Could a Holocaust Happen in the United States?

We are in the midst of a global crisis. But the word “crisis” doesn’t deserve a bad reputation. In English, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, crisis is “the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever” or “an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life.” So, a crisis is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is certainly a dramatic situation.

The Hebrew word for “crisis” is even more interesting. Mashber, which is Hebrew for crisis, is the word that ancient Hebrew texts used to denote birth. The mashber was a special chair on which the woman in labor sat until she delivered (Mishnah, Arachin). Also, in the Torah (Isaiah 37:3), the word mashber denotes the opening of the birth canal right before the newborn baby emerges to the world. Precisely because the 21st Century is experiencing crises in almost every area of life, this critical moment in time can give birth to an evolutionary leap toward cooperative world peace if Jews reenact Abraham’s method for achieving unity above differences and share it with the world.

Ancient texts explain both such a cause and solution to antisemitism. Our sages were able to do this because they perceived the evolutionary processes that unfold in our world and could both warn people of oncoming threats, as well as offer a remedy to prevent such threats from materializing.

For instance, Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) tried to convince European Jews in the 1930s to leave Europe because he foresaw the oncoming disaster of the Holocaust. Both following his example, as well as taking heed of the recent alarming rise in antisemitism worldwide, I also feel the need to communicate this message about the root cause of antisemitism and its solution both to Jews and to non-Jews. Therefore, I extensively write and speak on the topic with the hope that, at the very least, a future mass tragedy can be prevented.

In relation to the United States, I have lectured to Jewish communities in the U.S. at various intervals over the past 20 years. During the 2000s, I was laughed at when I mentioned that antisemitism was going to become a growing issue in America.

In the 2010s, after antisemitism’s immense exponential growth, both in the numbers of antisemitic crimes and the numbers of threats, I explained how all signs were pointing to the next Holocaust emerging in America.

However, until a recent sharp rise in antisemitic attacks within a relatively close radius of time took place, I saw little response to this message among Jewish people. It is written about us that we are a stiff-necked people, i.e., we have a thick skin that makes it very hard to penetrate such awareness into our perception.

Let us now return to the topic of the perception of the threat of antisemitism in the U.S. among Jews and its prevention. The way to stop antisemitism in the United States is the same as the way to stop antisemitism anywhere in the world: to raise awareness of the root cause of the problem in order to invert the hatred between us into love.

In any case, in order to prevent a future dystopian scenario for the Jewish people in the United States, as well as elsewhere, the message for Jews in the U.S. is the same as for all Jews: it is imperative that we unite according to the tenet, “love your neighbor as yourself,” in order to become “a light unto the nations,” i.e., a conduit that passes the positive unifying force dwelling in nature to the world. If this message is not accepted through education, explanation, and promotion, then antisemitic blows and suffering will arise in order to increase our ability to absorb such a message, “softening our stiff necks,” albeit in a very undesirable way.

Today, we are reaching new global proportions of antisemitism never before seen in the world. This is because today’s world is more globally-integrated than ever. Therefore, we Jews first and foremost need to show everyone how unity above the growing hostile divisions in society is the only possible solution to humanity’s problems, and also that we possess and are ready to share a method of connection to guide our every step of the way. By implementing such a method first upon ourselves, we send positive unifying ripples throughout humanity’s consciousness, and we invite an opposite attitude from antisemitism upon ourselves in return.

In other words, as humanity witnesses increasingly positive connections between people brought about by improved connections between Jews, and the subsequent rise in happiness, support, and confidence that comes along with it, the general attitude toward this unified Jewish people would transform hostile antisemitism into an attitude that is favorable and encouraging.

However, if the Jewish people continue rejecting, ignoring, or remaining unaware of the message that Jews need to unite, then we can expect to see strengthening unity among those in society’s fringes instead of seeing unity strengthening in society’s mainstream. Such a unity around a common hatred of Jews is extremely dangerous since it is built on uniting around hatred and can thus become the infrastructure that leads to the manifestation of horrific events like the Holocaust.

It is my hope that we will divert future tragedy by beginning to realize the immensely valuable treasure we have in our hands: the method to unite among ourselves and to bring unity to humanity as a whole.

Based on the book, “The New Antisemitism: Mutation of a Long-Lived Hatred” by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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