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eKI Feb 03, 2012
Beshalach:
Amalek is Alive and Living in Vienna In this week’s Torah portion, we meet
the eternal enemy of the Jewish people, Amalek!
According to the Torah, the Hebrews leave Egypt,
cross through the sea and begin their trek through the desert.
It was hot.
The food was boring.
Everyone was thirsty.
Worst of all, they were continually attacked
from the rear by a group of marauders named Amalek.
Amalek, we are told, are our eternal enemies who
will never desist from their evil goal of attacking, harassing and,
ultimately, destroying the Jewish people. Throughout the long history of the
Jewish people, we have encountered too many Amaleks, from Haman to
Hitler and a whole cast of characters in between.
Today, when we think about Amalek, probably
Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah come to mind.
If they are not enough, there are still others.
In Europe today, a xenophobic,
ultra-nationalistic movement is growing among young and old alike.
Nowhere is this more in evidence than in
Austria.
Last Friday, on January 27, 2012, when
the UN-sanctioned International Holocaust Day (commemorating the
January, 1945 liberation of Auschwitz) was being observed in numerous
European capitals, a grand ball was staged at Vienna’s opulent Hofburg
Palace.
Led by the leader of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party,
Heinz-Christian Strache, and attended by French extremist Marine Le Pen
and other leaders of the nationalist right from across Europe.
One critic called the event “dancing on the
graves of Auschwitz.” Outside, there were vocal protests.
The administration of the Palace announced that
this year’s ball would be the last ( they have been going on since
1952).
In my opinion, obviously, the ball should not have been
held this year either, especially on January 27.
Quite literally, it made the Blue Danube run
red.
HC Strache claims he is not a Nazi and has even visited
Israel.
But his denials run hollow and his animus against
non-Aryans is hot blooded.
He and his 40,000 followers and the debutantes
at the Korporierten-FestBall demonstrate, most regrettably, that Amalek
is alive and well in Vienna and in many other places, from Beirut to
Teheran to the banks of the Danube River.
How
sad, how ridiculous, how dangerous! Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Ph.D.
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