The shadow of history

(JNS) — On Oct. 6, 1943, Heinrich Himmler delivered a chilling speech to Nazi leaders justifying the murder of Jewish children. Eighty years later, on Oct. 6, 2023, Hamas senior leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly issued a similarly horrific order to his followers — not only to kill Jewish children but to kidnap them. This stark parallel underscores the persistent and brutal nature of antisemitic violence, revealing its continued threat in the modern era.

In his speech, Himmler rationalized the mass murder of Jewish families, stating: “I would not consider myself justified if I killed the adults … and then allowed their children to grow up and seek revenge against our own children and grandchildren. We have therefore decided to make this people disappear from the face of the earth.”

This ideology led to the systematic murder of 1.5 million Jewish children during World War II and the Holocaust, many slaughtered in their mothers’ arms or subjected to brutal conditions in concentration and death camps. The echoes of this horror resonate today as Hamas targets Jewish children in its acts of terror. During the attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israeli communities, burning families alive, mutilating victims and abducting children, the youngest a 9-month-old baby. These actions were driven by religious hatred, not strategic warfare.

Despite the outcry over these atrocities, the response from international organizations and human-rights groups has been tepid at best. While antisemitic violence surges across the Western world — from violence in Amsterdam to hostility against Jewish students on university campuses and professionals in the workplace — many institutions remain silent. The plight of the Bibas family and other kidnapped children was largely ignored by feminist and child-welfare organizations, exposing a deep hypocrisy in global advocacy for human rights.

Unlike during the Holocaust, when the Jewish people had no means to resist, modern-day Israel has a strong military and the determination to fight for its survival and the survival of the Jewish people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a decisive response to Oct. 7, learning from past failures of underestimating threats. Israel has faced international criticism, yet it refuses to be deterred in its mission to eliminate Hamas. The accusations of colonialism, genocide and apartheid levied against the Jewish state have failed to intimidate a nation that understands the cost of inaction.

Hamas, meanwhile, has attempted to manipulate the narrative by blaming Netanyahu for the deaths of Israeli hostages, including the Bibas children and their mother, Shiri. Yet the reality is clear: Hamas is responsible for their fate as it uses civilians, both Israeli hostages and Palestinian families, as human shields. While Palestinian children tragically perish in war, they are collateral victims of Hamas’s strategy, whereas Jewish children are deliberately targeted to spread terror.

Over the past 16 months, Israel has severely weakened Hamas, diminished Hezbollah’s power and sent a clear message to Iran and other regional enemies. With growing support from figures such as U.S. President Donald Trump, the Israeli government is focused on securing the release of all the remaining hostages and permanently removing Hamas from Gaza. The memory of the Bibas children serves as both a painful wound and a rallying cry.

Israel remains defiant, not just in grief but in its unwavering determination to survive.