But before I go, I wanted to leave you, the reader, the Heebonics acolytes, with something to mull over as this blog goes forward without me: "Remember the Roma."
Our sister ship, the good ol' Canadian Jewish News, has this topic covered from head to toe. In fact, it was one of the first Canadian newspapers to fully expose the issue. But the important thing to remember is that the Roma are now going through what we, the Jews, went through in Eastern Europe some 80 odd years ago. They're being accosted. Minimized. Stigmatized. Marginalized. Attacked, both physically and psychologically. And worst of all, they're in danger of being forgotten by the world community; Jews included.''
For a breakdown of what's happened and ongoing in Eastern Europe, particularly in Hungary, a good place to begin with The CJN's in-depth reportage. Follow the links embedded in these stories, but don't be afraid to delve deeper for yourself. The Roma are the canaries in the coalmine. And classical anti-Semitism is also once again rampant in Eastern Europe, with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Ukraine prime hotspots. This is to say nothing of the heightening Islamo-Judeo tensions in France and England and all the anti-Israel and covert anti-Semitism that goes along with that situation. But that's another story.
As our grandparents, parents and sages have all told us: NEVER FORGET. For those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. It's a cliche'd saying, but remains truth nonetheless. For the Jews and now for modern-day Roma, speak out! Learn! Advocate!
2011's A People Uncounted. The documentary is a must-see for those wanting to understand the Roma-Jewish ties to the Holocaust.
The Roma and Jewish communities are tied together through a shared tragedy: the Shoah. Or, as the Roma have termed it - the Porajmos (the devouring). History shows that Hitler's "final solution" singled out not just one, but two peoples for genocide: the Jews and the Roma (pejoratively known to most of the world as "Gypsies"). While six million Jews perished in the Holocaust, anywhere from 500,000 to two million Roma were slaughtered as well. And some experts believe the ceiling on the Roma death count is likely much higher.
History is no longer just threatening the Roma - and to a smaller extent, Jews - in Hungary. It is outright menacing them.
So, as I take my leave from this space, I thank all the readers of Heebonics for your time and attention to everything we've done on this site. There's much more to come. Make sure you come along for the ride. Just don't forget, that amidst all the jocularity posted here, sometimes there's a cause that needs greater attention. This is one of those.
As we won't forget what our people have suffered, don't forget the Roma. We are brothers and sisters in both grief and hope.
Never again.
Blintzkrieg out.
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