WhatsappThere is nothing that should stir up the emotions of a person than the difference between the situation of the Jewish people during the Holocaust and the present situation of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. From a situation of total helplessness towards a situation of enormous power, the Jewish people have literally come back to life from a horrible situation.
The helplessness that the Jewish people existed in during the Holocaust was not due to the fact that Jewish people did not fight. Actually, there were more than 1 million Jews who fought during World War II. In the Russian Army alone, there were hundreds of thousands of Jews who were killed. In the American Army, there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were Jewish. But even in the Polish Army and French Army, there were many Jewish soldiers. Perhaps the most unsung Jewish soldiers of World War II are the Jewish soldiers of the British Army. There were Jewish soldiers who fought in the Royal Air Force that blocked the Nazi advance, and who stormed the beaches of Normandy.
But for the majority of the Jews who were in Eastern Poland, the norm was overwhelming helplessness. This did not change overnight with the advent of the State of Israel. The State of Israel did not become a powerhouse quickly. But, in the greater scheme of things, 20 years is actually super-fast. Today, the Jewish people are a strong country and the Air Force probably symbolizes that strength more than anything else today. A Holocaust survivor watching there grandchild fly over them in a state-of-the-art plane is so symbolic and powerful.
