Things, Not People

Jewish news service JTA today posted an op-ed by the chief executive of B'nai B'rith. It's all about Holocaust material claims, without a mention of survivors as people. Justice for living Holocaust survivors, an appalling number of whom live in poverty and inadequate health care, is not an abstract concept. It has direct consequences for the quality of life of survivors. It is the fundamental reason all this is being done: doing right by and for the survivors.

Sometimes advocates for resolving Holocaust assets issues remember to talk with some compassion -- even if it's just lip service -- about the survivors among us. But today, that seems to have slipped the collective mind of B'nai B'rith's leadership. It makes one wonder about the real motives behind efforts in 2009 to revive the Holocaust assets campaigns. If those claiming to "lead" the effort have such myopia, what moral standing can they really claim?