The Tests of Our Time: Rosh Hashanah sermon by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
(Rosh Hashanah 2024/5785)
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Photo Credit: Ben Asen Photography
Evian Conference
Photo Credit: from the collection LEAVES
By Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
“For Jews, our deepest anxieties for the safety of our people — the product of centuries of repressed traumas — have reawakened and our confidence in the West’s ability to withstand the test of civilization has been shaken,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Rosh Hashanah, warning that what was unleashed against Israel on October 7th “threatens the West as much as it does the Middle East...”
Evian, France is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. It sits on the south shore of Lake Geneva. In France, they call it Lac Leman. The French, being French, resent Geneva’s dominance of this part of the world, and point out that the lake was called a variation of Leman already in Roman times.
If you plunk yourself on the hills overlooking the town of Evian stunning vistas unfold before you. The azure water shimmers in the summer sun, that mesmerizing blue produced by the snow melt of mountain streams. Behind you are the legendary French ski resorts of Megeve, Meribel, Val d’Isere, Courcheval, and Chamonix. Mont Blanc rises from the mists, its snow-capped peak like icing on a cupcake. In front of you is Lausanne, and beyond, on the far shore, the incomparable rolling hills of Switzerland, carpeted in emerald green.
The Evian water bottling factory was built in the 19th century, when the town officially changed its name to Evian-les-Bains, the place of baths. Authorities wanted to encourage visitors to bathe in the spas, a practice dating back to the Romans, and after a day of wellness gamble at the casino. Their efforts paid off. For over a century, tourists have been flocking to Evian les-Bains.
And that’s how Alison and I ended up there this summer. We were in the Geneva area, and wanted to see what all the fuss is about. A quick Google search revealed that the place to stay for a night was the Hotel Royal — about a mile from the lakeshore, up on the hill. As often happens to me in Europe, looking down on the serene town, and Switzerland beyond, my mind traveled back to the mid-20th century. Nazis roamed this part of the lake, but not the other side. Here, people choked under the German boot. There — a rowboat away — they breathed free.
The hotel’s website describes the beauty, the attractions, the wellness, the spa, the food, and its aristocratic history. Emperors, sultans, maharajas and celebrities took up residence, including the likes of Rita Hayworth, Ringo Starr and Marcel Proust. British King Edward VII was the royal for whom the hotel was named.
I couldn’t find on the website any description of the infamous Evian conference held in this very hotel in the summer of 1938. It is a black mark on the history of Europe, and reminding people of that disgrace is, apparently, not good for the business of carefree leisure. This is where delegates from 32 countries gathered to discuss how to save the Jews of Germany and occupied Austria while there was still time. They met for nine days from July 6 to 15, the season that I visited. They saw the same spectacular sights, the same captivating colors, the same old trees casting their evening shadows over Lake Geneva, the same bright lights of the casino shining across the serene waters. One after the other, they rose to express sympathy for the Jews of Europe, but no country except the Dominican Republic, and later Costa Rica, was willing to substantially raise their immigration quotas — including the United States that convened the conference. President Roosevelt was under immense pressure from the isolationist America First Committee to restrict immigration, especially for Jews.
The duplicity of the diplomats, the crocodile tears, their failure to produce any agreement to help the Jews under Nazi occupation, emboldened Hitler, and convinced him that the West didn’t really care about Europe’s Jews. Some historians believe that Kristallnacht — the night of broken glass — four months after Evian - when synagogues and Jewish business throughout Germany and Austria were shattered — was a direct result of the failure of the conference. The international community might stomp and shout, Hitler concluded, but would not intervene to save the Jews of the Reich. He could do with them as he pleased.
The conference had the opposite of the intended effect on the West as well. Countries raised immigration barriers even more. Germany exploited the pathetic outcome for propaganda. “Should not the outside world be most grateful to us,” Hitler derided, “for setting free these glorious bearers of culture — these most valuable members of the human race — and placing them at its disposal? How will the states so infatuated with these ‘splendid people’ explain why they are suddenly taking refuge in all sorts of pretenses just in order to deny asylum to these people?” If other nations agreed to take Jews, Hitler scoffed, he would help them leave - “for all I care, “even on luxury ships.”
Upon the conclusion of Evian, historian Nora Levin, a Jewish American observer to the conference, wrote: “When the old trees of Evian cast their evening shadows over Lake Geneva, and the bright lights of the Casino shone across the serene waters, I was overcome with grief and despair… The course which the Evian Conference was taking… was a tragedy whose certain end was destruction. The gates had closed before us.” (p. 284 thesis — Jewish Trail of Tears)
But at least the French food was great, and the views were amazing.
Years later, Vice President Walter Mondale said about the Evian Conference: “If each nation had agreed to take in 17,000 Jews at once, every Jew in the Reich could have been saved.” They could have been saved. The nations could have acted. They chose not to. Think of what was lost. How many descendants would be alive today; how many good and great people who could have contributed so much to the welfare of the world were murdered or never born?
“At Evian they began with high hopes,” Mondale said, “but they failed the test of civilization.”
Much has changed since the mid-20th century. The times are not as desperate. Still, we have this nagging feeling that the world is entering what Churchill described in the 1930’s as a “deepening and darkening corridor.” For Jews, the two central tests of Evian have reemerged in 21st-century form. First, our deepest anxieties for the safety of our people, the product of centuries of repressed traumas, have reawakened. And second, our confidence in the West withstanding the test of civilization has been shaken.
The Resurgence of Antisemitism
October 7, 2023, exposed the persistence of Jew-hatred constantly bubbling under the surface of Western societies that we thought was mostly suppressed. It is not that we were oblivious to the still-existing hostility. We remember the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre well. We vividly recall the “Jews will not replace us” chants from Charlottesville. But in terms of our daily routines, most of us related to Jew-hatred as we relate to our own mortality: We know it is inevitable, but we convince ourselves that, somehow, it will not happen to me.
One of the saddest developments since October 7 is the shock experienced by American Jews, who, for the first time in their lives, are encountering pervasive antisemitism. The realization that age-old hatreds are still alive and kicking, even in America, thrust American Jews into a crisis of confidence. We are beginning to hear eerie echoes of Europe, the haunting howls of hatred that brought our ancestors to these shores in the first place.
The nexus between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is now much clearer. Leaving aside the philosophical discussion of whether anti-Zionism, by definition, constitutes antisemitism, the effect, if not the intent, of anti-Zionism, is to generate intense hostility to Judaism and Jews themselves. How trippingly on the lips do the words “Palestine Free From the River to the Sea,” transform into “gas the Jews,” “kill the Jews,” “cleanse the world of Jews.” How naturally does hatred of Israel mutate into hatred of Jews. How easily do anti-Israel passions lead to violence against Jews and Jewish institutions.
We should have no illusions: Antisemitism always centers on the collective Jew — always. That is why atheist, secular, religious, ultra-liberal and ultra-conservative Jews from every part of Europe all met at Auschwitz. That is why atheist, secular, religious, ultra-liberal, ultra-conservative, advocates of two states and opponents of two states — were all slaughtered and kidnapped on October 7. Israelis who devoted their lives to coexistence with Palestinians, who advocated and acted on their behalf, were also brutally murdered. It didn’t matter what they actually believed. No one asked. They were viewed in terms of their proximity to the Jewish collective.
The naiveté, the historical ignorance of some Jews who think that they can present themselves as the “good Jews,” the “decent Jews,” the “moral Jews” — the ones who reject Zionism — is as infuriating as it is troubling. Infuriating, because they are so cocksure, so preachy, with no doubts and no qualms - and troubling, because it is a fool’s choice. It never worked in the past, and it won’t work now. Sooner or later they will come for you — the “good Jew.” This is history’s iron-clad rule, because the root cause of antisemitism is not our personal beliefs. The root cause is the existence of the Jewish collective — and by definition, no Jew can separate themselves from the Jewish collective, because that would be a contradiction-in-terms that even antisemites understand. You cannot virtue-signal your way out of your proximity to the Jewish people. Eventually, they will come for you, too.
It never mattered what Jews actually believed. In every era, even centuries before the establishment of the modern Zionist movement, Jews were always clothed with the most egregious sins of the era. For Communists we were capitalists; for capitalists we were Communists. For the religious we were secular, and for the secular we were religious. For the poor, we were rich, and for the rich we were poor. For supremacists we were both racially inferior and superior at one in the same time. Whatever the specific indictment, the common accusation was that Jews are conniving, cunning, cruel, conspiratorial, and consumed with cravings of control.
If you understand the history of classic antisemitism, the connection to today’s anti-Zionism stares you in the face. The Jewish state has become the Jew of the world, humanity’s ultimate villains, and accused of our era’s worst transgressions. They have made the obscenity of anti-Zionism into a virtue. Israel stands in the way of human progress. To struggle against it is to struggle for freedom, goodness, justice and righteousness. As one speaker emphasized at an Oakland city council debate: “It is a contradiction to be pro-Israel and pro-humanity.” The only thing preventing a peaceful and decent world is the Jewish state — the collective Jew.
This is classic antisemitism. Its roots run very deep. Israel’s enemies have tried to portray her as genocidal for decades, since genocide is the ultimate evil of our times. To accuse the Jews — the victims of genocide - is to justify genocide against them. It is Holocaust denial in its sickest form. It empties the word “genocide” of meaning. Antisemites always accused the Jews of the very acts they intended for us. The Nazis accused the Jews of wanting to destroy German civilization — hence the Jewish people needed to be destroyed first, as an act of self-preservation.
Criticizing Jews is fine. We, ourselves, are the most critical, and self-critical, of all. Have you ever met an uncritical Jew? Opposing Israeli policies is fine. Most of us at one time or another opposed Israeli governments. Advocating for Palestinians is fine. I have tried to do that my entire career, which is why I have always supported a two-state solution. Protesting to relieve the carnage of war is fine. I, too, am devastated by the destruction, and have spoken of my anguish many times. Even not liking Jews is fine. “Who can fathom the human heart,” Jeremiah preached. “It is beyond cure.” And therefore — Jeremiah concluded: “God rewards a person by his deeds.” All of us have our prejudices and predispositions. What matters is how we act on them. We are judged by our deeds, no matter what disturbing, disconcerting and discouraging desires we harbor in our hearts.
No country, no government and no community is beyond criticism. Even if I disagree, I will listen to your critique and endeavor to learn from you. We will study your narrative of the history of this awful conflict. We will debate with you all the terms and conditions of an eventual two-state solution that will bring dignity and coexistence to both peoples. We will consider your accusations of excessive force in Gaza and Lebanon, and study your suggestions, learned or not, on how you would have handled the military campaign differently, in a manner that would have reduced civilian casualties while still achieving security for Israel. We will reflect on your views when and how a ceasefire should have been effected. These are all legitimate issues.
But we will not debate with you whether the Jewish state, of all the countries of the world, has a right to exist. We will not debate whether we have a right to live. If we cannot persuade you to leave us alone we will defend ourselves. What other choice is there? We have already tried everything else. The days of prostrating before the marauding murderers are over. Israeli literary great, Amos Oz, an outspoken liberal throughout his entire life, reminded us that “no one copied the model the Jews were forced to sustain for 2000 years — the model of a civilization without the tools of statehood. “For me,” Oz said, “this drama ended with the murder of Europe’s Jews by Hitler.” Oz often described how his father regularly endured the refrain from his Lithuanian fellows: “Jews, go home to Palestine.” Now, said Oz, people scream, “Jews, get out of Palestine.”
Wherever individual Jews decide to live, Israel is the last stop for the Jewish people. There is nowhere else to go. We are open to all discussions related to coexistence. We will not debate with you national suicide.
The Test of Western Civilization
From that Shabbat of Simchat Torah when I first heard the news, I felt that October 7 would pose a test not only for Israel, not only for Palestinians, not only for Jews — but for the West, itself.
I knew that the coming war imposed on Israel would be brutal. No country, especially one as small and vulnerable as Israel, could tolerate a murderous regime on its doorstep, a mile from its towns. I knew that what Israel would need to do would result in the deaths of hundreds of Israeli security personnel, and thousands of Gazans, no matter how careful the military operations. There would be no other way to ensure that October 7 could never happen again. The only way to get to Hamas would be to plow through their tunnels and booby-trapped hospitals, mosques, schools and residential neighborhoods, all serving as human shields. I knew that the easiest way to end the war would be to insist that Hamas release the hostages and lay down its arms — but that no one around the world would even think to pressure Hamas, least of all Palestinians and their supporters in the West.
I knew that when Hezbollah began firing on Israel on October 8 that the long-dreaded war with the terrorist group was coming, sooner or later. I knew that no one worldwide would really care that Northern Israel was subjected to an unprovoked daily barrage resulting in the displacement of 80,000 Israeli civilians — until Israel responded with ferocity — and then — it would all be about Israelis attacking Lebanese civilians: That demands for restraint, ceasefires, and accusations of disproportionality apply only to Israel.
And I knew by sunset of October 7, that once Israel responded militarily, the West would be put to the test: Would we be willing to defend our principles, or have we become so affluent, so comfortable, so detached from the real world, so used to sending other people’s children to fight our wars — and so confused after years of political and cultural polarization — that we would fail to see that what was unleashed on that day threatens the West as much as it does the Middle East.
Since October 7 my fears have intensified. For years now, some of us have been warning of a deteriorating commitment to liberal values, camouflaged by a torrent of high-sounding words like “progress, civil and human rights, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism,” but too many have been unwilling or unable to see it. Ideologies that divide people by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character; philosophies that reduce all human conflict to oppressor and oppressed, subjugation and freedom fighting, racists and anti-racists — are not liberal values — and as a liberal, they are offensive to me. These are illiberal and dangerous ideas that threaten the future of our country and Western civilization. And, as always, first and foremost these ideas threaten Jews. We are always going to find ourselves in the outcast group, on the wrong side of virtue.
Universities, elite schools, and human rights organizations couldn’t even find the compassion to identify with the victims of Hamas, let alone condemn the perpetrators, even before Israel responded militarily. Longtime interfaith colleagues who showered us with support after the Pittsburgh massacre, our friends with whom we waged many communal struggles for peace, tolerance and understanding, were eerily silent. Jews slaughtered in their pews in Pittsburgh was self-evidently murderous, but a hundred times more Jews slaughtered in their bedrooms in Israel, was somehow morally opaque for them. How could that be?! Not only did many avoid condemning Hamas, they considered the massacres legitimate, even admirable, resistance. These were our decades-long partners, brothers and sisters in arms. Jews helped build and sustain America’s great universities. We devoted ourselves to civil liberties and human rights, participating in, and helping to found, some of America’s preeminent civil rights organizations. Jews were intensely active in labor unions and were its fiercest defenders. Our own Rabbi Stephen Wise, America’s foremost Zionist, was among this country’s leading advocates for workers’ rights.
What business do liberals have supporting those who oppress women, gays, minorities and Christians? How could feminist organizations with whom we marched arm in arm not condemn horrific sexual violence against Israeli women? What to make of climate activist allies, who take time out of their days and money out of their coffers to oppose Israel, as if there is some insidious intersectional interplay between the evils of the Jewish state and the perils of climate change. Why do young adults, especially, who are so acutely sensitive to the assignment of moral accountability, fail to assign moral agency to Palestinians? Why treat them as passive victims bearing no political or moral responsibility for their actions?
How to explain the failure of university administrators to enforce their own policies? Is it just the uneven quality of leadership, or does their willingness to tolerate anti-Jewish and anti-Israel environments on their campuses, in violation of their own codes of behavior, a window into the mindset of administrators, DEI functionaries and faculty members? Was it that these intellectuals — by their own self-assessment some of the most brilliant people in the world - could no longer distinguish between terrorism and freedom fighting, democracy and dictatorship, decency and degeneracy? Was the refusal of so many universities to issue any moral guidance on Hamas’ brutality simply a localized failure of leadership on the part of individual presidents and administrations, or does it point to deeper systemic failings of higher education?
October 7 was an easy moral case. Babies in cribs and grandparents who could barely walk were slaughtered in their homes. What does it take for those who consider themselves paragons of social justice to speak out for Jews — and if not Jews — at least in defense of the central values of Western enlightenment? What would these self-professed moral exemplars have done at Evian? Would they have passed the test of civilization? Are universities still devoted to the free exchange of ideas in pursuit of moral truth, or have they, too, become yet another establishment intent on advancing narrow philosophical dogma and imposing stifling social conformity through widespread dissemination of political and intellectual intolerance?
Alas, the sad history of the human species teaches that that there is no correlation between high intelligence and high morality. When radicalism hijacks liberalism and prejudice imprisons reason, even the most dazzling intellects darken. The mind still sparkles, but in subjugation to a corrupted heart that gradually takes possession of the soul.
The illness has seeped into high schools and even middle schools. Parents here with us today — you know what I mean; you have seen it in your children’s schools. The outrageously libelous racist and colonial narrative used against Israelis is so pervasive in educational institutions that it is taught as a fact even in elementary schools. The lack of context, nuance, history and pedagogical humility create a kind of identity fairytale of good versus evil so overwhelming that those in its rapture become mindless automatons, incapable of measured thought. Every Israeli action is illegitimate or disproportional, and every action taken against it is appropriate and justifiable. It is deeply disconcerting that this one small lonely democracy in the Middle East, flawed in some respects but that tries to — and often does — uphold Western values — is castigated so passionately that even elementary schools educate their youngsters to oppose this deviant nation.
What can we do?
First, recognize the urgency of the times. Don’t put your head in the sand. We must win this battle of ideas and reassert basic norms of Western liberal morality. Do not be in denial. If we cannot identify threats, we cannot overcome them. Do not be complacent. If we are unwilling to act upon threats we cannot defeat them.
Second, remember that ultimately, our well-being is tied to the well-being of others. We are diminished and less effective when we act alone. While we have many opponents, we also have many friends. Reach out to the good people of all backgrounds and persuasions. They, too, are repelled by radicalism and repulsed by flag-burning, intimidation, desecration of monuments, illegality, and unlawful occupation of buildings and town squares. The country is filled with smart, decent, talented caring people in educational institutions, local, state and national government, political parties, the media and social justice circles. Work with them, even if you disagree on many matters. Most social goods come from the center, the moderates — those who are willing to listen to one another and find common ground for the greater good. Moderation is a strength, not a weakness. Extremism leads to catastrophe.
Third, fight back. Fight back hard and fight back everywhere, each in our own corner, whatever we can do. Parents, look carefully at what is going on in middle schools, high schools, and even elementary schools. Get to know the faculty and the administrators. Inquire about their views and values. They should hear from you regularly, especially if they pursue or tolerate anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias. And if they do not respond to your appeals, continue to press the case, reaching out to the many other parents of all religions, ethnicities and backgrounds, who are equally disquieted. Be active. Be vigorous. Our children, too, like every other child, have the right to wear distinctive Jewish garb without being harassed. They have the right to be protected from physical, verbal and virtual bullying. They have the right to hang a mezuzah on the door of their dorms, and not have it ripped off.
Jewish faculty in schools and universities, do your part. There is an unsettling lack of energy from some faculty quarters. Do not be intimidated. “To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards of men. The few who dare must speak and speak again to right the wrongs of many” (Wilcox).
In your workplaces, take example from the bold actions of some of New York’s most prominent law firms that will now screen applicants for anti-Jewish provocations. Philanthropists, take example from the bold actions of some of America’s most generous donors, who have made a real difference by withholding contributions from universities that tolerate anti-Jewish activities on campus.
Young people — Gen Zs, university students, teenagers — in the past years I have met many hundreds of the most courageous, intelligent, articulate and impressive young adults. In so many ways, you are so much better than we were at your age. Rediscover your Jewish pride. You are not the first generation of Jews to endure anti-Jewish animosities. You will not be the last. Study Jewish history. For some reason, God has decreed a rocky and thorny road for our people. Looking back through the centuries, it has been a long, hard, tragic march from Sinai. But the journey has also been filled with exhilarating accomplishment, transcendent meaning and noble purpose. I hope you feel this, sense this, and are empowered by it. I hope that you, too, will do what our ancestors did: Walk the long and winding Jewish road with faith in the ultimate redemption of our people and all people.
Do not begrudge these years — they can make you better. Nothing inspires us more than the fight for principle. Moral sentiment and grim resolve lift the heart and stiffen the spine. We get better through moral struggle. Fight back — and fight back hard. Fight as hard as our opponents. You will find many allies — both Jewish and non-Jewish. Do not ignore the outrages perpetrated against you and fellow Jews on American campuses. We have learned throughout Jewish history that if we allow these anti-Jewish mindsets to fester, eventually antisemitism worsens. To ignore antisemitism is to allow the culture of Jew-hatred to settle in institutions, rendering its eradication much more difficult. Antisemitism devastates not only Jews, but also the institutions and societies that allow or encourage it.
And finally: it is time for all of you to return to the Jewish community. Rediscover your Jewish inheritance. Raise your children to be proud and knowledgeable Jews. Engage the Jewish community. Be part of a great and good people that contributed so much to humanity. Give of your time and your resources. Everyone should be giving more money now to Jewish institutions, no matter your financial capacities. There is no need to bankrupt yourselves, or even change your standard of living. Give what you can. Jewish tradition requires even those who receive tzedakah to give tzedakah.
And those of you blessed with prodigious financial resources — consider giving a lot of money now to the Jewish community. We need your support. Synagogues need to improve. Rabbis need to improve. Jewish schools need to improve. Jewish camps need to improve. Our communal agencies need to improve. A myriad of new initiatives to contend with the new challenges have been established. They, too, need support. It should be clear to us how decades of neglect have corroded the spirit of successive Jewish generations. Now is the time.
Do not give up on efforts to improve the general welfare of our world. We can never give up on our responsibility to help make life better for all. That would be a Jewish contradiction in terms. But if you withheld money from entities you previously supported, give it to the Jews. Some of those institutions of education and higher education, social justice movements, international organizations and political agencies we have so generously supported — have disappointed and even betrayed us, their hatred of Israel distorting their own principles and legacies.
Golda Meir, an observer to the Evian Conference from Palestine, later to become the fourth prime minister of Israel, who was not even allowed to be seated with the delegates, or speak during the proceedings, later told the press: “There is only one thing I hope to see before I die, and that is that my people should not need expressions of sympathy anymore.”
She lived to see that. Israel was created so that our people should not need expressions of sympathy anymore. Never forget what it was like to be powerless and at the mercy of the dark lords. Never forget that with all the sympathy expressed by the world powers in 1938, sympathy alone did not save the Jews of Europe. It is a basic law of human nature that we can tolerate much more pain in others than in ourselves.
Renee Richier was the chief concierge at the Hotel Royal during the Evian Conference. Years later he recalled the mood of the delegates:
“Very important people were here and all the delegates had a very nice time. They took pleasure cruises on the lake. They gambled at night at the Casino. They took mineral baths and massages at the Establissement Thermal. Some of them took to the excursion to Chamonix to go summer skiing. Some went riding; we have, you know, some of the finest stables in France. But, of course, it is difficult to sit indoors hearing speeches when all the pleasures that Evian offers are outside.” (Jewish Trail of Tears, page 350)
The sympathy of others is welcome, but sooner or later compassion dissolves into compassion fatigue. It is difficult to listen all day to tales of woe and human misery when all the pleasures of the world beckon outside.
In the end, if you want to be saved, you must save yourself. If you want to live you must choose to live.
U’vacharta ba’chayim le’ma’an tichyeh ata ve’zar’a’cha…lashevet al ha’a’da’mah asher nishba Adonai la’avotecha le’Avraham, le’Yitzhak u’le’Yaacov latet lahem.
Choose life so that you and your offspring shall live...and dwell in the land that God pledged to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
