Books and Ashes

I'm riding an Israeli bus headed for Eilot. We are supposed to have a day and a half free from lectures and deep-guided tours. Amen. I know I speak for everyone when I say this break is much needed.

Today my group went to the Holocaust museum. The architecture is pretty and the message is sentimental. At first, I was uneasy about going through the museum because as a ten year old I remember getting headaches, having nightmares, and crying because that's when I first learned about the Holocaust.

Now as a 22 year old, I felt little emotion when I stepped into the museum. I walked through the galleries, read stories, gazed at pictures and still the only emotion I could muster was a default somber. I couldn't reach a deeper level of hurt, even when I saw pictures of victims who reminded me of my family.

When we left the museum we sat through a discussion by the regional leader of an Israeli settlement. The settler proposed a full Jewish state, a full occupation of Palestinian land, he labeled all Arabs as terrorists, he would offer them separate roads to travel on, and etc. etc. etc...

I couldn't help but think that maybe semi-extremist, peripheral views like the settler's are breeding grounds for hate and fear. And this thought brought me back to the Holocaust museum. That's when the levee broke and I felt the rush of emotion that abandoned me earlier.