Hillel Scheinfeld

@hschein

Experienced Chief Operating Officer with a proven history of success in the technology industry from startups to large companies. Looking for my next adventure!

Israel

Joined November 2008

170 Following

236 Followers

448 Posts

hschein retweeted

Michael Eisenberg

@mikeeisenberg

over 2 years ago

1939 and 2024 - Nihilists Versus Creativists In Auschwitz’ today I experienced hope and uncertainty, old and new sadness. I left worried and optimistic about the rhymes and rhythms of history. I also left with Tikva, hope, HaTikva. My son called as I left Warsaw this morning to head to the March of the Living at Auschwitz. “Hi Dad. They are taking my phone away. I guess we are going back into Gaza.” Gulp. “I am proud of you,” I said. “I love you. Keep your head up and knock em dead.” The sages teach us that he who is compassionate to cruel people will ultimately come to be cruel to compassionate people. Cruel people should be shown no compassion. I arrived at the March of the Living as it was already in progress, passing many cities and towns that Jews came from before World War II. As my wife says: Towns from stories we all heard as kids. Outside the March, a small group of pro-Hamas or Palestinian protestors were shouting at the marchers (pictured below). I could not make out what they were saying. I joined up with Dan Fefferman and Sharaka for the March. Sharaka brings Jews and Muslims together to promote co-existence and a better future. I marched into Auschwitz with Alina One, the brave Muslim woman who spoke at the Washington Rally against anti-semitism. I walked in with Suleiman of Atidna, a Muslim Israeli group mainstreaming into Israeli society founded by the late Daliah Fadida, who tragically passed away last year. I walked in with Yaara, and Yusuf and Deba, some in Hijabs and others with Moroccan caps and some with stars of David. At the entrance to Auschwitz I stopped to think about Zayde, my wife’s grandfather who passed away a couple of years ago and survived four concentration camps. My first thought was “never again is now.” My second thought was “as zaida was leaving the concentration camps after years, where did he think he could go? Where would he go other than to look for his mother who he did not even know if she was alive!” I paused to contemplate the uncertainty of a young survivor whose entire youth was enveloped with hatred of Jews. That was 1945. I have been thinking a lot about the current time we are living in. Why is an Islamic theocracy in Iran partnered with communist Russia? I think I know. In the horseshoe theory of politics the fringes are closer than you think even if one is called right and the other is called left. The world is divided into two types of people today. Nihilists and creativists. Iran and Russia are nihilists. One sees no value in this world because the radical islamists like Hamas and Tehran see a better world packed with virgins and sweets in the next world. Russian communist ideology sees no value in the human spirit or in creating a better future. Putin is a nihilist. The same is true on college campuses. These young stupid kids have been fed nihilism. The climate crisis will destroy the world so why have children. The pandemic eradicated social behavior and let more nihilism seep in. They have no families and their parents birthed them at such a late age that they have no connection to the past. They are unrooted. They hate Jews and Israel because we create and procreate and refuse to give in to this nihilism. They hate moderate Muslims and chase them out of influential positions because people like Anila want to create in this world. Want to make space for others to create. Nihilists have a keen sense for weakness in others. They sense a vacuum that can create space for their destruction. The only way to beat back a nihilist is to stop them harshly. Because they have little to lose, because they are not trying to create this world, only severe punishment works. They nihilists sense the fecklessness of university presidents who gave a foot and then had these students take a mile. For example, Columbia graduation was cancelled because meek Shoufik did not beat this back immediately and forcefully. The nihilists have nothing to lose, those who did not beat them back and cowered caused thousands of wonderful students to wonder forever what a college graduation ceremony would be like. The Nazi nihilists wiped out 6 million Jews because for years nobody stood up. Nobody said “not letting this happen on my watch”. Rabbi Marc Schneier said on stage at the March of the Living Ceremony that 2024 is not 1939. Humbly that depends. It depends on a coalition of the willing. A creativist coalition that wants to make this a better world. We have allies but we all need to stand up together. We must build A brave civic and leadership coalition, one willing to take risks like our children did when they put everything aside to defend their country and western values. We must commit to make the world better for our children and grandchildren which starts by having them. We must insist on a coalition of leaders who put principle ahead of politics. We have to take personal risk, like our children, to make it happen. That young survivor Abram Kurcfeld who became Zayde has great grandchildren who rose to the moment. One Of them was now Back on his way to Gaza as I was walking into Auschwitz. Never again is now I thought. When I walked into Auschwitz I knew I could go back to the sovereign state of Israel where our kids are not confused. I kept wondering where Zayde thought he was going in 1945. One of the people I met walking with Sharaka told me that the pro-Hamas protestors were shouting that we should all go back into Auschwitz and perish there and were uploading videos of it to TikTok. Nihilism is back. It is back on college campuses and it is back at the gates of Auschwitz on Holocaust Remembrance Day. But I could go back to the sovereign state of Israel. The land of Hatikva - of hope. The grandchildren and great grandchildren of Zayde are having none of it. We are standing up. Building coalitions with other creativist and optimistic children of Abraham. I marched with many of them today. The big question is are you standing up? Are you beating back Nihilism and Nihilists. Are you building the future for our people, our kids and the other compassionate children of Abraham? If not, get out of our way. The ceremony ended with the singing of Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem. Hatikva means hope. We have hope and optimism to offer the world. Khameni, Hamas and Putin have nothing to offer. They are Nihilists. I sang Hatikva and looked around at the kids draped in Israeli flags, my co-marchers in hijabs and people from all over the world and I said thank God I have where to go. We must recommit to make Israel and the world a beacon of hope and creativity. Of excellence and Tikva. We owe it to Zayde and to our kids and grandkids to make it so. Pictures in next tweets.