|
Asylum-seeking: 'Any Jewish refugee was only accepted in Britain if a British citizen provided an assurance that the refugee would not require public financial assistance. Some churches and peace groups raised funds so that such assurances could be given, but this could help only a small proportion of those who desperately wanted to seek sanctuary in the UK. Some groups found foster homes for Jewish children, who were thus parted from their parents, as it turned out, for ever.'
Hatred: 'My first encounter with anti-Semitism came when I was only 3 years old, in 1933. My parents and I were looking out of our window when a formation of the Hitler Youth marched past, singing a song that even I understood: "When Jewish blood sprays from our knives". I can still remember the horror on my parents' faces.
I escaped to Palestine in 1943, where I was filled with hatred for the British occupying power, especially when they began to restrict the immigration of Holocaust survivors. We Jews said that we would never again go like sheep to slaughter, or not without putting up a fight. We felt we lived in a world of wild beasts, and to survive we would become like them.
When the British left in 1948 there was more fighting between Jews and Arabs, and I joined the Israeli Army: I was convinced I couldn't let myself be trampled on. My unit was detailed to an area to evict Palestinians at short notice. We didn't let them leave in peace, we turned on them in sheer hatred. We beat them and interrogated them brutally. Some were murdered. We hadn't been ordered to do this, we did it on our own initiative. Our lowest instincts had been released.
Suddenly my childhood in wartime flashed before my eyes. In my mind I relived my own experiences as a 10-year-old driven from my home town. Here too were people - men, women, children - fleeing with whatever they could carry. And there was fear in their eyes, a fear I knew myself, all too well. I was very distressed. But I was under orders, and went on searching the Palestinians for valuables. At least I was no longer a victim. I was in power.'
|
|
|
