When we said “Never Again” we meant “Never Again” not just as a slogan, but as a precedence for it to never happen again. Collectively, the world witnessed horror on a massive scale, unlike anything we have seen before when Nazi Germany rounded up and killed 6 million Jews for the sole reason to exterminate a people they deemed as inferior. The world as a whole sat back and acted too late, and if they had acted sooner, many people would have many more relatives living in Europe and throughout the world. Afterward, we said, “Never Again.”
What incoming President-Elect Donald Trump is proposing is a return to a time where it was okay to discriminate against a people, whether they are Muslim, Mexican or any race that isn’t a part of his voting coalition, for the purpose of political benefit. What Mr. Trump is proposing is a backward march toward discrimination against individuals for nothing more than their skin color, heritage and beliefs. To that, Mr. Trump we still say loudly “Never Again!”
When we said “Never Again” we did not just mean a fight against Nazi’s who wished to harm Jews, no. We said “Never Again” because we told ourselves that we would never sit idly by and watch any people from any background be rounded up, discriminated against, hated against and put in danger for any reason. As a Jewish American who is married to a 1st generation American and who is friends with Muslim Americans, you better round me up, register me and detain me first, as I say “Never Again!”
As a country, a beacon for freedom for everyone everywhere, we must stand up to bigotry, hatred and discrimination against anyone that it is practiced and preached against. Not because it makes us feel good but because we have a moral obligation as not only citizens of the United States but as citizens of the world to make sure that bigotry in all forms against all people will not be tolerated and certainly not institutionalized ever again.
So, Mr. Trump, my advice to you is to listen when we say “Never Again” because we mean it. We will not sit idly by as you divide our great country’s citizens of the human dignity and respect that they deserve for any reason, certainly not for political expediency. The cries of “Never Again” will be as prominent and as loud as they have ever been if you pursue a Presidency that is designed to persecute anyone who shares beliefs different from yours.