Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, a stalwart of the fight to break the siege, is interviewed at Intifada Palestine about Zionism and anti-Zionism, her optimism about the future for Palestine and much more...
Ms. Epstein, your critics claim that because you are a Holocaust survivor you should be especially sensitive to the survival of Israel. How do you reconcile that with your advocacy for Palestinian rights?
In some ways my being a Holocaust survivor has nothing to do with my criticism of Israel’s policies and practices. On the other hand, it is this very experience that has sensitized me to the suffering of others, especially of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli government and military. What is the lesson to be learned from the Holocaust? It is that the victims and their descendants should not become victimizers of “the other,” in this case, the Palestinians.
You describe yourself as “anti-Zionist.” What is the origin of that philosophy?
I was born in Freiburg, a village in the Black Forest. All the Jewish children belonged to a Zionist youth organization — I was the only one who didn’t belong, because my parents were anti-Zionist. When Hitler came to power in 1933, I was 8 years old. My parents very quickly realized that they had to leave Germany. They were willing to go anywhere in the world: “nur raus!” — just get out!
But they would not go to Palestine because they did not believe in Zionism. As a young child I did not completely understand Zionism or anti-Zionism — but if my parents were anti-Zionist, I was too. more
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