In 1945, when Allied troops liberated the concentration camps in Germany and they witnessed firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust, the world cried, “Never again.” The Holocaust led to the tragic ending of six million innocent lives. Men, women, and children suffered and died only because they were Jews. The horrors of the Holocaust were detailed by those who survived and evidenced by those who lost their lives. Shock waves reverberated around the world at the massive destruction and death. In 1933, only 9.5 million Jews lived in Europe, and the Holocaust brought that number to a devastating low. By 1945, two out of every three European Jews had been killed.
The tragedies were mind-boggling and left the Allies questioning how these things could have happened. At the Nuremberg trials, the world learned more of the horrendous atrocities Holocaust victims suffered. Survivors spoke of how people were herded like cattle, and how men, women, and children were driven to their deaths in the Nazi gas chambers. These victims suffered only because of their Jewish heritage.
The Jewish people were not new to suffering, as they for nearly 2,000 years were without a homeland. They wandered the world seeking a place to belong, and the Holocaust nearly wiped out the entire European Jewish population. Upon the discovery of Nazi Germany’s slaughter of the Jewish people, the Allies rallied to establish the nation of Israel and give the Jewish people back their homeland. In 1948, the Jewish nation-state of Israel was established.
Since regaining their homeland, the Jewish people have been a stalwart Middle Eastern ally of Americans. Israel remains a counterweight against radical forces in the Middle East, including radical Islam and violent extremism. Israel has also prevented the further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the region by thwarting Iran, Iraq, and Syria’s nuclear programs. This makes Israel our greatest ally and friend. Israel and America work together to ensure peace throughout the Middle East. Hamas, Hezbollah, and others surrounding Israel have no desire for peace, and the recent war in Israel is a reminder of that.
Since 1948,
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