Israel is the safest place for Jews

As a child, the son of emigrants from Jamaica not only made friends with his Jewish neighbors, on Saturdays he worked as a shabez goy at the local synagogue, and later was an “errand boy” in a local Jewish store. When the boy grew up to become President Reagan's national security adviser, Colin Powell's neighbors said, “That's our boy! This is the boy we made!” This touching story was told by General Powell himself during a speech at the annual gala evening of the World Jewish Congress.

Representatives of more than 100 countries met at the World Jewish Congress. The congress itself was created in 1936, in Geneva, and since then has helped Jews around the world solve global and local problems. And annual meetings allow to celebrate those who helped in solving these problems.

This evening in New York was dedicated to two heroes at once: George Stevens, the Oscar-winning director who shot “The Diary of Anne Frank” in 1959, and Colin Powell, the former United States Secretary of State, who defended the rights of Israel in negotiations with the Palestinian Arabs. One was awarded the Theodor Herzl Prize. This is the highest award of the World Jewish Congress, it has already been awarded to Shimon Peres, Henry Kissinger and Joe Biden. Now it's Powell's turn. The second, George Stevens, received the Teddy Kollek Award.

Behind the scenes of the film "The Diary of Anne Frank"

“Last year, one of America's most beloved actors, Kirk Douglas, received the Teddy Kollek Award. His son Michael Douglas, who was here for the presentation, called the award an early celebration of his father’s 100th birthday,” announced convention chairman and evening host Ronald Lauder. “This year we honor another Hollywood legend, the late director George Stevens, whose extraordinary work continues to captivate us today.”

Stevens Jr. still remembers meeting Anne Frank’s father, the only Holocaust survivor from the family. Otto Frank helped the film crew with consultations, but could not bring himself to watch the finished film.

“Anne Frank's father was a military officer in the German army during the First World War. Neither his wife Edith nor his daughters Anna and Margaret survived World War II, says George Stevens Jr. — Some time after the start of our first conversation, Mr. Frank went into another room and returned with something wrapped in a tablecloth. When he unfolded the cloth, it turned out that Anna's diary was inside.

There were also photographs there. Later he took us to the Prinsengracht embankment - the place where his family hid for 2 years. He talked about how they survived. My father was so deeply touched - it was as if he heard the pure voice of this girl, transported through time. And then this wonderful film turned out. I was with my dad at the Oscars ceremony.

When we drove back and the statuette lay in the back seat between mom and grandmother, I said that I was very happy. I was only 17 years old. To which the father smiled and said sadly:

“You will understand what kind of movie we made, years through 25”. And so it happened. ”

President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder and General Colin Powell. Shahar Azran Photos

Colin Powell: American politics heavyweight from a New York Jewish store

This year's Herzl Prize recipient is General Colin Powell. He grew up in the South Bronx and, according to Ronald Lauder, knows more words in Yiddish than Lauder himself. As a child, the son of emigrants from Jamaica not only made friends with his Jewish neighbors, on Saturdays he worked as a shabez goy at the local synagogue, and later was an “errand boy” in a local Jewish store. This is what General Powell said from the floor of Congress:

“The war ended, and after 3 years the Jews received their own Jewish state. At midnight on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed. 11 minutes later, President Truman recognized the state in a document that was only 6 lines long - 2 paragraphs of 3 lines each. At the end of the 6th line, “new Jewish state” was printed. Truman took a pen, crossed it out and wrote by hand (as preserved in the official document) “State of Israel.” And there is no mistake in his decision and in his vision.

Photo trumanlibrary.org

Theodor Herzl’s vision and prophecy became a reality many years after his death, and America’s dedication, America’s alliance and America’s support for the democratic state of Israel never hesitated, and that would never happen.

In 1948, I was only 11 years old. And I tell you, I still remember that day. I remember him because he meant so much to my neighbors in that block in the southern Bronx, where I lived!

I was born in Harlem but lived in a mixed neighborhood in the South Bronx. My parents were immigrants from Jamaica, they worked in Harlem in the clothing industry with others of ours. The Puerto Ricans had a grocery store, the Chinese had a laundry, and the Italians had a shoe workshop. But most of all there were Jews in the quarter, and I remember all their names.

At one corner was the Kaizerman bread shop (Kaiser man's bakery), and there was also a Taytlbaum pharmacy (Titleboum's drug store). There was a toy store there, and there was also a synagogue, where I was proud to work as a shabez goy. Around the corner was a kosher chicken market, and around the other corner was a Lowenstein candy store, a few meters away was a children's furniture store SixersIn which I worked as an assistant for years, I learned Yiddish there, which faithfully serves me for the last 60 years.

I won’t tell all my “Jewish stories”, otherwise it will take the whole evening. I had a lot of fun using Yiddish in the store. One of my proudest moments was when Mr. Sixers said one day, “Baby, I want you to know—the store is going to my daughters and sons-in-law—there is no future for you here. I would like you to get an education and move on!” I told him thank you - I had no intention of staying in the store, but that was not the point - he cared about me and loved me enough to give me this advice. He died, the store was sold, the family moved. The son-in-law who owned the store moved to Palm Beach - yeah, it was a good store!

When I became a national security adviser under President Reagan, my photos appeared in the newspapers and, of course, they were seen in Palm Beach. And Lou Kirchner, the son-in-law, having seen the picture, said: “This is our boy! This is the boy we did. ”

And we started hanging out again - with Lou and his wife - for the rest of their lives, and every time I came to Palm Beach, I called Lou and we sat in the lobby of the cottage The breakers where he lived. And everyone who passed by, he grabbed and said: “Meet my little friend!”.

Returning to the South Bronx ... My best memories of my Jewish neighbors are about the Klein family. Only they had a TV in our house or even in several houses in the neighborhood. And on Tuesday evening, all the children in the neighborhood came to the Kleins to watch the Goldberg and Milton Burle.

The next day (after the emergence of the state of Israel. - ForumDaily note) — On May 15, 1948, crowds of people were filled with incredible joy. There were tears and celebrations everywhere. And not only the Jews celebrated - we all celebrated, because we were happy for the Jews. We all shared their happiness, the joy of the appearance of their native land. They may not have intended to go to a new home and settle there, but their heart was there and they did everything they could to support this new state of Israel.”

Voice of Russian Jewry

Philanthropist Alexander Levin, vice-president of the Eurasian Congress, also spoke at the gala evening of the World Jewish Congress.

Vice-President of the Eurasian Congress, philanthropist Alexander Levin

“Over the past 20-30 years - not without the participation of American Jews - the position towards Israel as a single Jewish state, to one degree or another, unfortunately, has been deteriorating. American Jews are increasingly promoting liberal-left ideology and prefer not to notice that the refugees who have flooded Europe are turning it into a dangerous environment: today in Ukraine or Russia you feel much more comfortable and safer wearing a kippah and wearing tzitzit than in Paris or London .

The goal of the Euro-Asian Congress is for the American Jewish community, which has enormous influence on American foreign policy, to accept the State of Israel as a state created by the will of Heaven for the Jewish people.

And I am grateful to President Trump and his Administration, who are doing a great job today to maintain peace in the region. I am deeply convinced that if he is allowed, he will be able to shift the focus of the international community towards the support of Israel. Unfortunately, numerous Jewish organizations are not united in their vision of the statehood of Israel. Even here, at the World Jewish Congress, there are delegates with left-wing political views, for whom the geography of the state of Israel is unprincipled. As followers of the ideology of Herzl’s Zionism, they believe that the Zionist state can exist on any territory: in Africa, in the North, in Antarctica. Fortunately, the Almighty gave us precisely this land and no other, and we must do everything possible so that it is home to all Jews.

The world is changing, people see acts of terrorism all over the world, they are beginning to understand the danger around themselves, the fear and grief that the ideology of radical Islam carries with it.

The world is not safe right now, it is not safe to be anywhere, but for Jews, Israel is the safest place.

Today in Israel there is a strong right-wing political coalition, a worthy prime minister, a strong defense minister, capable of courageously responding to any challenge from our enemies. Our Prime Minister is an excellent diplomat; it is unlikely that anyone will be able to represent Israel on any world platform better than him. In a coalition with the American President and other international partners, this team will be able to ensure the security of our borders and the entire region as a whole.

Trump clearly knows that the only real American partner for the United States in the Middle East is Israel. Everything that the previous administration tried to destroy, Trump is trying to turn into something positive.

The world cannot exist without the right to a fair trial. This role must be fulfilled by the United States - with a civilized democracy, with great established laws - then this world will have a future. If the United States abandons these positions, then they will be taken by significantly less worthy countries, for example, Russia, which is trying in every possible way to corrupt major world politicians. After all, Russia’s influence does not lie in its nuclear weapons or military power, as is commonly believed, but in the simple bribery of corrupt politicians in different countries, especially in Europe. Fortunately, there are no such people among the US leadership. And in Israel too.”

The Theodor Herzl Memorial Award is presented to those leaders who promote and implement Herzl's own vision of a strong State of Israel and a secure world - for Jews and non-Jews. Colin Powell served in high government positions under five American presidents. In addition to the heads of national Jewish congresses of different countries, both George Bush, the elder and the younger, sent their congratulations on his award.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The Betrayal of Anne Frank and Her Family: A FBI Agent Personal Investigation

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9 Jews who survived the Holocaust and became famous

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