Holocaust Vs Nakba

When one examines Hebrew literature, it is noticed that there is a conflict between the acceptance of both the Holocaust and the Nakba. Both of these events can be considered “catastrophes” for both the Jews and Palestinians who had to live through it. However, there has been a major issue over addressing the events as singular - as many feel that the effect of the Nakba is downplayed because of the Holocaust . Jewish authors conflate the Holocaust with the Nakba by comparing them to one another in order to minimize the blame towards the Israelis for their actions and to erase the Arab story, as seen through Khirbet Khizeh, The Girl Who Stole My Holocaust and Waltz With Bashir.
In Hebrew literature, the Holocaust is considered to be one …show more content…
At the beginning of the book, Chayut holds the Holocaust dear to his heart- he was always reminded of the tragedies that his people suffered during memorial days and when he was active in the youth movement. He is convinced that the actions that he was carrying out as a soldier was right because it preserved Israel and ensured its survival. This changes when he meets a young Palestinian girl in one of the villages. He writes, “You did not smile back at me as had been custom ever since I acquired that smile as a youth movement counselor. No, you froze on the spot, grew very pale and looked terrified… You only stood there, facing me with a horrified face and your black eyes staring” (Chayut 58). The look that this little girl gave him made him feel antagonized, as if he were responsible for the suffering that her and her people were going through. The “pale” and “horrified face” reinforces the idea that the little girl was filled with fear, because of him. Chayut states that this little girl “took away my belief that there is absolute evil in the world. She took from me the belief that I was avenging my people’s destruction by fighting absolute evil. For that girl, I embodied absolute evil. Even if I was not as cruel as the absolute - Nazi evil in the shadow of which I had grown up.. I myself was the absolute evil (Chayut 63). He realizes that the child is afraid of him because he has caused mass suffering towards her people. She was not the “absolute evil” that he was supposed to fight, as she was only a mere victim caught in the middle of the conflict. This leads to Chayut’s realization that he is the “absolute evil”, partially responsible for the diaspora of the Palestinians. It moves him towards a path of forgiveness, where he attempts to come to terms with himself about the past and realizing that the