A new book that draws parallels between the Holocaust and the Palestinian Nakba (the Arabic term for the displacement of Palestinian refugees during Israel's War of Independence) has caused a massive uproar, some two weeks before an official book launch, to be hosted by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Im Tirtzu, which describes its mission as "strengthening and advancing the values of Zionism in Israel," has written the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute a letter demanding that it cancel the event it planned hold in honor of the book's authors, under the title "The Holocaust and the Nakba: Memory, National Identity and Jewish-Arab Partnership." The book is a collaboration between the institute and the Hakibbutz Hameuchad-Sifriat Poalim Publishing Group. In the letter, Im Tirtzu informed the institute's director, Professor Gabriel Motzkin, that "we are highly disturbed by this preposterous comparison between the Holocaust of the European Jewry -- when millions of Jews were burnt to death, shot and buried alive despite doing nothing wrong -- and the colossal defeat of Israel's enemies during the War of Independence, which is referred to in Arabic as the Nakba," they wrote. The letter further called the event "an affront to Holocaust survivors who live in Israel and abroad by disrespecting their plight, by insulting our collective intelligence and by disgracing human ethics," noting that "the crushing blow dealt to the Arabs during the War of Independence was a result of the war launched by the Arab armies, who refused to accept the right of the Jewish people to live in their homeland. "The Holocaust was perpetrated because of unadulterated hatred toward the Jews and through the systematic annihilation of millions of innocent people. That is why we demand that the event honoring such a book, which makes this illogical and a despicable comparison, be cancelled at once," they concluded. Motzkin dismissed the criticism outright. Speaking with Israel Hayom, he said, "We are not equating the Holocaust to the Nakba; we are just drawing parallels between the way both are memorialized -- it is not the same thing," he said, stressing that "it never crossed our minds, nor was it ever our intent, to convey the message that the two events are analogous." He then went on to explain the rationale behind the book. "Memory, by its very nature, is different than the actual events, because not everyone remembers the events in the exact way that they unfolded," he said. "We ran an exhibition about the Holocaust, and we hold annual ceremonies in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day; we have no desire to belittle the importance of the Holocaust, for us or for the world. Our book includes a diversity of opinions, some of which are highly critical of the Palestinians. There are no political motives behind this [publication]; it is merely an attempt to understand the state of mind and mentality of both sides." The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute published an official program for the event, elaborating on the book and its message. "The book invites the readers to think of ways to remember and discuss the Holocaust and the Nakba together, and investigate the possibility of such combined thought -- not because the events are identical or even similar, but because they are both traumatic and identity-constructing," the program reads. "The Nakba and the Holocaust molded the two peoples' destinies and identities, albeit in totally different ways," it continues. According to the institute, the book comprises "articles and essays by Jewish and Palestinian scholars, writers and thinkers who endeavor to deal with the issue. The contributions are not monolithic: Some support the combined approach to the two events and see this as a gateway to reconciliation and peace; others reject such a possibility out of hand. The result is an original and unique mosaic of positions that challenges conventional thinking about the two peoples' traumatic memories." Im Tirtzu went on to send a letter to Hakibbutz Hameuchad-Sifriat Poalim Publishing Group Director General Uzi Shavit, asking that he prevent the event from taking place. "It boggles our minds to think that you, as the head of the publishing group that proudly mentions on its site the fact that it was the printing house of the Kibbutz Artzi Federation and Hashomer Hatzair, agreed to help publish a book that has the loss of the Arabs in the War of Independence at par with the horrific events of the Holocaust," the letter reads, mentioning that some Jewish heroes from the Holocaust era were affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair: "In case you forgot, this was the movement of Mordechai Anielewicz, Zivia Lubetkin, Abba Kovner and others; the shame of this event will live in infamy for generations to come." Hakibbutz Hameuchad-Sifriat Poalim Publishing Group declined to comment on the letter.
