The Jewish people are a beacon of strength and resilience, a symbol of what is possible when eternal victimhood is rejected in favour of innovation and accomplishment. That is why it is so saddening to declare that antisemitism in Canada and around the world is on the rise — Jews currently are, in effect, victims. I thought we had beat the baseless hatred that has chased my people down for millennia. We established a free and democratic society, where Jews along with all groups have an equal opportunity to succeed and to thrive. The liberal values that uphold our society stand in proud defiance of the modern disaster that was the Holocaust; they are the embodiment of the covenant to never repeat this tragedy — the sentiment of “never again”. The sharp increase in antisemitic rhetoric and hate crimes raises concerns that this commitment may be falling flat, and questions whether the call of “never again” can actually follow through on its promise. In order to determine its role in the fight against antisemitism, its historical and present-day popularizations must be investigated and critiqued, allowing us to ascertain how it ought to be used moving forward.

The most appropriate way to establish the contextual meaning of “never again” is to look at its origin. Although it started as the slogan of those liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp and later platformed in a 1960 documentary of Nazi atrocities called “Mein Kampf”, it was not until 1971 that the phrase became tied to Jewish liberation in the public consciousness. That year, the infamous Betar youth activist and founder of the JDL terrorist group Meir Kahane published a book titled “Never Again! A Program for Survival”. His inspiration was his own organization’s slogan, derived from Yitzhak Lamdan’s 1926 poem “Masada”, where its influence on Betar’s anthem with the line “never shall Masada fall again!” instituted Kahane’s pledge that Jews shall violently fight against any perceived enemies in refusal of victimization.

The application of this phrase did hearken back to the Holocaust, but it did not entail the prevention of future ones more than it entailed a thirst for Jewish supremacy and control. The phrase ended up evolving to be much more moderate, while still highlighting the necessity of Jewish liberty and independence. It is now prominent in major Holocaust awareness and prevention efforts including the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, the March of the Living, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre.

This history emphasizes that “never again” has always had intrinsic Jewish significance; it was created by Jews, built upon Jewish history, popularized by Jews, consistently claimed by Jews over decades,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)