Rabbi Zauzmer responds to Jonathan Glazer's acceptance speech at the Oscars and explores the parallels that do exist between the Holocaust and Israel's current situation.
Great dvar. Dara Horn discusses this intelligently both in an _Atlantic_ article (with Holocaust education in the title) and in her _People Love Dead…_ book.
I understand the speech that you would have given at the oscars. Glazer's speech made sense. It was not intended to dehumanise anyone, but he might have even predicted the some people would read it that way. I have not yet seen the film.
Wouldn't it be better to love your neighbour as yourself? To do onto others as you would have them do unto you? How about treating the residents and former residents of the British protectorate of Palestine as citizens of Palestine? Therefore, the rules that privilege Jews be set aside and replaced by rules that favour everyone. This rabbi is wrong to say that only Jews were killed by the Nazis. So were political prisoners, the Rona, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals. Of course, we shouldn't forget all those killed as the Nazis rolled across western Europe and bombed the U.K. or those killed when Hitler decided to invade the East. We need the rule of international law, not some blood thirsty, vengeful Rabi's ideas. We need to obey the international court of justice. We need to obey the countries in the United Nations. Israel is not winning any friends by its actions. Search for peace. Shalom!
@@saraleigh5336 The Partisans in Yugoslavia, the Resistance in France, the International Brigades and the pro-democratic Spaniards, et al. stood up to the Fascists and the Nazis. They killed people in nasty ways as well. Change your attitude and really build a wonderful homeland for everyone.
@@dinkster1729 you seem unaware that Israel is a multireligious multiethnic democracy. It’s hard to have a conversation with someone unaware of the most elementary facts and who wants both Israel and Jews to die more conveniently. Or who pretends that Jews were not the main target of the Holocaust. It’s cute that you approve violent actions by partisans and not the extraordinarily high humanitarian standards of the IDF-at great cost to themselves. Your cheering on Hamas and blaming Israel gives cover to terrorists and prolongs wars like this. You are not an agent for peace.
@@dinkster1729 and of course, your misconception that the multiethnic multireligious state of Israel does not obey international law is another absurdity… So what was your point again? How embarrassing!
It would suit her if she talked a little more about starving Gazans, children that have already died of hunger - WHILE hundreds of trucks with food were standing still outside Rafa crossing.
@@sapphicwriter Yeah, it's weird that they are ignoring all tactics being used against the Palestinians that were also used during the Holocaust... that by itself should encourage ALL Jewish people to embrace a ceasefire.
this synagogue is in park avenue. I am not sure what to make of any religious group in one of the richest places on earth in the capitol of empire, talking like they are just another church or temple.
Thank you, Rabbi. I agree with you. It is a shame that Jonathan Glazer chose to say what he imagined would make him popular, rather than making a brief and honest statement such as "Never Again." Am Yisrael Chai - forever. 🇮🇱🇮🇱✡️🇮🇱🇮🇱
IT'S THIS FASCIST "APPROACH" THAT'S EMBARRASSING. SO 'NEVER AGAIN' APPARENTLY MEANS "NEVER AGAIN ONLY FOR JEWS, OTHER PEOPLE CAN BE VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE FOR ALL WE CARE".
Oh Rabbi, Rabbi... You didn't read his whole speech, did you? Here's the rest of the speech, people: "Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk, the girl who glows in the film, as she did in life, chose to. I dedicate this to her memory and her resistance. Thank you." His speech is about resistance! That's why he dedicated the film to that woman. Get information about her, watch the film and think about a similar movie about the present life of Israelis on this side of the wall, hearing the screams and the guns and smelling the smoke and feeling the horror that comes from the other side. On this side of the wall, right next to it, israelis live fantastic lives, gardening, cheering, partying, deciding what horrors they're going to commit on the other side (like killing, cutting water and energy and food supplies and preparing more squatting). That is the zone of interest. Check the concept on the dictionary. But Jonathan didn't direct a movie about the present, did he? But he pointed out the similarities between the present and the past. For the good and for the bad. The resistance! Like during the holocaust, there were people, german included, that helped jews (see The Pianist, by Roman Polanski). They were the resistance. I praise all the jews that above being jews are human beings. Leave you with two questions to think about: Were all germans nazis? Are all jews zionists?
A good solid comment about a man who had a chance to make a difference but chose not to. Chag Purim Samaich to one and all! The Jewish People will not break!
You may have seen this, but ahead of taanit Esther, synced to time in Israel, = 11:30 am EST today, there is a global call to say the Shema (global threat of being wiped out as a people). I think coordinated through JNS and Aish. It’s googleable.
@@saraleigh5336Because that getup and title is nothing but a feminist ruse, nothing to do with observance. Case in point: If she is speaking through a microphone and recording on Shabbat, then the argument of observance has long flown out the window. We say this out of love, not out of hate. We love you, and G-d loves you. Don't practice a fabrication of your true heritage.
@@OneMondBand that is an interesting perspective. I can hear the love flowing through your words. What an interesting time to choose to fragment klal Yisrael and demean the practice of fellow Jews. How do you know her motivation? And now, halakhically: How do you know what the recording mechanism is? How do you know who is responsible for the microphones? You don’t seem particularly knowledgeable…
@@OneMondBand You took time to be condescending; it sounds like you did not expect to be met with an educated response. If you have questions (re: keva or kevannah), I am happy to help you learn. Best of luck on your journey.
I concur with you, Rabbi. It is a travesty what Jonathan Glazer did. . I am a mom of an IDF soldier that was fighting in Gaza. I hadn't heard from him for 105 days. I was on the phone with him on Oct. 7th. I felt like taking my own life during this time. It was the worst time for me and the other Jews. The pain was intense. Jonathan Glazer had the temerity to betray all Jews.
The settlements have made a two state solution impossible, but that has been the point. Per Israel being a good Jew is supporting Israel in every way. That should seem problematic.
"We no longer live inside your house telling you what to do, we just stand outside of your home 24/7/365, behind the 20 foot razor-wire gate we erect around it. We have access to and control of the flow of water, electricity, and wi-fi that power the home, and can, and do, cut those amenities off at will as it suits our whims. Oh, and just because we don't LIVE inside the house anymore, doesn't mean that we can't or don't kick the door down and shoot the people inside. But don't get mad at us the for the things we do, get mad at the organization that we paid $1 billion to, campaigned for, and supported so that we could blame them and use them as an excuse for the things we do. Remember, we're not responsible for the things we do, you are."
Why were they able to dictate what comes in or out of Gaza. Destroying their economy ? Burning their olive trees and destroying their Orange or fishing sustenance. Your viscous ignorance has no bounds
@@marywhite2407yes because Gazan have been interviewed and they says Israel left in 2005 and that’s when Hamas took over. It’s sad you prefer to blame Israel rather than realize it’s Hamas hurting both sides.
Thank you Rabbi Zauzmer - for saying that. As an Israeli Jew I have my own opinions about how this "Gaza affair" is being conducted - but I abhor self hating Jews (Jonathan Glazer). Still: perhaps what can one expect from someone who makes a holocaust movie: that Jews are best relegated to being victims, not taking action against violence.
"Tone deaf" is the least of it. I can't fathom how Glazer is so articulate in cinematic terms but embarrassingly inarticulate in his verbal address to the world. He struck me as discombobulated at the Oscars.
He knew certain religious Jews would be unable to see the truth his film conveyed to a larger audience. He still had to speak the truth, right? See my posting above. Now only Jews were killed during the 2nd World War.
@@marywhite2407 It's not exactly a great career move to tell Hollywood what the film is really about--not the Holocaust itself, but the time period tells us what humanity is capable of denying even in the present time. He could have just thanked everybody that worked on the film and let it go at that, but he didn't. It's an allegory, right?
A complete stupidity or ignorance which is not the case here is to even try to compare the shoa, October 7 and Gaza. His whole effort to show the minds and ways of Hitler’s willing executioners was lost with his words.
Well said, rabbi! We will remember that one of us has betrayed us as a people! Glazer was not wise to be apologetic! to satisfy a public eager to hear his words! and was not wise with his equations, he made a terrible mistake!!!! A mistake never to be forgiven!!!!
I don’t think you can say that just because Israel got out of Gaza there is n occupation- the attempt to separate the West Bank and Gaza into two distinct entities doesn’t really work for me. The problem with the settlements in the Westbank and the ridiculous restrictions that Palestinians there live under is part of the same problem
@@Tbh279 Read history. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that befell the Arab communities in Gaza, Judaea and Samaria is their own fault. They had multiple opportunities to get out of the quagmire but they insist on funding terrorism against Israel rather than helping their own communities, and the communities are on board with that. If they stopped trying to terrorize and kill innocent civilians then we can START to have a conversation. Secondly, if it's any OTHER nation would be culpable, it's not Israel: It's primarily Jordan's, Egypt's, and of course Iran. Plus the entire developed world is culpable for pressuring Israel for decades rather than pressuring the Arab communities in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. For the record, Israel should have NEVER pulled out of Gaza and they're (we're) paying for it dearly. Also, there are no "settlements" in the "West Bank". There are Jewish, Israeli communities Judea and Samaria. They're parts of Israel as much as Tel Aviv is. Finally, here's a fact for you to put in your pipe and smoke it: The only entities occupying the region right now are the "Palestinian" entities occupying and colonizing the homeland of the people indigenous to it.
I agree that the attempt to remove the Jewish experience from the holocaust like the Scottish First Minister did is deeply antisemetic - it’s not about Jews using the holocaust for leverage as we are accused of doing. It is recognition of this particular tragic event - turning around and saying ALL lives matter is as offensive in this context as it was the BLM context. It is a form of holocaust denial which seeks to wipe away the Jewish experience of it.
There's facts, there's opinions, and there's outright lies. It doesn't matter if it's Jews, Gazans, South Africans, or Rohingyas being killed - genocide is genocide. Jews don't hold some mythical special category that excuses them from being guilty of the same thing they once suffered in the past. We're all humans here, lessons have to be learned, and crimes can't be excused or overlooked.
Genocide has to do with the reason for the murder of humans, not the number or location of the murders. Murder is wrong categorically, but not all murders are genocides. War is war. We have not evolved out of it. Identity, is a false construct and it leads to war AND genocide. Who will or should be the first to sacrifice their identity for a higher more humane consciousness?
genocide is the murder of any group of people categorized by a specific racial or ethnic or religious characteristic for the purpose of eliminating that characteristic from humanity. It is in fact what Hamas states openly in its charter as a goal of the group, towards the Jews. Total extinction from the earth, not just Israel. They are not the only Muslim extremist group to openly do this in the name of Allah. The Gazans are not being murdered because they are Arabs, or Muslims. They are dying because 70% of them voted Hamas into power and Hamas started a war on October 7th. There is no war expectation that the group who started the war has to be treated in a fair and proportional way. No other country is asked to do that. EVER. Putting out part of Hamas is like putting out part of a fire. By the way, if you were really interested in proportionality, you'd care that there are 2.7 billion Muslims in the world and 15 million Jews. The difference is so dramatic that you can be absolutely sure that there are more Muslim extremists on the earth than there are Jews on the earth, much less in Israel. Also the 20% of Israel's population that is Muslim is very happy there with complete protection and equal rights.
and what you're saying is more truly jewish wisdom than what the rabbi said. the idea that the main lesson in the holocaust was about jews is not only childish, it does not rise to the level of jewish morality and jewish philosophy.
I think there’s a bit of a disconnect here between his intention and what people like this Rabbi view. He is Jewish and has every right to talk about the Holocaust and how (in his view) bad faith actors abuse it for their own political goals when he is clearly coming from a place of caring for the wrongful slaughtering of a people not by a terrorist organization but indiscriminately by a government. Hamas must be condemned but that isn’t the whole picture here as the state of Israel has not acted appropriately. Also this Rabbi says she supports a two state solution like if that’s a realistic option. Israel has no intention of ever allowing a two state solution. Check their polls and also the official stance of the Israeli govt. for yourselves. It is important to remember that we must separate the government of Israel from Judaism. While antisemitism is alive and well we must not allow valid criticism of the the state of Israel to be called antisemitic.
Greetings! The Rabbi mentioned a reference to a two-state solution and in no way advocated it. Your line of thinking is your right and I may be mistaken but your responses seem to indicate that you have yet to wrestle with the ancient Hebrew texts…so necessary when riding the wave between both the physical world and a spiritual world. There will never be a two-state “solution”, perhaps that’s the only positive thing that came to the world’s attention on October 7th. After all, God represents ONENESS. Two-ness is antithetical to God and in turn, the Jewish people. Spoiler Alert: we are a stiffnecked people and a holy people. We are weird beyond measure because we are people of the past present and future. I hope and pray that your spiritual journey informs your mindset. Like it or not, you’re a Jew that was created to be part of a mission. Open your heart and find out what exactly that is. ❤️🩹
@@amyt2400what a a bunch if gibberish. Why should you holy books be taken seriously and not theirs? Al so some of your holy books say you should never have a state. Also ancient scriptures leave a huge window of interpretation coming from different times and using ancient syntax and words. It’s nice to be Cherry picking what ever suits your agenda. Al
@@aleksandrakulesza5805 I didn’t “take someone’s word for it” that the Torah has a design Divine source… instead I went to learn on my own in Israel, or I was welcome to ask any question under the sky. It’s the only way I can “own my words”. I reconnected to Judaism after family members abandoned it. I’m not someone who’s in lock step with a group just “because”. Best to you! 🚀
@@amyt2400 sure, just like someone else can reconnect to their christianity or islam or buddhism. Why Torah should be held over BIble or Quran? As a Christian why should i take people born into a different religon as "right" or "wrong". Do you feel you are supreme or better thank other religions of the world? Islam also has holy sights in Jerusalem just like Christianity does And if your religion does not advocate for peacefull coexistence and tolerance, what type of evil religion is it?
@@aleksandrakulesza5805 The Torah, which was given at Mount Sinai , which the entire world agrees happened informed EVERY Jewish soul (past, present and future) of their holy mission. Jews themselves are hardwired a certain way. It is beyond our conscious minds. The Revelation at Sinai is the ONLY time that the creator spoke DIRECTLY to a people. And every religion agrees with this except for a couple that don’t really want this to be real because it kind of messes up their game. Some people just don’t have a taste for decency and morality. I don’t want to be told that indeed they are born with a conscience. The Jewish people are here to remind the world that indeed, they do. This DIVINE interaction is ceramic an unmatched occurrence in this world. So, the Hebrews (the only ones who chose to accept it over it was offered to every group) have a unique mission in this world. Of course everything should be fair and one religion shouldn’t be more superior to the next, but when you comparing something written by man to something by the creator directly, there’s only one logical answer. This is the oldest sibling rivalry game and so short sighted because we are here to help ALL of humanity. But when a group decides that the world is better off without us and once for our destruction, we have God‘s blessing to fight back. And no one can stop a group who ultimately has the creators blessing to annihilate those who seek to annihilate us. (The Torah, which is gods instruction book for living, actually warns us to EXPECT groups of people to come after us in EVERY generation. The creator gives us the good news as well as the bad.. the creator doesn’t mince words. There are things that want to read in the Torah that points to everything including the holocaust and the 911 terror event. Nowhere in our holy books does it advocate for us to refrain from living in our ancestral homeland. EVERY Jew has a SHARED HISTORY and were created, at the seed level, in Judea and Samaria (today known as the “West Bank“). Certain individuals within our tribe are of the opinion that UNTIL THE MESSiAH (Moshiach) comes, we should not yet live there. They are entitled to their opinion. 💯. However, we are literally AT THAT POINT as the coming of Moshiach is IMMINENT. I’ve known this ever since I went to Israel to study and at the time, I thought my fellow Jew were absolutely bonkers. That was until I went to a seminar that basically took the Torah to task and presented its’ validity as a Court Case. THAT, plus learning directly from the texts, turned my head around in such an incredibly profound way that I knew that my life was forever changed. Jewish people aren’t fans of the mentality of “take my word for it”, we are tenacious and stiffnecked and we want FACTS or else we won’t spend a minute believing a word of it. THAT’S this one-day seminar did for me. I walked away, thinking that perhaps I didn’t need to go to Yeshiva for all those months. I could’ve just gone to this place. I took the fast route to truth! 😂😂😂💯 The Torah is the Ultimate Truth of this World. And Jewish existence is WeIrD beyond measure. Hey, I’m a Jew, and I don’t fully understand it, but some things are for the mind of the creator and are not yet revealed to me and you. This perfect balance of “FAIRNESS” is a very down to earth mindset and I applaud you for that. Because it tells me that you seek goodness and fairness and neutrality for all people. However, God created Judaism so that people could connect heaven to earth. And THAT makes all the difference. it’s why we cannot separate Israel from Judaism because in fact, they are one and the same, and that was the intention with which the creator created it! The Quran was written by man, who may or may not have been inspired in some respects by the creator! But its messages are so mixed in terms of decency that one can easily surmise that it fall short of that which was created solely by the creator himself; The Torah. If one can ADVOCATE for a people that would RIP A FETUS out of a woman’s body, and then put it on her chest, then that individual and myself are incredibly different (BARUJ HASHEM!) I literally thank God for that because God gave me my morals/values and an unwavering sense of DECENCY through an instruction book on how to LIVE called the Torah. Its impact is SO profound that someone could hardly study and yet, they seem to RECOGNIZE it internally when they see it; our mystical teachings inform us that in fact, WE LEAVE THE ENTIRE TORAhv while in the womb of our Mother. And when we enter THE PHYSICAL REAL (Planet Earth)?our mission is to reclaim that wisdom and figure out what aspect of ourselves is best suited to BETTER THE WORLD . I like the physical realm, the spiritual realm is beyond nature and beyond logic, and you were asking to explain things in a logical way, and I simply can’t. Not because I’m not smart because I am certainly that with God‘s help. But because it is antithetical to how the soul is created. Anyway, I’ll include a quote. The Jewish people brought the idea, accountability, constant accountability, to this world through the Torah. And for a lot of people, that really messed up their game. So so be it. We don’t get to do “whatever we want”, there are repercussions to our actions… like it, OR not. But don’t take word for it. The best is yet to come! I wish you well, with the creators help, you will come to realize that there is a spiritual aspect to this world and boy is it life-changing! !¡Gracias a Dios!
Respected Rabbi I believe if you were able to shift for a moment from the "fellow Jews" paradigm to the "fellow humans" one, you might see John Glazer's point... but perhaps you're tone deaf?
So dehumanising only works one way ? I watched this hoping to learn about the true spirit of Judaism ,instead I hear another rant and zero compassion .
excellent truthful speech i share your sentiment and felt glazer was disgusting and dussapointing i would never watch his film as feel he is a low life
This is simply a horrible extremely negative sermon. Specifically, it's utterly unnecessary for this rabbi to focus on Glazer and his Oscar speech as a topic. For so many progressive people who tune in to Park Avenue attracted first by Azi's music, reactionary messages like this will turn people away in the blink of an eye. It impacts Park Avenue's leadership and ability to attract a broad base of the Jewish community, as well as its overall community standing. There are fifty reasons why this is the last message Park Avenue should have allowed from its beema, but most importantly, 1) this rabbi is participating in members of the Jewish community trying to vehemently scapegoat Glazer for expressing his views, and 2) she is joining in attempts to enforce a "no talk rule" against Jewish people with a platform who have the courage to speak out about what the current Israeli government is doing, killing and injuring tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. I'm so sorry to tune in and have to hear this ugly, reactionary message allowed by Park Avenue. An extremely bad choice...of ALL the myriad sermon topics that could have inspired congregants this week. Just AWFUL.
Time for the wokeist jews to wake up and realize that this illiberal racist oppressor v oppressed ideology places jews as enemy #1 on the white colonial imperial colonizer capitalist list of theirs. All facts incoorect, btw. We are not white we are semitic Hebrews and come in many skin colors
