative: a new award was announced recently to
honor “British citizens who helped aid and rescue Jews
and other groups persecuted in the Holocaust.”
I am the one, I am sure everyone can see it. Give me
the award.
I am a British citizen. I also write about Israel,
Zionism and Jewish identity using the most critical
language. I expose the crimes committed by the Jewish
state in the name of the Jewish people. I expose the
listed Israeli propaganda authors in our government
and press. If Jews listen to me they may be able to
rescue themselves in time from the total disaster they
are collectively bringing on themselves. I also save
my British fellow citizens. If they listen to me they
may dismantle the Holocaust Education Trust and send
their kids to Gaza or the West Bank rather than to
Auschwitz. Such an act would help to teach our
children the true meaning of historical responsibility
(in the context of the Balfour declaration). And I
also try to save another persecuted group, namely the
Palestinians, by addressing the crimes committed
against them in the name of the holocaust.
Being a perfect candidate for the ‘Holocaust award’, I
am already cheered by the Educational Trust’s vision
of my effort.
“The Holocaust Educational Trust believes that such
individuals (like me) embody all that is best about
Britain - and deserve formal recognition, not only to
acknowledge their deeds but to serve as an example to
future generations about the importance of making a
stand against racism, discrimination and other forms
of injustice.”
I always felt that they must appreciate my efforts
after all.