So long as the reason someone doesn’t make aliyah is because they aren’t sure about the economic realities they’ll find here, their situation isn’t nearly as desperate as it was for the Jews of Germany, Poland, and other countries from which so many Israelis came. Had there been a way, they would have come, even if the degree they had would not be honored here, even if they had to prove they could drive all over again, even if they had to work sweeping the streets. Life and death…they would have chosen life. The problem is, all too often, when it finally gets down to that moment when it is life and death, seldom are we actually given the choice to choose life. Or, more accurately, we missed all the opportunities and only death waited for us.
Israel is here for those who feel Israel is the right place for Jews to live; Israel is here for those who feel it is the only place for Jews to live.
Israel is here for any and all Jews who are alive today but sadly, as I learned that day in Maidanek, there isn’t enough room in all of Israel for those who spent their lives elsewhere and died there. Their souls are in the Heavens, but the physical remains will always be there in the earth where they lived and died.
If it helps any, a swastika painted on their graves is a badge of honor, bringing shame only to those who painted it, those who support them, and those who live in a country where this could happen.