The Holocaust Is Over; We Must Rise From its Ashes

by Avraham Burg

Overview

Modern-day Israel, and the Jewish community, are strongly influenced by the memory and horrors of Hitler and the Holocaust. Burg argues that the Jewish nation has been traumatized and has lost the ability to trust itself, its neighbors or the world around it. He shows that this is one of the causes for the growing nationalism and violence that are plaguing Israeli society and reverberating through Jewish communities worldwide. Burg uses his own family history--his parents were Holocaust survivors--to inform his innovative views on what the Jewish people need to do to move on and eventually live in peace with their Arab neighbors and feel comfortable in the world at large. Thought-provoking, compelling, and original, this book is bound to spark a heated debate around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250109705
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/05/2016
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	509 KB

About the Author

Avraham Burg is a prominent Israeli politician, opinion maker, and former speaker of the Knesset. He has been active in politics as a leader in the Labor Party and the One Israel party. He has written for such publications as The Guardian and The International Herald Tribune, and his first book was a bestseller in Israel. He lives in Nataf, Jerusalem.

Avraham Burg is the former Speaker of the Knesset in Israel (1999-2003). He has been active in politics as a leader in the Labor Party and the One Israel party. His books include The Holocaust Is Over; We Must Rise From its Ashes. His article in The Guardian called "The End of Zionism" was widely read and debated. He lives with his wife in Nataf, a small village outside Jerusalem. 
 

Table of Contents

My Roots * The Holocaust, Ever Present * The Shoah Epidemic * Defeating Hitler * Remembering the Weimar Republic * Lessons from the Holocaust * Balancing Heroism and the Shoah * The Eichmann Trial * Owning the Holocaust * A New Judaism * Make God Smile Again * I shall Live

Editorial Reviews

An activist Israeli politician challenges his native country to be more than just the progeny of the Shoah and to chart a renewed course as a light unto the nations-to be an Israel in which Hitler's ghost is finally exorcised. In his assured and provocative polemic, Burg sees obsession with The Six Million as a burden. Genocide is a human crime not confined to Nazism, he reminds us. The Holocaust may represent civilization's nadir, but it must no longer be the sole event in Jewish collective memory that dictates policy, education, private anxiety or public discourse. Selectively reviewing history, the author notes that the Yishuv, the settlement that became Israel, was not overly concerned with the Jews of Europe before World War II ended. Participants in the Warsaw uprising are humanity's heroes, he states, not just those of Zionism. Burg sees a hubristic turning point for Israel during the 1960s in both the Six-Day War and the trial of Adolf Eichmann, whom he maintains should have been indicted and tried by an international tribunal. Supplied in that connection are minutes of a cabinet meeting attended by the author's father, at that time a member of the Knesset. (The author served as that organization's speaker from 1999 to 2003.) "Israel must leave Auschwitz," Burg writes, "because Auschwitz is a mental prison." Now, with the Middle East still embroiled in a contest of violence, he proposes that the Law of Return, which maintains Israel as the Jewish state, be reconsidered. It is time, he asserts, to establish a "World Religion Organization," part of his audacious prescription for utopia in the Holy Land and across the world. Many of Burg's co-religionists will view this highlyimprobable fix with alarm. A sharp, appropriately tendentious lecture with much wisdom, a bestseller in Israel and worthy of global consideration.

Kirkus Reviews

This is an important book by a very courageous man. The shadow of the Shoah and its abusive application to the contemporary Middle East have been a catastrophe for Jews, Israelis and Arabs alike. In Burg's view Israel must move beyond Hitler's poisoned legacy. If they cannot or will not do this, the Middle East will never see peace and Israel has no future.” —Tony Judt, bestselling author of Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 and Professor at New York University

“An Israeli-born son of Holocaust survivors, Burg addresses a heartfelt plea to his countrymen: remember the past, but do not be its slaves; pathology is neither patriotism nor statescraft. A compelling and eloquent cri de coeur from a veteran of Israel's wars and politics.” —Howard M. Sachar, bestselling author of A History of the Jews in the Modern World and A History of Israel

“Burg takes a blunt, loving, painful and desperately important look at the state of the Jewish soul today. Anyone who cares about the future of the Middle East and the fate of victimized peoples needs to read this book and think hard.” —J.J. Goldberg, author of Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment and Editorial Director of The Forward

“This fascinating and thought-provoking book should be read by every person who cares about Israel. Burg's central theme is that Israeli leaders use the memory of the Holocaust in ways that are warping the country's soul, creating unnecessary fear, and making it impossible to achieve peace with the Palestinians.” —John J. Mearsheimer, bestselling author of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy and Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago

“[An] assured and provocative polemic. . . . [A] lecture with much wisdom . . . worthy of global consideration.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An honest reflection of a tormented man searching for the universal values in Judaism.” —Le Figaro

“In this book of memories and reflections, the former Knesset Speaker delivers his disquieting findings about Israel that 'became a Kingdom without a prophesy.'... Foremost a book of hope from a man who wants to find ways to return Judaism to its universal calling.” —Le Monde

“Short of being Prime Minister, Burg could not be higher in the Zionist establishment.” —David Remnick, The New Yorker

“Mr. Burg...wrote a powerful book, an indictment of how Zionism and the Holocaust have been used.” —Globe and Mail

“Avraham Burg has great faith in the creative power of argument. His book has already provoked much controversy and now that it has been translated is certain to provoke more. At a time when crass, catchpenny titles pour from the presses, it is that unusual thing: A new book that matters.” —Neil Berry, Arab News

From the Publisher

This fascinating and thought-provoking book should be read by every person who cares about Israel. Burg's central theme is that Israeli leaders use the memory of the Holocaust in ways that are warping the country's soul, creating unnecessary fear, and making it impossible to achieve peace with the Palestinians.

bestselling author of The Israel Lobby and US Fore John J. Mearsheimer

Burg takes a blunt, loving, painful and desperately important look at the state of the Jewish soul today. Anyone who cares about the future of the Middle East and the fate of victimized peoples needs to read this book and think hard.

author of Jewish Power: Inside the American Je J.J. Goldberg

An Israeli-born son of Holocaust survivors, Burg addresses a heartfelt plea to his countrymen: remember the past, but do not be its slaves; pathology is neither patriotism nor statescraft. A compelling and eloquent cri de coeur from a veteran of Israel's wars and politics.

bestselling author of A History of the Jews in the Howard M. Sachar

This is an important book by a very courageous man. The shadow of the Shoah and its abusive application to the contemporary Middle East have been a catastrophe for Jews, Israelis and Arabs alike. In Burg's view Israel must move beyond Hitler's poisoned legacy. If they cannot or will not do this, the Middle East will never see peace and Israel has no future.

bestselling author of Postwar: A History of Eu Tony Judt