In my view there are few people who sit more highly than Simon Wiesenthal.
I have huge regard for him not only because of his mission, but of the WAY he carried out his mission.
And by that, I mean that he was (or seemed) tireless, painstaking, wholly committed and would stop at nothing to try to find nasties, wherever in the world they'd tried to hide.
The man - while utterly driven - appeared to me to be a gentle man, too. A gentleman, if you will.
And yet his steel and resolve was without question.
I have no criticism of the man at all.
And with my enthusiasm, and respect, I started supporting the Simon Wiesenthal Center (I live in New York, born British).
I do believe the "all it takes for evil to prosper is for enough good men to do nothing" credo. I do believe in strong, affirmative (Israeli) action, more than the (British) "hang on chaps, let's all be reasonable" approach.
Yet, SWC is, to my ears and eyes, sometimes in danger of nearing the "extremist" stance on almost everything.
I do happen to believe the world is basically mildly anti-Semitic. But i kinda accept it and I know it's not about to change any time soon. But part of being Jewish is knowing that and knowing that you are always in a minority, always "different" - and after a while you grow to accept that. There is a price for wearing your views and beliefs on your sleeve - and upholding traditions - and without that (mild) 'suffering' one (and I realize I'm way stretching the point here!) loses a bit of the Jewishness a bit of the defiance, a bit of the strength, a bit of the humor.
I don't mean to be disrespectful - and I hesitate to say this in the shadow of the great SW, but does the SWC protest just a bit too hard? Is it a bit too 'militant'? or do we actually need that sharp, bleeding edge of honesty and vigilance to keep us well fed, lazy, comfortable slobs informed as to what's actually going on?
I genuinely don't know.
Anyone?