On the first day of Hanukah, December 11, 2020, groups of Jews in a number of countries in a gesture of solidarity celebrated the festival with Uighur Muslims. Prominent Jews had already expressed concern about China's treatment of these Muslims. Former British chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks on July 22, 2020 called the treatment a moral outrage that must be challenged by the global community in the strongest possible terms. Sacks wrote that the sight of people being shaven-headed, boarded onto trains, and sent to concentration camps was particularly harrowing. They were being murdered, terrorized, victimized, and robbed of their liberties because of the way they worship God.
The parallel with the past is clear. Though one must be careful in making comparisons with the Holocaust, the abuses by China evoke general echoes of the horrors of the Holocaust, and of genocide, even if it is termed "cultural" genocide. Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, leader of Orthodox Jews, reflecting on the deep suffering by persecution of Jews throughout the ages, felt compelled to speak out about the treatment of the Uighur. The world, he said, must not allow the demonization of the Uighur. Perhaps the events in China will trigger some reflection about modern attitudes toward people and countries.........To Read More...
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