Trauma begets Trauma: The Holocaust and the Jewish State Families torn apart. Starvation, torture, and brutality. Six million killed. Six million men, women, and children murdered. Six million people murdered based upon uncontrollable circumstances. Six million people murdered purely due to their heritage. The Holocaust marks one of the greatest tragedies in the history of humanity. An event so significant leaves a stain on humankind. The Holocaust has affected the Jewish people significantly and defines modern Zionism. Zionism has shaped the creation of the State of Israel and the ongoing IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Trauma and victimization of the Jewish people during the Holocaust has since caused further trauma at the hands of the once victimized Jews. First, the Holocaust dismantled the concept of empathy for many of the victimized. Second, the Holocaust has become the sole justification for Zionism by many who were not direct victims of the Nazi regime. Third, the Jewish state has created a hostile environment for the Palestinians, in some contexts almost resembling aspects of the victimization faced originally by the Jews at the hands of the state. Trauma is often the underlying cause of trauma. The same concept applies to the Holocaust. Jewish Trauma caused by the Holocaust has caused trauma for the Palestinian people residing in and near Israel. Zionism: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Zionism is: “an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel.”1 There is contention around which people group
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