Tag Archives: Holocaust

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, by Simon Wiesenthal

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We invite you to a book discussion in observance of Holocaust Memorial Day – Yom HaShoah. We invite your participation and your questions. 

Lunch & Learn 

with Rabbi Vered L. Harris and Rabbi Susan E. Lippe

Thursday, April 24, 12-1pm

In-Person or Via Zoom Meeting ID 857 4813 1977

Temple B’nai Israel, Oklahoma City, OK

in observance of Holocaust Memorial Day – Yom HaShoah

Shalom, shalom. This is my list of discussion questions for a class about The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, by Simon Wiesenthal (Originally published in 1969.) 

[We probably won’t get to all of these questions and/or these questions in this particular order. We are looking forward to including participants’ questions as well.]

The main question for this book is – Should Simon have forgiven the Nazi? Would you have forgiven the Nazi? That is the question that concludes the book. It seems essential to our discussion of the book, but it doesn’t have to be our first discussion question. [I would add to Wiesenthal’s question. What do you think it means that he never told the Nazi whether or not he forgave him? Would you have done it differently? Was he waiting for forgiveness or an answer?]

Does everyone deserve to die in peace? Why or why not?

What does it mean to “lose feelings?” What does it mean to “lose feelings for death?” Do you have any experience like this? What do you think they mean? OR: do you think this experience is limited to torture, trauma, and/or an attempted genocide? Why or why not? Related: Do you think the encounter with the dying Nazi re-ignite some feelings in Simon? 

Do you believe that the Nazi had truly repented? Why or why not? How would that change what you think about Simon’s response and/or your own response?

Why do you think the Nazi want Simon to have his things? Do you think Simon should have accepted them? Why or why not? Would you have accepted them? Why or why not?

What do you think about collective guilt? Wiesenthal comments on the collective guilt/shame of the Germans. “The question of Germany’s guilt may never be settled. But one thing is certain: no [contemporary] German can shrug off the responsibility. Even if he has no personal guilt, he must share the shame of it. As a member of a guilty nation, he must share the shame of it. As a member of a guilty nation he cannot simply walk away like a passenger leaving a tramcar, whenever he chooses. It is the duty of the Germans to find out who was guilty.” (93) Do you agree with Wiesenthal? Why or why not?

Personal Note: I’m offended by people who ascribe behavior to God in the Holocaust. We have no idea about what God was doing/thinking during the Holocaust. I think that it’s possible God shortened the Holocaust and/or saved a remnant of Jews, but I cannot know because I’m HUMAN. This is why this is not a question for our book discussion.

General Notes: 

So many people were affected by the Holocaust – Jewish and non-Jewish people, hetero- and homosexual people, people from all socio-economic classes, and more. We would like to share this topic/discussion with as many people as possible. Please feel free to invite any interested folks among your Jewish and non-Jewish friends and neighbors. Forgiveness is a universal value. Anyone who wishes to learn with us is welcome. Temple B’nai Israel is a welcoming place for people of color, people of any gender and/or sexuality, people with disabilities – for everyone. 

We recommend this book for readers ages 13 and up.

Talking about the Holocaust is hard. We strive to make this a calm, respectful, welcoming event focused on learning. However, talking about antisemitism, hate, murder, torture, and other events/ideas related to the Holocaust can bring up challenging emotions for anyone. We will understand if you don’t feel like talking and/or staying in the room for the full hour.

I don’t use the word genocide when discussing the war between Israel and Hamas. Here’s why.

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I’ve been holding on to this criticism for a long time – even before October 7, 2023 – criticism for a lot of liberal thinkers who seem new to the issues surrounding the State of Israel and the occupations. I understand that a lot of liberal Americans see this recent war as a war of strong, bully Israel wiping out Palestinians. I want to lay out some nuances of this particular situation in regards to genocide. I know there are people out there

As someone whose family members found refuge in the Land of Israel between 1920 and 1930, I’ve been invested in the history of Israel for a long time. In tenth grade, my American family went to Israel to reunite with our Israeli family members. My father’s mother had not been able to contact her cousin and best friend since 1921, when she boarded a ship to Ellis Island. You can probably understand that my introduction to Israel was about gratitude for this miracle, especially knowing most of their/our family members had died because of terror in Europe. The Nazis and their allies worked hard to wipe out the Jews. Some of us survived.

I’m a big, fat, liberal, loudmouth American Jewish Zionist feminist. Of course most of my Israeli best friends are liberals who protested against Netanyahu long, long before this war. I have Israeli cousins and Israeli friends who are also active progressives like me. When Trump won the first time, one of my Israeli best friends said: “Now you know how I feel.” Of course I have always hated Netanyahu like it’s my job. Of course my heart breaks for ALL people who suffer. Of course I pray for a cease fire and all the hostages home safe.

Some American liberals accuse American Zionists like me of quibbling over the definition of genocide because we don’t want to look closely at the horrible situation. (See below for a useful definition.) To me, that take sounds tone deaf. Many of us don’t use that word casually because we have had to look closely at systematic violence before.

I encourage you to consider the resonance of the word genocide with European Jews who barely escaped Nazi death camps to make it to relative safety in Israel. I think it’s hard for Jewish Israelis and their allies to hear the word genocide applied to Israel while so many Israelis live peacefully next to Israeli Arabs, Israeli Muslims, and Palestinian Israelis – inside the State of Israel.

I know that the Nazi attempt at genocide is not the only example, but it’s the one Americans and Europeans seem to know best. (See below for resources on the attempted genocide in Rwanda and the attempted genocide of Native American peoples.)

The Nazis collected Jews from every country, state, anywhere they could. To liberal Zionists like me and my Israeli friends, what has happened in Israel since October 7, 2023 is a Gaza-specific issue – a war about security. I recognize and mourn and call out the deep suffering of the Gazans – Palestinians, journalists, and other people there. I don’t avoid the word genocide to downplay the horrific tragedies occurring in Gaza. Rather, I avoid the word genocide because words have meaning. Using the word genocide to describe Israel’s war against Hamas is inaccurate, and it feels purposefully divisive.

I know that the Israeli government, the Israeli military, and the various Israeli police forces of Jerusalem and other cities do unethical and tragic violence against people in the name of protecting Israel. I don’t defend the horrific and sometimes genocidal threats some Israeli leaders have made about Palestinians, today and in the past. I would never defend the crimes against humanity committed by Netanyahu and his crew, AND Israel is fighting a war against Hamas. I do not agree with the way Israel treats the people of West Bank and Gaza, AND Israel is not attacking Palestinians outside of Gaza. This is not a genocide attempt.

My friend Avi reminds me that there are people who use the term genocide to describe Israel, knowing full well how it resonates with many Jews. Using the word genocide to describe the violence in Gaza often causes Jews, Israelis, Zionists, and others to shut down dialogue – no matter how empathetic we may feel with the suffering of the Palestinians there. In moments of clarity when I’m writing on this blog, I wonder what their goals are, especially when they paint all Zionists or all Jews with the same brush. I pray for more interactions that open hearts and open dialogue rather than shutting individuals down or shutting groups out. I hope we can all find opportunities for more real conversations to broaden and deepen our understanding; more dialogues to build relationships.

In conclusion, I hope we can all learn to speak and listen so we can build more understanding. I pray and protest for this violence to be over. I pray and march for the safety of all Israelis – not just because some of them are my family and friends. I also pray for the end of all violence against everyone, Palestinians included – for peace and safety in the Middle East. Of course I don’t want any more people to die – not in the West Bank, not in Gaza, not in Israel, not anywhere. I don’t know how we can build that kind of peace – but I hope more and more of us can work together towards peace and safety for ALL. Truly, I pray that more of our allies join the active war against Hamas.

Here are a few relevant readings I can’t stop thinking about:

Here is a piece on the origin of the term genocide: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/raphael-lemkin-genocide-convention

Here is a helpful definition of genocide: https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/learn-about-genocide-and-other-mass-atrocities/what-is-genocide

The NIF Blog is a great way to learn more about progressive forces in Israel. Sokatch writes well-researched, well-nuanced updates about current events in Israel. I also recommend signing up for their emails.

We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, by Philip Gourevitch

Here are two resources about the attempted genocide of Native American peoples: https://hmh.org/library/research/genocide-of-indigenous-peoples-guide/ and https://www.history.com/articles/native-americans-genocide-united-states

This is a powerful argument by Tomer Persico against applying the term genocide to Israel: https://heb.hartman.org.il/colonialistic-settlement/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ0yINleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFXZFhjTGtmUmwzc1d5aTRKAR69wWBq4GtnSkpshPpdwfdDn7e1tCULk7j8u_BJiZMu_8eW4lx76ycr_UKsDg_aem_SD5efweHp5geJs4hlLH2hA

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, by Simon Wiesenthal

[Note: I’m teaching The Sunflower on April 23, 2025 in observance of Holocaust Memorial Day. Please join us by Zoom, if you can – through Temple B’nai Israel of Oklahoma City.]