Be their voice

A few years ago, my wife, Remeny, and I were invited to a Jewish friend’s house to take part in a Zikaron Basalon, or ‘Memory in the Living Room’ gathering. This is a very special way of remembering the Holocaust, where a Jewish family invites a living Holocaust survivor into their home to share their story.

Hearing the testimony of someone who lived through and witnessed the darkest times in history was a powerful experience. Looking into their eyes, hearing their voice, feeling their emotion, and their strength, is very moving indeed.

Following this experience, we realised it was something we wanted more Christians to experience for themselves. The best way to learn is from someone who has seen it firsthand.  

Unfortunately, every year as we move further away from the Holocaust, it is one year closer to a time when there will be no Holocaust survivors remaining.  Their voices will no longer be present with us. 

At CUFI, we knew we had to do something more as an organisation to ensure that the Holocaust survivors’ voices were heard. We knew that Christians must not only hear their voices but be their voices.

That’s why we have put together CUFI’s latest project, Voices of the Holocaust, an interactive tool for small gatherings to hear about the Holocaust through the unique voices of Holocaust victims, survivors, witnesses, and importantly, our own voices.

We are launching this free resource to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, however, we believe this will be an ongoing resource that can help Christians connect with the lessons of the Holocaust at any point of the year, whether it is at church, in a Bible study, or as a family.

Voices of the Holocaust is also a way to help Christians in their understanding of Israel today. I believe Christians, through God’s Word and the leading of the Spirit, should have a fuller understanding of God’s heart for the Jewish people than most. As such, we recognise that the antisemitism of Hitler’s Nazis was not unique to that time. Sadly, that same antisemitic spirit is alive and well today. We knew the Voices of the Holocaust project would not do justice to lessons of the Holocaust if it did not connect the past with the present.

Israel was reborn in 1948, just three short years after the worst genocide in history. No one could have anticipated that from the despair of the Holocaust, the Jewish people would be re-established in their ancestral homeland, which God gave them and promised never to uproot them from again.

Today, forces of darkness are amassing against the Jewish state. The same antisemitic blood libels that Goebels spread against Jews in Nazi Germany are now being spread globally against Israel. Just as Hitler thought he had a ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’, so too do Israel’s enemies think they have a solution to their hatred, which primarily focuses on destroying Israel.

We know that the Holocaust started with words, those words led to actions, and those actions resulted in the slaughter of 6 million Jews. When people shout, “From the River to the Sea,” it may be just words, but those words promote both fear and hatred – fear in the Jewish Community; hatred in those who utter them. Life and death is in the power of the tongue. Choose Life.

Just as in World War II, there is today a need for righteous men and women to stand against evil. We must defend the Jewish people from the attacks of the enemy.

I often wonder what I would have done during the Holocaust. Would I have followed the crowd and said nothing? Would I have bowed to the angry mobs on the streets and done nothing? Or would I have been one of those few ‘Righteous Gentiles’ who stood up and spoke out. You have been born into the kingdom for such a time as this. This is the time for Christians to be united for Israel. This is the time for the righteous Gentiles to arise.

I strongly recommend that you get hold of CUFI’s free resource, Voices of the Holocaust.

Christians must be a voice for those who are no longer alive to tell their story just as we must be a voice for Israel and the Jewish people today.

For Zion’s sake, we will not keep silent.

Des Starritt
Executive Director, CUFI UK