History repeats itself

Letters

Editor: It was April 9, 2003. The early morning program on TV announced: "It is 10:15 eastern time" ... transmitting the breathtaking pictures from Baghdad – the statue of Saddam Hussein with a rope around his neck, in the process of being pulled down from its high pedestal. This image took me back many years. It was a strong reminder of Joseph Stalin, the event in Baghdad being a perfect replica of the 1956 event in Budapest when Stalin's statue was disposed in the same manner as Saddam's. I was there in 1956 and the reaction of the people was also the same – they cheered around the overthrown statue.

The news from Iraq was unexpected. Just a few weeks earlier, there were pessimistic demonstrations opposing the war. Now, the situation looks a bit brighter, albeit many troubles remain; Iraq's future remains dubious.

As a survivor of the last century's ordeals, I am not in favor of wars. But I am against terrorism. Saddam's affiliation with terrorist movements is menacing not only to the existence of Israel, but also to the world's peaceful security in general.
Terrorism has widely increased in our era, adding to the "isms" already in existence for decades, whose proponents try to shape society to a particular theory: socialism-communism, fascism-national socialism and capitalism.
Throughout history, Jews have consistently been scapegoated, regardless of the reigning ideology. In the 19th century, the slogan "Liberty, Fraternity, Equality" did not stop the anti-Semitic French nobilities from accusing high-ranking Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfuss of treason. However, the Dreyfus Affair led Theodor Herzl to the idea of the necessity of establishing a Jewish state. He founded Zionism a century ago, although it took more than a half century for Israel to achieve recognition.

In the last century, the 1930s economic crisis affected all countries and gave a reason for anti-Semitic elements to blame the problems on the Jews. Amid the conflicting ideologies, Stalin said the Jews are capitalists, while Adolf Hitler accused them of being communists.

Today, Hitler and Stalin are both dead, and Nazism and communism have both failed. Now, terrorism emerges from unknown hiding places to menace the world's population. These terrorists are cowards who cannot face their opponents because they don't have a legitimate cause to justify their deeds. Hopefully, with much less bloodshed and tragedy, their fate will be the same as that of Hitler and Stalin.

May Israel's hard-earned existence not be lost in the fight.

Regina Weinberger
Vancouver

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