An accessible, clearly argued essay on how Israel came to be.
About Executing Eichmann
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- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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On December 15, 1961 in Jerusalem, Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death for crimes against the Jewish people and against humanity. While this judgment was met with consensus on a national level, some spoke out against it. On May 29, 1962, a group of Holocaust survivors and intellectuals, including philosophers Hugo Bergmann, Martin Buber and Gershom Scholem, rejected an epilogue to the trial they believed was inappropriate and sent a petition to President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi to demand Eichmann's death sentence be commuted. By opposing Eichmann's execution, they raised questions about the Holocaust, and also defended the values of Judaism, raising questions about Jewish morality for Israel and the nature of a Jewish State. Historians, philosophers, and Israeli eyewitnesses set out the facts, go over the philosophical arguments, and return to a debate that, while central to that era, remains valid today and deserves to be revisited.
Citation
Main credits
Jammot, Florence (filmmaker)
Jammot, Florence (screenwriter)
Rozenberg, Pawel (film producer)
Nusse, Céline (film producer)
Other credits
Montage, Catherine Mabilat; image, Olivier Raffet, Gertrude Baillot; conseil musical, François Marchesseau.
Distributor subjects
Criminal Justice; Ethics; Jewish Studies; Law; Philosophy; Racism; World War IIKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.760
(speaking in foreign language)
00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:17.120
(fire blazing)
00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:24.839
On April 12th, 1961
00:00:24.840 --> 00:00:28.319
the Russian Yuri Gagarin
makes the first manned voyage
00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:29.678
into space.
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:31.839
In Jerusalem where
the trial of Nazi criminal
00:00:31.840 --> 00:00:34.839
Adolf Eichmann had started
the previous day,
00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:36.479
journalists have, for a moment,
00:00:36.480 --> 00:00:38.639
turned their eyes
away from the courthouse
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.678
towards the sky where
the cosmonauts escapade
00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.678
appears more conceivable
than the terrestrial turmoil
00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:47.079
of the grimacing man
in his glass cage.
00:00:47.080 --> 00:00:50.639
♪
00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:53.559
Adolf, the son of
Adolf Klaus Eichmann,
00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.399
is accused hereby:
00:00:56.400 --> 00:00:57.678
First count.
00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.279
Nature of offense:
00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:01.439
Crime against the Jewish people,
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:05.039
an offense under section
1(a)(1) of the Nazis
00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:08.879
and Nazi Collaborators
Punishment Law 5710...
00:01:08.880 --> 00:01:10.319
Particulars of the offense:
00:01:10.320 --> 00:01:11.959
The accused together
with others...
00:01:11.960 --> 00:01:14.959
In the room where
Eichmann\"s trial took place,
00:01:14.960 --> 00:01:17.719
no ghost wanders.
00:01:17.720 --> 00:01:19.519
It is here,
according to Israeli law
00:01:19.520 --> 00:01:21.879
against Nazis
and Nazi collaborators
00:01:21.880 --> 00:01:24.519
that Adolf Eichmann
was condemned to death
00:01:24.520 --> 00:01:26.399
on December 15th, 1961
00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.559
for crimes against
the Jewish people,
00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.040
and crimes against humanity.
00:01:34.520 --> 00:01:36.680
Ten-hut!
00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:48.960
(papers wrestling)
00:02:16.480 --> 00:02:17.879
(crickets chirring)
00:02:17.880 --> 00:02:20.319
The court of appeals
confirms the sentence
00:02:20.320 --> 00:02:23.079
on May 29th, 1962.
00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:25.079
Although there is
national consensus,
00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:28.719
some discordant voices
can be heard.
00:02:28.720 --> 00:02:30.678
(typewriter pings)
00:02:30.679 --> 00:02:32.799
On May 30th a group
of intellectuals,
00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.439
some of whom are survivors
of the Holocaust,
00:02:35.440 --> 00:02:39.479
sends a petition to
the president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.
00:02:39.480 --> 00:02:41.679
♪
00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:43.678
\"We\" re not pleading
for his life.
00:02:43.679 --> 00:02:46.399
No man is less worthy
of mercy than he.
00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.519
We do not come to you
requesting to pardon him.
00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.239
We are asking for you
to commute the sentence
00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:55.399
on behalf of our country
and our people.
00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:57.319
It is our considered opinion
00:02:57.320 --> 00:02:58.678
that the execution of Eichmann
00:02:58.679 --> 00:03:00.999
will demean the stature
of the Holocaust
00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.479
and distort the historic
and moral significance
00:03:04.480 --> 00:03:05.400
of this trial.
00:03:05.401 --> 00:03:07.239
Let us not lend
our hand to this,
00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:09.999
and let us not risk
creating the impression
00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.519
that sending this
evil man to the gallows
00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.039
could compensate
for extermination
00:03:15.040 --> 00:03:17.479
of six million.\"
00:03:17.480 --> 00:03:20.599
This is the punishment
you give to those murderers?
00:03:20.600 --> 00:03:23.678
You caught one of them...
00:03:23.679 --> 00:03:25.678
30 years after.
00:03:25.679 --> 00:03:28.439
I mean, isn\"t that
a little bit too late
00:03:28.440 --> 00:03:30.239
and too little?
00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.678
Um, it\"s a kind of a mockery
00:03:33.679 --> 00:03:36.399
of the whole idea
of retribution.
00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:42.639
And it doesn\"t also
serve as a symbolic
00:03:42.640 --> 00:03:43.440
feature of it.
00:03:43.441 --> 00:03:44.919
It\"s not a symbol, right?
00:03:44.920 --> 00:03:47.879
It doesn\"t stand
for the rest of them,
00:03:47.880 --> 00:03:51.119
because there is no
symbolic relationship here
00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.399
being established.
00:03:53.400 --> 00:04:01.400
♪
00:04:09.679 --> 00:04:11.639
Twenty-third...
00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:14.678
It all started on
May 23rd, 1960.
00:04:14.679 --> 00:04:16.319
On that day the painter,
Yehuda Bakon,
00:04:16.320 --> 00:04:19.639
wrote about Eichmann\"s
arrest in his diary.
00:04:19.640 --> 00:04:21.678
Shall I translate it?
00:04:21.679 --> 00:04:25.119
In this... I was teaching
in the academy.
00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:28.119
And I write all kinds of things,
00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:28.960
whom I met and so on,
00:04:28.961 --> 00:04:34.119
and then I wrote
they caught Eichmann.
00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:35.599
(speaking Hebrew)
00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:37.719
\"Announce it in the radio.\"
00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:42.199
Then I describe
what I have done in the day.
00:04:42.200 --> 00:04:44.759
And later on what...
00:04:44.760 --> 00:04:51.079
Then I write I didn\"t
have any feeling of, um...
00:04:51.080 --> 00:04:52.319
(speaking Hebrew)
00:04:52.320 --> 00:04:53.519
What did you say?
00:04:53.520 --> 00:04:54.320
(speaking Hebrew)
00:04:54.321 --> 00:04:56.399
- Jealous?
- Of jealousy, of any...
00:04:56.400 --> 00:04:58.279
- Or revenge.
- Or revenge.
00:04:58.280 --> 00:04:59.959
Nothing.
00:04:59.960 --> 00:05:02.559
Actually I had more...
00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:04.599
And I write the Hebrew word...
00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:07.678
(speaking Hebrew)
00:05:07.679 --> 00:05:08.839
Compassion.
00:05:08.840 --> 00:05:14.678
Uh, in this minute
I forgot everything
00:05:14.679 --> 00:05:19.678
and I actually
went into his skin,
00:05:19.679 --> 00:05:23.319
I tried to feel it how he felt.
00:05:23.320 --> 00:05:27.839
Maybe he changed
in these 15 years
00:05:27.840 --> 00:05:30.679
that he was like a mouse,
00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:35.678
always persecuted.
00:05:35.679 --> 00:05:38.279
Maybe he got, um,
00:05:38.280 --> 00:05:39.799
a kind of conscious.
00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:44.319
And then that we
lived long enough
00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:49.199
that we came to him, um,
judge and state.
00:05:49.200 --> 00:05:52.239
It\"s very strange, all of it.
00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:56.359
♪
00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:57.879
In 1960 the State of Israel
00:05:57.880 --> 00:06:00.678
celebrates its 12th anniversary.
00:06:00.679 --> 00:06:02.999
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi,
the third president,
00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.039
although a silent actor
with minimal power,
00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:07.839
is the one who designates
judges to the supreme court
00:06:07.840 --> 00:06:11.279
and also grants pardons
to those convicted.
00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:14.678
♪
00:06:14.679 --> 00:06:17.359
On May 23rd, 1960
it is the prime minister,
00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:20.479
David Ben-Gurion,
who announces Eichmann\"s capture
00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:22.079
in the Knesset.
00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:24.399
♪
00:06:24.400 --> 00:06:26.800
(speaking Hebrew)
00:07:10.520 --> 00:07:11.678
♪
00:07:11.679 --> 00:07:13.079
The news announced on the radio
00:07:13.080 --> 00:07:16.039
unleashes a wave
of emotion in Israel.
00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:17.759
Conflicting feelings of anxiety,
00:07:17.760 --> 00:07:19.679
revenge, and doubt are expressed
00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.279
among the population.
00:07:22.280 --> 00:07:24.679
(speaking French)
00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:41.679
(speaking French)
00:07:54.960 --> 00:07:59.919
Ben-Gurion wanted
the trial to teach
00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:02.959
the Israeli population
00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:04.919
the story of the Holocaust,
00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.599
because we have to remember,
00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:12.678
even though that
most of the population
00:08:12.679 --> 00:08:13.679
in this country
00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.399
when it gained independence
in 1948
00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:20.479
was Ashkenazi Jews.
00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:23.678
The population in the late \"50s,
00:08:23.679 --> 00:08:25.639
the beginning of the \"60s,
00:08:25.640 --> 00:08:30.239
was much less familiar
with the story of the Holocaust
00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.239
because the big immigration
brought here
00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.319
a majority of Mizrahi Jews
00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:39.719
from Middle Eastern countries,
00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:44.839
and also a young generation
came into being
00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:49.239
which did not know
much about the Holocaust.
00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.679
Because we have to remember
00:08:51.680 --> 00:08:56.359
both the survivors
and the people
00:08:56.360 --> 00:09:00.319
that lost their families
in Europe,
00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:03.679
but they were not...
They themselves were,
00:09:03.680 --> 00:09:07.679
during the war in Palestine,
00:09:07.680 --> 00:09:10.720
nobody talked about it.
00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.959
You had as well
in the background
00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:39.359
this huge debate about
00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.399
payments done by
the German government to Israel,
00:09:43.400 --> 00:09:47.359
and the right and the left
attacking Ben-Gurion
00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:51.119
for accepting it
as a cheap compromise,
00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:55.479
as a very bad form of atonement.
00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:57.759
So you have...
You have silence
00:09:57.760 --> 00:09:59.879
and you have reparations.
00:09:59.880 --> 00:10:03.678
And Eichmann\"s trial
is not a founding moment
00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:04.799
for the State,
00:10:04.800 --> 00:10:07.919
but it\"s the founding
moment in the relationship
00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:10.039
of the State to the Jewish past,
00:10:10.040 --> 00:10:14.678
where the Holocaust...
And especially the victims...
00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:19.599
Gained a voice in a very
unexpected way, actually,
00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:20.560
through the trial.
00:10:20.561 --> 00:10:21.839
The one thing about
Ben-Gurion,
00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:25.479
he was so cold
about where to invest
00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:26.639
the resources of the State,
00:10:26.640 --> 00:10:30.599
and he wasn\"t interested
in kind of backward-looking
00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:32.159
revenge activities.
00:10:32.160 --> 00:10:35.839
(announcer speaking Hebrew)
00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:37.678
In order to save Israel
from bankruptcy,
00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:40.199
Ben-Gurion had signed
the Reparations Agreement
00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:43.599
with West Germany in 1952.
00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:44.678
This agreement provoked
violent debates
00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:47.799
within the government
and across the entire country.
00:10:47.800 --> 00:10:50.600
(continues speaking Hebrew)
00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:53.479
But, you know, the relation
00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:55.559
between the trial
and the reparations
00:10:55.560 --> 00:10:58.678
is intriguing and interesting.
00:10:58.679 --> 00:10:59.799
Can you...
00:10:59.800 --> 00:11:02.519
I think... I think it was...
00:11:02.520 --> 00:11:04.719
it was here, now we can
deal with them
00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.678
from position of power, right?
00:11:06.679 --> 00:11:10.879
It\"s the first time
that we are not claiming
00:11:10.880 --> 00:11:12.319
to be victims only,
00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.799
that here is Jewish self
determination and sovereignty.
00:11:16.800 --> 00:11:20.479
We deal with the criminals
from a position of power.
00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:23.879
Isn\"t it all what we are about
00:11:23.880 --> 00:11:28.360
as a newly emerging
state and people?
00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:40.279
Israel was considered
a new page in Jewish history,
00:11:40.280 --> 00:11:44.639
and the idea of Jews
putting on trial
00:11:44.640 --> 00:11:50.039
a major perpetrator
of atrocities against Jews
00:11:50.040 --> 00:11:53.679
was considered
in line with the feeling
00:11:53.680 --> 00:11:56.719
of pride and independence
00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:02.919
that the State rose
among the people.
00:12:02.920 --> 00:12:05.279
Is that what they call
the \"new Jew\"?
00:12:05.280 --> 00:12:05.800
Yes, exactly.
00:12:05.801 --> 00:12:09.678
This was part of the idea
of the \"new Jew.\"
00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:13.839
The \"new Jew\" would not
agree to being
00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:15.678
deprived of its rights,
00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:18.439
to being humiliated,
00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:23.599
and he would avenge
all atrocities
00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:27.000
made against him or his people.
00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:37.319
Carefully organized
and conceived
00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:38.678
by Ben-Gurion\"s government,
00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:40.839
the trial will take place
in Jerusalem
00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:42.239
at the Beit Ha\"Am,
00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:43.000
the House of the People,
00:12:43.001 --> 00:12:46.999
which was constructed in 1960.
00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:51.239
♪
00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:55.079
Israel, where 300,000
survivors of the Holocaust live,
00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:57.919
enjoys for the first time
a period of peace
00:12:57.920 --> 00:12:58.680
and can deal with the judging
00:12:58.681 --> 00:13:01.799
of one of those responsible
for the extermination
00:13:01.800 --> 00:13:03.678
of six million Jews.
00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:05.279
♪
00:13:05.280 --> 00:13:08.479
From retrospective,
it was the most quiet years
00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:11.439
in the history of Israel.
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:12.999
No great wars.
00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.678
A kind of stability.
00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:17.879
A kind of state
that does not yet know
00:13:17.880 --> 00:13:18.959
what it is because they don\"t...
00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.439
They didn\"t even consider
the immigrants who came,
00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.439
needless to say
that nobody considered
00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:27.719
at that period the question
of the Palestinians.
00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.678
It was seen as this is it
and this is closed.
00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:34.678
Of course, nobody used
to talk about
00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:36.799
the traumas of the Holocaust.
00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:38.959
I mean, it was a place
of silence,
00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.678
a lot of silence on all aspects.
00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:43.678
You can say that
most aspects of suppression
00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.359
for this period
remain until today.
00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:50.159
And suddenly the trial came
and raised many,
00:13:50.160 --> 00:13:53.520
many of these issues.
00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.159
On April 11th, 1961
a crowd gathers
00:14:00.160 --> 00:14:01.678
in front of the courthouse.
00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.439
The opening of the trial
is followed
00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:04.559
across the country,
00:14:04.560 --> 00:14:06.999
broadcast by the Israeli
radio station
00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:08.319
Kol Yisrael.
00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.200
(muffled announcer
speaking Hebrew)
00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:14.799
Journalists and writers had come
00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:16.239
from all over the world to see,
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.519
as New Yorker\"s correspondent
Hanna Arendt said,
00:14:19.520 --> 00:14:22.079
\"the criminal in flesh
and blood.\"
00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:24.679
(courthouse chatter)
00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:45.199
For the common people,
00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:49.279
most of the population,
this was a given.
00:14:49.280 --> 00:14:53.479
\"Thank God that we have
here an opportunity
00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:55.479
to put Eichmann to trial,
00:14:55.480 --> 00:15:00.559
symbolically putting
all the Nazis to trial
00:15:00.560 --> 00:15:01.200
in Israel.\"
00:15:01.201 --> 00:15:04.839
And it was thought,
just like Ben-Gurion thought,
00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.679
that this was an historical,
00:15:08.680 --> 00:15:12.599
I would say, justice.
00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:14.839
Not so with the intellectuals.
00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:16.679
Was conceived
by (unintelligible)
00:15:16.680 --> 00:15:19.678
as a citadel of
the Jewish spirit.
00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:20.000
Today...
00:15:20.001 --> 00:15:22.879
The discussions in Israel
surrounding the Eichmann trial
00:15:22.880 --> 00:15:23.800
and the ensuing death sentence
00:15:23.801 --> 00:15:27.119
are initiated by the attorney
general Haim Cohen,
00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:28.199
but mainly by the founders
00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.799
of the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.
00:15:30.800 --> 00:15:33.039
Here are professors
Bergmann and philosopher...
00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:34.839
Among them was a group
of philosophers,
00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:37.159
a few known
throughout the world.
00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:38.599
And here is Martin Buber,
00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:41.239
who holds the chair
of social philosophy.
00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:44.119
One of the most
distinguished Jewish thinkers
00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.319
and scholars of our time.
00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:47.959
♪
00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:49.919
You cannot say a \"group\"
because each of them
00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:52.678
had a different attitude.
00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:56.279
But you talk about Martin Buber,
00:15:56.280 --> 00:15:58.678
you talk about Hugo Bergmann,
00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:00.479
you talk about Gershom Scholem
00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:01.440
in a different way,
00:16:01.441 --> 00:16:03.039
and you talk about
Hannah Arendt.
00:16:03.040 --> 00:16:04.678
You can talk about many others.
00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:05.919
There were many other opinions,
00:16:05.920 --> 00:16:08.439
but I think these are the main
00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:09.879
intellectuals of the period.
00:16:09.880 --> 00:16:14.079
German Jews...
I mean, from the German milieu,
00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:16.039
either Prague like Bergmann,
00:16:16.040 --> 00:16:19.159
or Germans like Scholem
and Arendt...
00:16:19.160 --> 00:16:22.639
And interestingly, all of them
00:16:22.640 --> 00:16:27.879
in one stage or another
supported, as Zionists,
00:16:27.880 --> 00:16:30.199
a binational solution.
00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:31.678
♪
00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.359
From 1925 through the mid \"30s,
00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:35.759
Hugo Bergmann, Martin Buber,
00:16:35.760 --> 00:16:38.319
and Gershom Scholem
were members of a minority
00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.678
Zionist movement,
The Brit Shalom.
00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:43.159
♪
00:16:43.160 --> 00:16:45.599
This political group
advocates the establishment
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:47.678
of a Jewish homeland
in Palestine,
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:50.159
which ensures to both peoples,
Jews and Arabs,
00:16:50.160 --> 00:16:51.678
equal rights
and self-management
00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:54.678
of their respective
internal affairs.
00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:57.678
♪
00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:03.279
These people arrived in Israel,
in Palestine actually,
00:17:03.280 --> 00:17:05.678
in the early \"20s
00:17:05.679 --> 00:17:10.999
out of Zionism that interpreted
00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.439
the Jewish entity in Palestine
00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.678
as something less than a state
00:17:17.679 --> 00:17:19.559
and more than a state.
00:17:19.560 --> 00:17:23.199
For them, Zionism
was supposed to be
00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:28.678
an exulted religious
moral experience.
00:17:28.679 --> 00:17:33.079
It was not enough for them,
a state,
00:17:33.080 --> 00:17:35.079
it had to be...
00:17:35.080 --> 00:17:36.719
They used to say,
00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:40.678
\"We don\" t need another state
like Albania,
00:17:40.679 --> 00:17:45.159
we need... if at all,
we need something special,
00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:50.678
something exulted,
something with a moral fiber
00:17:50.679 --> 00:17:54.159
that would put to shame
all the world.\"
00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:58.559
And here we had Israel,
a small state,
00:17:58.560 --> 00:18:01.199
a weak state.
00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.599
Not better than other states,
00:18:03.600 --> 00:18:04.679
not worse.
00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:10.678
For them, this was
a disappointment.
00:18:10.679 --> 00:18:12.479
♪
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.959
\"We must not ignore that most
of these Zionist leaders
00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.839
are unbridled nationalists
according to the European model;
00:18:18.840 --> 00:18:21.119
imperialists and opportunists.
00:18:21.120 --> 00:18:25.079
They talk of Renaissance,
but think business.
00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:27.319
If we fail to oppose them
00:18:27.320 --> 00:18:28.678
with a force of authority,
00:18:28.679 --> 00:18:32.519
the soul of the movement
will be perverted.\"
00:18:32.520 --> 00:18:34.879
♪
00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.559
For them who came from Germany,
00:18:37.560 --> 00:18:40.559
Zionism was...
Their understanding of Zionism,
00:18:40.560 --> 00:18:41.678
their perception of Zionism
00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:44.359
was very different
from the one represented
00:18:44.360 --> 00:18:46.519
by Ben-Gurion and others.
00:18:46.520 --> 00:18:48.479
For them, Zionism was first
00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.799
a return of the Jews
to themselves
00:18:51.800 --> 00:18:54.678
as a reaction to assimilation,
00:18:54.679 --> 00:18:56.599
they all objected
00:18:56.600 --> 00:18:59.239
German liberal Jewish culture
00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:02.999
and thought that it means
to ignore
00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.399
the main aspect of Zionism.
00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:08.599
And also as, indeed,
as an understanding,
00:19:08.600 --> 00:19:10.678
as a reaction
to anti-Semitism
00:19:10.679 --> 00:19:14.039
that means that
the Jewish community
00:19:14.040 --> 00:19:19.400
should take values opposite
to an anti-Semitist.
00:19:19.679 --> 00:19:22.080
(speaking Hebrew)
00:19:49.520 --> 00:19:50.559
In one way or another,
00:19:50.560 --> 00:19:51.678
you can say that
they were serious,
00:19:51.679 --> 00:19:53.439
you can say that
they were not serious,
00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:55.759
what is interesting
is to try to understand
00:19:55.760 --> 00:19:57.678
what was Zionism for them.
00:19:57.679 --> 00:20:01.399
And it was an alternative
perception of Zionism.
00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.678
You read Scholem
of the late \"20s
00:20:04.679 --> 00:20:05.679
and the early \"30s,
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:09.678
you read the best
anti-Colonial literature.
00:20:09.679 --> 00:20:13.079
You read them,
you can understand how
00:20:13.080 --> 00:20:18.559
in contrast to
the East European Zionism,
00:20:18.560 --> 00:20:20.439
perception of negation of exile
00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:22.678
according to which
the new culture
00:20:22.679 --> 00:20:25.119
should be based on
the total denial
00:20:25.120 --> 00:20:27.159
of previous Jewish cultures,
00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:27.679
total denial...
00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:29.359
That\"s the idea
of negation of exile
00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:30.879
of the idea of the new Jew.
00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.919
They didn\"t share
this idea of the new Jew.
00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:34.840
They... on the contrary.
00:20:34.841 --> 00:20:38.678
They believed that they have
to return to Jewish tradition
00:20:38.679 --> 00:20:40.639
while believing
the Jewish position
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.439
has a unique political content,
00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:46.678
which is crucial
for a counter...
00:20:46.679 --> 00:20:51.880
A counter-Colonial and counter
anti-Semite thinking.
00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.759
And their arguments were
that the Zionist leadership
00:20:56.760 --> 00:21:00.678
take direction that follows
the same logic
00:21:00.679 --> 00:21:02.599
that drove Europe
to anti-Semitism.
00:21:02.600 --> 00:21:07.199
That\"s why Scholem supported
the binational solution
00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:08.239
or agenda,
00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.759
although Scholem himself
changed his attitude in 1933
00:21:12.760 --> 00:21:16.919
after the rise of
the Nazist power in Europe.
00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:18.759
But people like Buber and Arendt
00:21:18.760 --> 00:21:21.799
continued in this direction
also in the \"40s
00:21:21.800 --> 00:21:25.159
and concerning Buber
also later in the \"50s.
00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:28.399
For them, the question
of the Palestinians
00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:30.679
was an integral part
of their Zionism.
00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.159
They were not
anti-Zionist at all.
00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.678
But they were against
this logic,
00:21:35.679 --> 00:21:36.600
against this logic.
00:21:36.601 --> 00:21:39.678
For them,
Jewish nationalism was...
00:21:39.679 --> 00:21:44.159
Was supposed to bring
a different way of thinking
00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:45.439
than the European one.
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:48.678
And Arendt was the most,
let\"s say,
00:21:48.679 --> 00:21:51.679
the most sophisticated
one about it.
00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:54.240
(speaking Hebrew)
00:22:26.600 --> 00:22:29.199
She sympathized with the idea
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:30.799
of Jewish settlement
in Palestine.
00:22:30.800 --> 00:22:34.799
She believed that a Jew...
That this Jewish community
00:22:34.800 --> 00:22:37.919
that was established
at that time in Palestine,
00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:42.279
can indeed propose
not only solution for Jews,
00:22:42.280 --> 00:22:45.599
but also a new political vision.
00:22:45.600 --> 00:22:50.999
But then during the \"40s
she condemned the idea,
00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:54.678
the Zionist move toward the idea
00:22:54.679 --> 00:22:59.119
that Jewish state
is the main aspect of Zionism
00:22:59.120 --> 00:23:00.879
and the main purpose of Zionism.
00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:02.399
She was against
the Jewish state.
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:06.678
She was against...
She thought it\"s dangerous
00:23:06.679 --> 00:23:08.559
and it is meaningless.
00:23:08.560 --> 00:23:10.920
(speaking French)
00:23:17.679 --> 00:23:21.320
I think it has
changed everything.
00:23:26.320 --> 00:23:28.880
(French speaking translator)
00:24:10.679 --> 00:24:13.959
On the other hand,
she did not participate
00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:15.439
in the...
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:20.359
in the Hebrew-Jewish community
in here, in Palestine.
00:24:20.360 --> 00:24:21.240
As they did.
00:24:21.241 --> 00:24:24.119
And they were here,
yes, they were here.
00:24:24.120 --> 00:24:25.519
They really, they were here.
00:24:25.520 --> 00:24:29.000
They took the responsibility
of being here.
00:24:30.040 --> 00:24:32.678
Would you say that
the opposition
00:24:32.679 --> 00:24:37.839
against the execution
of Eichmann as a link
00:24:37.840 --> 00:24:41.678
with this political line
they were defending?
00:24:41.679 --> 00:24:43.678
Yes, but not always direct one.
00:24:43.679 --> 00:24:47.519
The link is first of all
how you perceive Israel.
00:24:47.520 --> 00:24:51.519
Do you think that Israel
is the only, uh,
00:24:51.520 --> 00:24:55.678
authority to...
00:24:55.679 --> 00:24:58.678
to judge Nazi criminals?
00:24:58.679 --> 00:25:01.119
Do you think that Israel
is indeed the one
00:25:01.120 --> 00:25:06.999
who inherit... who inherit
all the responsibility
00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:09.759
and the rights of the victims?
00:25:09.760 --> 00:25:13.399
Do you think that this
is the... the idea of Israel?
00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.719
And on the other hand
came some general questions.
00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:18.439
What does it mean?
00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:19.999
Which kind of trial is it?
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:23.678
What does it mean
to try to arrange a trial
00:25:23.679 --> 00:25:26.679
for one criminal?
00:25:32.320 --> 00:25:33.479
(speaking Hebrew)
00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:37.679
Will you please ask
the accused to rise.
00:25:41.679 --> 00:25:45.600
The accused may remove
his earphones.
00:25:50.200 --> 00:25:55.559
You heard the indictment
on the first day of the trial?
00:25:55.560 --> 00:25:58.160
(German translator speaking)
00:26:01.679 --> 00:26:03.480
Yes.
00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.678
Do you admit
00:26:08.679 --> 00:26:13.600
the first count
brought against you?
00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:23.359
In the spirit of the indictment,
00:26:23.360 --> 00:26:26.440
I am not guilty.
00:26:28.760 --> 00:26:32.639
There was a question,
\"Is it a trial?\"
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:36.919
Um, how could the victim
trial the criminal?
00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:38.359
You need a neutral body.
00:26:38.360 --> 00:26:39.678
So, it\"s not a trial.
00:26:39.679 --> 00:26:42.759
Second, it\"s a political
theater, right?
00:26:42.760 --> 00:26:44.959
It\"s really, again, not a trial.
00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:47.359
It\"s a staged trial.
00:26:47.360 --> 00:26:51.279
Third, who\"s the State
of Israel to represent
00:26:51.280 --> 00:26:52.759
the victims?
00:26:52.760 --> 00:26:54.678
Does it speak for the victim?
00:26:54.679 --> 00:26:56.799
Does it co-opt the victims?
00:26:56.800 --> 00:26:58.679
Now, by the way,
all those issues
00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:00.479
have become, after the trial,
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.759
become very marginal
because actually the trial
00:27:02.760 --> 00:27:06.559
was more of a trial than
everybody expected it to be.
00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:09.319
The judges behaved like judges.
00:27:09.320 --> 00:27:10.080
(speaking in Hebrew)
00:27:10.081 --> 00:27:14.519
In this preamble
to the decision...
00:27:14.520 --> 00:27:16.839
there is a condition,
a reservation.
00:27:16.840 --> 00:27:20.678
It says that the accused
be brought before
00:27:20.679 --> 00:27:23.999
a suitable court,
an appropriate court.
00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.559
This does not mean, necessarily,
00:27:27.560 --> 00:27:29.279
the Israeli court.
00:27:29.280 --> 00:27:32.519
And excludes the court
in Israel.
00:27:32.520 --> 00:27:34.599
Be brought
to appropriate justice.
00:27:34.600 --> 00:27:38.559
It says, \"Shall be brought
to appropriate justice,
00:27:38.560 --> 00:27:39.959
not court.\"
00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:40.840
Why Israel?
00:27:40.841 --> 00:27:42.678
What is the role of Israel here?
00:27:42.679 --> 00:27:46.079
Okay, you can accept
Israel as a shelter
00:27:46.080 --> 00:27:46.720
for the Jews,
00:27:46.721 --> 00:27:49.519
you can understand
the need and the support
00:27:49.520 --> 00:27:51.719
of many people
in the State of Israel
00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:52.759
because it is a shelter,
00:27:52.760 --> 00:27:55.679
but there is a difference
between the idea of a shelter
00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:58.319
and between the idea that Israel
00:27:58.320 --> 00:28:01.959
is the ultimate and abs...
00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:05.639
And absolute, uh, representative
00:28:05.640 --> 00:28:07.759
of the Jewish people
and the victims.
00:28:07.760 --> 00:28:09.559
Because of the perception
of Israel,
00:28:09.560 --> 00:28:12.999
what makes... what happens
to Israel through that?
00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:14.479
And, indeed, you can see
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:17.439
that one aspect of the trial was
00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:23.039
the way the dramatic
memory became
00:28:23.040 --> 00:28:25.719
the core of Israel
self-understanding,
00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:28.879
and instead of being...
00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.039
It\"s growing more and more.
00:28:31.040 --> 00:28:32.799
Since this trial you can say
00:28:32.800 --> 00:28:34.119
that it grows more and more,
00:28:34.120 --> 00:28:38.678
and it brings the idea
of a catastrophe
00:28:38.679 --> 00:28:42.239
into the life
of Israel of the period.
00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:42.800
That\"s a paradox.
00:28:42.801 --> 00:28:46.599
That was not intended
by Ben-Gurion, I\"m sure.
00:28:46.600 --> 00:28:48.678
I think Ben-Gurion
did not want
00:28:48.679 --> 00:28:51.559
to have this trial and let...
00:28:51.560 --> 00:28:53.519
And very contrary
to what people are saying
00:28:53.520 --> 00:28:56.678
that he had an agenda
of bringing this Shoah
00:28:56.679 --> 00:29:00.959
in order to develop
the nuclear weapons
00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:02.279
and stuff like that.
00:29:02.280 --> 00:29:06.359
Um, Ben-Gurion did not
want that trial.
00:29:06.360 --> 00:29:10.599
He was very much in harmony
00:29:10.600 --> 00:29:13.559
with Heim Cohen on this.
00:29:13.560 --> 00:29:15.799
And he really...
He gave Heim Cohen
00:29:15.800 --> 00:29:18.599
an open hand to try and find out
00:29:18.600 --> 00:29:22.759
whether the Germans
would like to have him.
00:29:22.760 --> 00:29:24.919
Of course, the Germans
did not want to have him
00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:26.678
because the Germans
were reluctant
00:29:26.679 --> 00:29:30.120
to conduct trials whatsoever.
00:29:39.360 --> 00:29:41.719
I think that when you think
about it from retrospect,
00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:45.678
even we have the privilege
of looking at this
00:29:45.679 --> 00:29:47.678
from a historical perspective,
00:29:47.679 --> 00:29:51.719
you can understand first
why people objected.
00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:55.919
The verdict of Eichmann?
00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:57.679
What does it mean to kill him?
00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:59.679
I mean...
00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:01.279
Today? Who cares! Yes?
00:30:01.280 --> 00:30:02.919
Today, it is meaningless.
00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:07.319
I mean, you can\"t
be against the...
00:30:07.320 --> 00:30:10.559
The assassination
of Eichmann today.
00:30:10.560 --> 00:30:12.559
It\"s simply ridiculous, why not?
00:30:12.560 --> 00:30:14.639
I mean, I mean, who cares?
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:18.678
But yet, the question is
what does it mean about
00:30:18.679 --> 00:30:20.039
your understanding of Nazism.
00:30:20.040 --> 00:30:26.679
Which kind of a ritual
in which you kill some...
00:30:28.080 --> 00:30:29.359
criminals,
00:30:29.360 --> 00:30:35.039
but by that as if
close the question.
00:30:35.040 --> 00:30:38.040
Close the question
of responsibility.
00:30:38.679 --> 00:30:40.319
\"There\" s no doubt
that Eichmann deserves
00:30:40.320 --> 00:30:42.799
the death penalty
a thousand times,
00:30:42.800 --> 00:30:45.079
but this hanging
was a flawed sequel,
00:30:45.080 --> 00:30:48.919
a burlesque play following
an unprecedented tragedy.
00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:52.719
It may be fair that instead
of attempting reflection,
00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:55.678
and leaving it open
for the next generation,
00:30:55.679 --> 00:30:57.519
we have closed it.
00:30:57.520 --> 00:30:59.839
Our interest was
that the great moral
00:30:59.840 --> 00:31:00.999
and historical question,
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:04.279
the profound question
that the trial imposes upon us,
00:31:04.280 --> 00:31:06.678
\"How could this have happened?\"
00:31:06.679 --> 00:31:08.999
should preserve its gravity,
00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:11.479
its absolute nakedness.\"
00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:14.319
♪
00:31:14.320 --> 00:31:17.079
Sometime after writing
an essay on the Eichmann trial,
00:31:17.080 --> 00:31:18.678
Gershom Scholem
harshly criticizes
00:31:18.679 --> 00:31:21.639
his friend, Hannah Arendt,
who recently published
00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:24.319
Eichmann in Jerusalem.
00:31:24.320 --> 00:31:26.639
In their correspondence,
he accuses her
00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:27.719
of being flippant.
00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:29.399
She opposes him on the subject
00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:31.678
of the Eichmann execution.
00:31:31.679 --> 00:31:33.678
♪
00:31:33.679 --> 00:31:35.839
\"You say this was
an historical mistake,
00:31:35.840 --> 00:31:38.719
a trial does not set out
to make history.
00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:41.199
Not only was the execution
justified
00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:43.039
both politically and legally,
00:31:43.040 --> 00:31:44.959
but also it would\"ve
been impossible
00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.959
not to carry out the sentence.
00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:49.919
A pardon was
out of the question,
00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:51.839
not only from
a legal point of view,
00:31:51.840 --> 00:31:54.679
pardon does not depend
upon the legal system,
00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:56.919
but because it applies
to the person
00:31:56.920 --> 00:31:58.319
rather than to the act.
00:31:58.320 --> 00:32:01.239
A pardon forgives
not the act of murder,
00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:04.159
but the murderer in as much
as he\"s worth,
00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:06.439
more than all
that he has done.\"
00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.959
♪
00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:10.999
Again, some interesting
issues, you know?
00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:15.159
Some people thought
we are against death penalty
00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:17.039
on all regards of the...
00:32:17.040 --> 00:32:19.678
Now, why should we make
an exception here?
00:32:19.679 --> 00:32:22.678
Isn\"t that gonna make us
a little bit like
00:32:22.679 --> 00:32:25.479
those whom we are trying,
you know,
00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:27.159
that use bloody politics?
00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:29.639
Isn\"t that... we were
victims of that,
00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:32.239
aren\"t we playing that?
00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:35.678
Then there was an issue of, um,
00:32:35.679 --> 00:32:38.279
another issue, this will bring
00:32:38.280 --> 00:32:40.678
a false closure to the issue.
00:32:40.679 --> 00:32:44.678
This one being
Scholem\"s issue, you know?
00:32:44.679 --> 00:32:46.119
Um, which is interesting.
00:32:46.120 --> 00:32:50.079
Then Arendt thought,
you know, he should be killed,
00:32:50.080 --> 00:32:51.679
he should be left to die,
00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:53.959
but he shouldn\"t
be killed judicially
00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:57.079
because that makes Eichmann part
00:32:57.080 --> 00:32:59.919
of the civilized world.
00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:02.639
Because, after all,
putting someone
00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:07.678
into a trial is considering
a member of the political body.
00:33:07.679 --> 00:33:11.199
He\"s not a member of
the political body, Eichmann.
00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:13.678
So there were all these issues
00:33:13.679 --> 00:33:16.359
about the death penalty
that philosophers
00:33:16.360 --> 00:33:19.678
were intrigued by,
and different arguments.
00:33:19.679 --> 00:33:23.239
And I might say,
if I look at that seriously,
00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:24.879
you know, philosophically,
00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:27.519
I think underlying
all these issues
00:33:27.520 --> 00:33:30.959
there is another issue
that has to be focused
00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:33.719
in a better way.
00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:35.839
And it\"s the following:
00:33:35.840 --> 00:33:41.639
There is something
almost triumphantly strange
00:33:41.640 --> 00:33:44.599
about that sense of justice.
00:33:44.600 --> 00:33:48.559
Here we bring to justice
the Nazis, right?
00:33:48.560 --> 00:33:51.079
We caught one of them, Eichmann.
00:33:51.080 --> 00:33:52.639
We bring him to Jerusalem,
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:55.159
and we\"re gonna show
how justice operates.
00:33:55.160 --> 00:33:56.639
And it\"s ridiculous,
00:33:56.640 --> 00:33:59.039
because you\"re talking
about retribution.
00:33:59.040 --> 00:34:01.439
There are six million
people dying there,
00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:03.079
and you caught one,
just, you know,
00:34:03.080 --> 00:34:05.639
a major criminal,
but it\"s nothing.
00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:09.119
What are you talking
about justice here?
00:34:09.120 --> 00:34:11.519
The Protecting Power
for Holland,
00:34:11.520 --> 00:34:13.999
it was decided
to enact a special law
00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:16.759
whereby Dutch Jews,
like those of the Reich,
00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:18.799
would lose their nationality
the moment
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:20.678
they crossed the State frontier
00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:23.919
on their journey eastwards.
00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:27.559
Zoepf was enjoined
to carry out the orders
00:34:27.560 --> 00:34:28.080
to the letter,
00:34:28.081 --> 00:34:31.678
and indeed the second half
of 1943 was a period
00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:33.479
of increased activity.
00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:39.999
The trains rolled eastwards
loaded with their human cargo.
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.039
What was the nature
of the trial here in Israel?
00:34:43.040 --> 00:34:46.559
Wouldn\"t you say
it was just, uh,
00:34:46.560 --> 00:34:48.879
juridical trial or was it also
00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:50.319
an historical trial or...
00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:54.678
Okay, first of all I have
to explain something basic,
00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:59.678
the terms \"show trial\"
and \"historical trial\"
00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:02.678
are, um, cultural concepts,
00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:04.519
they are not judicial concepts.
00:35:04.520 --> 00:35:09.199
The only concept, uh,
jurisdiction acknowledges
00:35:09.200 --> 00:35:12.439
is the concept of, uh,
00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:13.678
a criminal trial.
00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:19.079
Now, the Eichmann trial
was basically
00:35:19.080 --> 00:35:19.680
a criminal trial.
00:35:19.681 --> 00:35:24.879
Yet, it deviated
from a regular criminal law
00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:26.959
in many aspects.
00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:30.399
The first is that
many of the weaknesses,
00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:32.999
against the defendant,
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:38.319
were testifying on
the issues that he had
00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:39.320
nothing to do with.
00:35:39.321 --> 00:35:43.759
At least, I think, 60% of what
was told of the Shoah
00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:45.919
had nothing to do with Eichmann.
00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:50.719
The second,
witnesses for the defense,
00:35:50.720 --> 00:35:52.159
in favor of the defense,
00:35:52.160 --> 00:35:56.959
were not allowed to come
to testify in the trial.
00:35:56.960 --> 00:36:01.079
The third one, his defense
00:36:01.080 --> 00:36:04.319
was made by two German lawyers
00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:09.479
who were really
unfamiliar with Israeli law.
00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:12.679
And the trial was
conducted in Hebrew.
00:36:12.680 --> 00:36:14.759
So, everything was translated.
00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:19.678
So, this is a very
problematic judicial process.
00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:23.719
So, I took the...
The culture term
00:36:23.720 --> 00:36:28.799
of \"historical trial\"
both because it unveiled
00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:33.399
and unfolded
the story of the Shoah
00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:36.359
for the first time ever.
00:36:36.360 --> 00:36:42.079
And the story of the Shoah
is a very important story
00:36:42.080 --> 00:36:43.519
to be unfolded.
00:36:43.520 --> 00:36:48.678
It really changed
the whole moral, uh,
00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:52.678
ethical, judicial, uh...
00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:56.920
narrative and discourse
of the 20th century.
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:11.520
(film reel rolling)
00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:42.199
I think at the end...
00:37:42.200 --> 00:37:47.559
because the trial had
unexpected consequences
00:37:47.560 --> 00:37:49.678
that actually nobody predicted,
00:37:49.679 --> 00:37:52.999
which is give voice
to the survivors
00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:55.599
the first time.
00:37:55.600 --> 00:37:56.520
It was worth it.
00:37:56.521 --> 00:37:58.759
Not because it brought justice,
00:37:58.760 --> 00:38:02.119
but because it happened
to be for, actually,
00:38:02.120 --> 00:38:06.119
psychologically and socially
00:38:06.120 --> 00:38:07.439
understandable reasons.
00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:10.399
It happened to be
the only platform
00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:14.599
where that voice
began to be heard.
00:38:14.600 --> 00:38:15.879
(speaking Hebrew)
00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:17.519
You entered the crematorium.
00:38:17.520 --> 00:38:18.678
Yes, I entered the crematorium.
00:38:18.679 --> 00:38:20.279
Saw the inside
of the crematorium?
00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:26.039
Yes, we had to go there
in order to obtain the wood
00:38:26.040 --> 00:38:29.678
which was said to be used
for the burning.
00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:33.919
We had to, uh,
take some of the wood
00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:36.678
to the camps from
the crematorium.
00:38:36.679 --> 00:38:39.479
And when there was still time,
00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:41.359
and when it was very cold,
00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:43.678
the kapo of this under commander
00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:45.919
took pity on us and said,
00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:49.239
\"Children,
it\"s very cold outside,
00:38:49.240 --> 00:38:54.119
perhaps you can get warm
in the gas chambers.\"
00:38:54.120 --> 00:38:57.399
And from then on,
really, the discourse
00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:00.399
has dramatically changed
in a very,
00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:02.119
very important way.
00:39:02.120 --> 00:39:06.359
So, you know,
all political moments
00:39:06.360 --> 00:39:09.439
have unintended consequences.
00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:11.879
This was one
unintended consequence
00:39:11.880 --> 00:39:17.239
that made the whole trial
retroactively worthwhile.
00:39:17.240 --> 00:39:20.319
Though it wasn\"t any sense
of doing justice,
00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:23.319
but it did some justice
with the victims
00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:24.519
and the survivors.
00:39:24.520 --> 00:39:26.159
Not by killing Eichmann,
00:39:26.160 --> 00:39:28.678
but by allowing him,
allowing them
00:39:28.679 --> 00:39:30.919
emerging before a nation
and says,
00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:32.879
\"This is our story.\"
00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:35.919
And a whole generation
of Israelis
00:39:35.920 --> 00:39:40.239
was transformed by that, right?
00:39:40.240 --> 00:39:43.439
Um, you know,
I come from a family...
00:39:43.440 --> 00:39:46.678
My father was a survivor,
00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:48.719
and, you know, I was too little
00:39:48.720 --> 00:39:53.519
at the time
to understand that...
00:39:53.520 --> 00:39:54.959
what\"s happening.
00:39:54.960 --> 00:40:00.039
But the fact that here comes
a whole generation of survivors
00:40:00.040 --> 00:40:02.678
who were silenced, basically,
00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:03.879
and could have a voice.
00:40:03.880 --> 00:40:07.359
Now, Israelis allowed
themselves to listen
00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:09.519
to that voice because
it\"s the first time
00:40:09.520 --> 00:40:13.760
they can listen to it
from a position of power.
00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:17.480
(rustling papers)
00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:24.399
See, what is so
interesting here...
00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:28.479
that was on my protocol
00:40:28.480 --> 00:40:30.959
from the Eichmann trial.
00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:33.799
You see, 7601.
00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:36.039
And here you have Eichmann,
00:40:36.040 --> 00:40:40.239
and that is one
of the, um, judges.
00:40:40.240 --> 00:40:42.678
Put it on the same paper.
00:40:42.679 --> 00:40:44.960
That\"s original.
00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:46.920
That\"s very strange.
00:40:46.921 --> 00:40:50.799
And that is my
transport list when I came
00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:53.039
from Theresienstadt
to Auschwitz,
00:40:53.040 --> 00:40:57.279
and I got it... I found it
in an Auschwitz museum.
00:40:57.280 --> 00:40:59.479
It\"s my list with my name.
00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:00.120
It\"s your family?
00:41:00.121 --> 00:41:02.678
Yeah, all the Bakons,
there were father,
00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:04.839
mother, and sister.
00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:08.080
Nobody came back, only me.
00:41:11.080 --> 00:41:19.080
♪
00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:35.759
I was invited to the town
from where I came, it\"s Ostrów,
00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:41.679
and suddenly I saw
a group of Germans, elderly.
00:41:41.680 --> 00:41:45.599
In my eyes, I was 16,
00:41:45.600 --> 00:41:48.079
and they had to shovel snow,
00:41:48.080 --> 00:41:52.519
and I thought,
\"Hah, now I am here,
00:41:52.520 --> 00:41:56.559
and I can take a stone
and throw at them
00:41:56.560 --> 00:41:58.678
and take revenge!\"
00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:01.678
But, but I\"m a little child,
00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:04.600
revenge for my father.
00:42:06.760 --> 00:42:13.439
And then I thought
the ashes of my father
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.039
who was somewhere thrown
in Vistula,
00:42:16.040 --> 00:42:19.559
they took the ashes from
the crematorium in Auschwitz
00:42:19.560 --> 00:42:21.639
and throw it in Vistula,
00:42:21.640 --> 00:42:23.519
it will not come up.
00:42:23.520 --> 00:42:26.678
He will not be resurrected.
00:42:26.679 --> 00:42:29.999
I don\"t know if this
old German...
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:33.679
if they really
are good or bad Germans,
00:42:33.680 --> 00:42:34.719
what they are.
00:42:34.720 --> 00:42:38.919
But they will hate,
and they will hate more,
00:42:38.920 --> 00:42:42.079
and they will hate thirds on,
00:42:42.080 --> 00:42:44.359
because they\"ve been punished...
00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:46.159
They will be punished
for something
00:42:46.160 --> 00:42:47.959
they maybe haven\"t done.
00:42:47.960 --> 00:42:52.719
It... I wasn\"t interested
in this case,
00:42:52.720 --> 00:42:56.919
but then it came something
to me this thought,
00:42:56.920 --> 00:43:00.279
what we... that is
a question of hate,
00:43:00.280 --> 00:43:03.759
it will go further on
and further on.
00:43:03.760 --> 00:43:06.159
What can you do against it?
00:43:06.160 --> 00:43:08.799
Is this a solution?
00:43:08.800 --> 00:43:11.239
♪
00:43:11.240 --> 00:43:13.599
(whispered chatter)
00:43:13.600 --> 00:43:21.600
♪
00:43:38.120 --> 00:43:42.079
Justice is basically
monopolizing revenge, right?
00:43:42.080 --> 00:43:44.439
You don\"t want...
A regular state
00:43:44.440 --> 00:43:47.599
doesn\"t want revenge
to be a private business,
00:43:47.600 --> 00:43:49.679
because it grows and grows.
00:43:49.680 --> 00:43:51.719
It wants to...
It wants to engage
00:43:51.720 --> 00:43:56.119
in controlled actions
of retribution.
00:43:56.120 --> 00:44:02.959
And, um, revenge and justice
are not that far away, right?
00:44:02.960 --> 00:44:06.678
Because justice,
the kind of instinct of justice
00:44:06.679 --> 00:44:07.679
is retribution.
00:44:07.680 --> 00:44:11.039
An eye for an eye, right?
00:44:11.040 --> 00:44:13.639
And the State taking over,
00:44:13.640 --> 00:44:17.359
politics, basically, takes over
00:44:17.360 --> 00:44:20.678
and monopolizes revenge,
00:44:20.679 --> 00:44:23.679
and says this is justice.
00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:26.678
(muffled announcer
speaking Hebrew)
00:44:26.679 --> 00:44:30.119
On December 15th, 1961
Hugo Bergmann writes,
00:44:30.120 --> 00:44:34.199
\"Eichmann has been
given the death sentence.
00:44:34.200 --> 00:44:35.080
I heard the news on the radio
00:44:35.081 --> 00:44:37.678
and my heart leapt
when I heard Hausner state
00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:39.319
that the tribunal
was forced by law
00:44:39.320 --> 00:44:43.599
to pronounce the death sentence.
00:44:43.600 --> 00:44:44.678
The end seemed more humane
00:44:44.679 --> 00:44:47.519
as the presiding judge
said that the convict
00:44:47.520 --> 00:44:49.600
could appeal.\"
00:44:53.679 --> 00:45:00.959
♪
00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:02.879
On his side,
Martin Buber requests
00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:06.039
a meeting with
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
00:45:06.040 --> 00:45:10.799
♪
00:45:10.800 --> 00:45:12.079
\"A few weeks ago Buber told me
00:45:12.080 --> 00:45:15.319
that he wished
to speak to me in private
00:45:15.320 --> 00:45:17.159
about some matter.
00:45:17.160 --> 00:45:19.399
But first he wanted
to come to me.
00:45:19.400 --> 00:45:21.879
But I told him
that I was younger than he,
00:45:21.880 --> 00:45:25.519
and I would therefore go to him.
00:45:25.520 --> 00:45:28.519
I arrived at 7:30
in the evening.
00:45:28.520 --> 00:45:30.678
He said he wished
to talk about Eichmann,
00:45:30.679 --> 00:45:32.799
that Eichmann
shouldn\"t be hanged,
00:45:32.800 --> 00:45:34.719
but handed over
to another country
00:45:34.720 --> 00:45:37.199
or sentenced
to life imprisonment.
00:45:37.200 --> 00:45:39.999
If we hang him,
a new myth would be created,
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:42.399
a myth for generations to come.
00:45:42.400 --> 00:45:45.199
A new Antichrist myth.
00:45:45.200 --> 00:45:47.079
Although he had always
been against
00:45:47.080 --> 00:45:47.920
the death penalty,
00:45:47.921 --> 00:45:50.399
it was not for this
reason that he opposed
00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:51.599
the execution,
00:45:51.600 --> 00:45:53.159
but because of the disproportion
00:45:53.160 --> 00:45:56.678
between the crime
and the punishment.
00:45:56.679 --> 00:45:57.679
I let him talk, and I told him
00:45:57.680 --> 00:45:59.359
that I wouldn\"t
be sorry if Eichmann
00:45:59.360 --> 00:46:02.079
happened to die
before the verdict,
00:46:02.080 --> 00:46:04.599
because I considered
putting him on trial
00:46:04.600 --> 00:46:06.079
the most important thing.
00:46:06.080 --> 00:46:08.639
Not just Eichmann,
but all the Nazis,
00:46:08.640 --> 00:46:11.678
so that the young
generation in Israel will know,
00:46:11.679 --> 00:46:13.079
and so that the world
public opinion
00:46:13.080 --> 00:46:15.678
will remember a trial
that at first
00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:18.399
was opposed by many.
00:46:18.400 --> 00:46:20.919
As for me,
I have no need for revenge,
00:46:20.920 --> 00:46:25.199
because how can the murder
of six million be avenged?
00:46:25.200 --> 00:46:28.678
But according to the law,
he deserves the death penalty.
00:46:28.679 --> 00:46:31.359
There\"s no greater
punishment than this.
00:46:31.360 --> 00:46:33.919
Anything less is not possible.
00:46:33.920 --> 00:46:36.678
We agreed to disagree.\"
00:46:36.679 --> 00:46:41.679
♪
00:46:42.679 --> 00:46:45.679
Ben-Gurion disagreed.
00:46:45.680 --> 00:46:48.879
He listened to him, uh,
00:46:48.880 --> 00:46:52.678
there is even a record
of the meeting,
00:46:52.679 --> 00:46:56.199
uh, but he thought that...
00:46:56.200 --> 00:46:58.719
He thought that Buber
did not make
00:46:58.720 --> 00:47:02.199
a strong enough case
in order to change his mind
00:47:02.200 --> 00:47:06.559
about Eichmann\"s final verdict.
00:47:06.560 --> 00:47:07.200
What would you think...
00:47:07.201 --> 00:47:10.639
But he brought it back
to the government
00:47:10.640 --> 00:47:12.480
for discussion.
00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:20.678
Eichmann\"s appeal
is rejected on May 29th, 1962.
00:47:20.679 --> 00:47:22.759
A few hours later,
Ben-Gurion sets up a meeting
00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:25.678
and informs his government
of his conversation
00:47:25.679 --> 00:47:27.678
with Martin Buber.
00:47:27.679 --> 00:47:30.439
Prosecutor Hausner restates
that one of the functions
00:47:30.440 --> 00:47:33.239
of the president
is to grant pardon.
00:47:33.240 --> 00:47:35.999
Ben-Gurion then asks
who among his ministers
00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:38.279
would support this possibility?
00:47:38.280 --> 00:47:42.039
Finance minister Levi Eshkol
favors reducing the sentence,
00:47:42.040 --> 00:47:44.599
which would be proceeded
by a public announcement
00:47:44.600 --> 00:47:47.879
explaining the reason why.
00:47:47.880 --> 00:47:49.678
Dov Yosef, minister of justice,
00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:51.678
does not see why Israel
should conduct itself
00:47:51.679 --> 00:47:54.719
any differently
than any other nation.
00:47:54.720 --> 00:47:56.959
He recalls that 77
death sentences
00:47:56.960 --> 00:47:59.639
were pronounced in Nuremberg.
00:47:59.640 --> 00:48:01.519
♪
00:48:01.520 --> 00:48:04.199
For Golda Meir,
minister of foreign affairs,
00:48:04.200 --> 00:48:06.719
no nation in the world
would in a similar case
00:48:06.720 --> 00:48:08.678
have shown any
Christian charity,
00:48:08.679 --> 00:48:11.719
whereas everyone demands it
of the Jewish people,
00:48:11.720 --> 00:48:13.159
Jews and non-Jews.
00:48:13.160 --> 00:48:15.999
She is not prepared to go along
with the philosophers.
00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:18.519
She knows what sources
steeped in humanism
00:48:18.520 --> 00:48:20.519
have inspired these thoughts,
00:48:20.520 --> 00:48:22.678
but is opposed to them.
00:48:22.679 --> 00:48:30.679
♪
00:48:34.600 --> 00:48:36.678
(vehicle alarm chirps)
00:48:36.679 --> 00:48:38.879
On the same evening,
Martin Buber gathers
00:48:38.880 --> 00:48:40.599
the last signatures
for the petition
00:48:40.600 --> 00:48:42.599
requesting that
the death sentence
00:48:42.600 --> 00:48:43.919
be commuted.
00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:46.199
Over the telephone
he announces to Hugo Bergmann
00:48:46.200 --> 00:48:49.479
that he has obtained 20
out of the 30 they hoped for.
00:48:49.480 --> 00:48:52.079
One of them, that of their
friend the painter,
00:48:52.080 --> 00:48:55.279
Yehuda Bakon.
00:48:55.280 --> 00:49:03.280
♪
00:49:18.120 --> 00:49:22.319
On May 31st, 1962
Eichmann\"s appeal for pardon
00:49:22.320 --> 00:49:23.479
is refused.
00:49:23.480 --> 00:49:25.678
In the margin of
the philosopher\"s petition,
00:49:25.679 --> 00:49:28.039
President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
writes a verse
00:49:28.040 --> 00:49:29.999
from the book of Samuel.
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:32.678
\"As thy sword
hath made women childless,
00:49:32.679 --> 00:49:36.839
so shall thy mother
be childless among women.\"
00:49:36.840 --> 00:49:39.320
(dog barking)
00:49:42.679 --> 00:49:45.040
(speaking Hebrew)
00:52:55.800 --> 00:52:57.159
♪
00:52:57.160 --> 00:53:00.519
On June 1st Hugo Bergmann
wrote in his journal,
00:53:00.520 --> 00:53:02.079
\"Early this morning Else told me
00:53:02.080 --> 00:53:03.678
that Eichmann had been hanged.
00:53:03.679 --> 00:53:06.199
There was to be a meeting
at my house at 10 o\"clock,
00:53:06.200 --> 00:53:09.799
but instead it was
held at the radio station.
00:53:09.800 --> 00:53:12.360
(speaking Hebrew)
00:54:36.679 --> 00:54:40.239
Bergmann framed the issue
in the larger, I think,
00:54:40.240 --> 00:54:44.639
in that respect
from the three of them
00:54:44.640 --> 00:54:48.279
he brought maybe a deeper issue,
00:54:48.280 --> 00:54:51.719
because it wasn\"t related
to the particular understanding
00:54:51.720 --> 00:54:54.119
of the event vis-à-vis
the relation
00:54:54.120 --> 00:54:55.879
between Jews and Germans
and the like,
00:54:55.880 --> 00:55:00.919
it was an internal
Jewish problem.
00:55:00.920 --> 00:55:02.759
And he saw in...
00:55:02.760 --> 00:55:08.999
in the emerging modern
Jewish history this clash
00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:10.000
in the tradition
00:55:10.001 --> 00:55:12.239
that exists already
in tradition.
00:55:12.240 --> 00:55:13.639
There are two voices.
00:55:13.640 --> 00:55:14.919
One is...
00:55:14.920 --> 00:55:18.399
You know, both are very
particularistic,
00:55:18.400 --> 00:55:21.678
but the one voice it says,
you know,
00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:25.239
the memory of the Holocaust
like all memories of pain
00:55:25.240 --> 00:55:32.439
in our tradition are about
solidarity with victims
00:55:32.440 --> 00:55:33.999
because we were victims.
00:55:34.000 --> 00:55:37.678
And there is this idea of,
you know, remember the stranger
00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:41.439
because you were
a stranger in Egypt.
00:55:41.440 --> 00:55:44.879
Very deep in
the Jewish tradition.
00:55:44.880 --> 00:55:47.599
Then you have
other voices, right?
00:55:47.600 --> 00:55:50.479
Which is not about
\"turn your memory
00:55:50.480 --> 00:55:53.678
into a moment of solidarity
00:55:53.679 --> 00:55:54.719
with the vulnerable,\"
00:55:54.720 --> 00:55:59.559
but actually remember
so you can revenge, you know?
00:55:59.560 --> 00:56:04.479
This is the Amalek
commandment, you know.
00:56:04.480 --> 00:56:08.279
Don\"t forget
what they have done to you.
00:56:08.280 --> 00:56:12.679
And he thought that this
trial will play into
00:56:12.680 --> 00:56:16.719
this voice in the tradition,
00:56:16.720 --> 00:56:19.759
and it will strengthen
tendencies
00:56:19.760 --> 00:56:23.479
within a rather ambivalent
complex traditions
00:56:23.480 --> 00:56:25.399
that he didn\"t like.
00:56:25.400 --> 00:56:28.678
And for good reasons.
00:56:28.679 --> 00:56:31.678
Um, and he thought
that\"s a wrong
00:56:31.679 --> 00:56:35.119
educational message
of who we are
00:56:35.120 --> 00:56:37.199
and what we are as people,
00:56:37.200 --> 00:56:38.599
and what Judaism is,
00:56:38.600 --> 00:56:41.839
and how we enact
Judaism in our life,
00:56:41.840 --> 00:56:44.319
in our political life.
00:56:44.320 --> 00:56:47.279
\"For me, what is essentially
is the soul of Israel,
00:56:47.280 --> 00:56:49.239
the terrible experience
of the Holocaust
00:56:49.240 --> 00:56:51.678
has already mocked our souls.
00:56:51.679 --> 00:56:53.519
The complexes
which have tormented us
00:56:53.520 --> 00:56:56.719
for hundreds of years
have been reawakened.
00:56:56.720 --> 00:56:58.599
We face a terrible dilemma.
00:56:58.600 --> 00:57:00.279
We\"re confronted by the danger
00:57:00.280 --> 00:57:02.039
of choosing isolation,
00:57:02.040 --> 00:57:03.678
of turning away from others
00:57:03.679 --> 00:57:05.678
because they\"re uncircumcised,
00:57:05.679 --> 00:57:09.519
and of abandoning
our mission amongst nations.\"
00:57:09.520 --> 00:57:11.999
♪
00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:14.678
If you read what
Hugo Bergmann said
00:57:14.679 --> 00:57:17.439
to the letter of
(unintelligible),
00:57:17.440 --> 00:57:18.120
he was a prophet.
00:57:18.121 --> 00:57:22.678
Because he said
we should not base our life
00:57:22.679 --> 00:57:25.799
of being always in the position
00:57:25.800 --> 00:57:28.359
of a persecuted nation,
00:57:28.360 --> 00:57:31.678
of being persecuted
and hated by all nations.
00:57:31.679 --> 00:57:37.039
We should base our lives
in being an integral part
00:57:37.040 --> 00:57:39.679
of the family of nations.
00:57:39.680 --> 00:57:41.639
He was right.
00:57:41.640 --> 00:57:44.399
In a way, um...
00:57:44.400 --> 00:57:46.959
In the aftermaths
of the Eichmann trial,
00:57:46.960 --> 00:57:48.678
compared with
the Six-Day War
00:57:48.679 --> 00:57:51.119
and the Yom Kippur War,
especially,
00:57:51.120 --> 00:57:53.679
the Shoah became
the central element
00:57:53.680 --> 00:57:57.678
of the Israeli
national identity.
00:57:57.679 --> 00:57:59.799
Simple as that.
00:57:59.800 --> 00:58:01.959
Actually, we...
00:58:01.960 --> 00:58:04.799
we measure, we estimate,
00:58:04.800 --> 00:58:11.359
we weigh our existential
situation and condition
00:58:11.360 --> 00:58:12.639
to the Shoah.
00:58:12.640 --> 00:58:14.759
I mean, Iran is the Shoah,
00:58:14.760 --> 00:58:16.399
a Palestinian state
is the Shoah,
00:58:16.400 --> 00:58:19.678
everything is
an existential threat
00:58:19.679 --> 00:58:23.119
because we have
the Shoah as the compass
00:58:23.120 --> 00:58:26.879
by which we weigh
our existential condition
00:58:26.880 --> 00:58:29.999
and our existential decisions.
00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:32.719
This is, in my eyes,
00:58:32.720 --> 00:58:35.079
um, a national catastrophe,
00:58:35.080 --> 00:58:38.959
because we cannot
deal with anything
00:58:38.960 --> 00:58:41.879
with the present reality,
00:58:41.880 --> 00:58:43.239
with the actual present reality.
00:58:43.240 --> 00:58:47.239
We are overshadowed
with the trauma of the Shoah,
00:58:47.240 --> 00:58:50.678
which is never a wise, um,
00:58:50.679 --> 00:58:55.159
conciliation to make
a reasonable decision.
00:58:55.160 --> 00:58:59.479
I do believe that in a way
tampers also the...
00:58:59.480 --> 00:59:02.839
the peace process, which is,
00:59:02.840 --> 00:59:05.678
to my ideological point of view,
00:59:05.679 --> 00:59:10.039
a very problematic affair.
00:59:10.040 --> 00:59:18.040
♪
Distributor: Icarus Films
Length: 60 minutes
Date: 2014
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Color/BW: /
Closed Captioning: Available
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