Volume 46, Number 6 · April 8, 1999
The Joys and Perils of Victimhood
By Ian Buruma
In his book The Seventh Million, the Israeli journalist Tom Segev describes a visit to Auschwitz and other former death camps in Poland by a group of Israeli high school students. Some students are from secular schools, others from religious ones. All have been extensively prepared for the visit by the Israeli Ministry of Education. They have read books, seen films, and met survivors. Nonetheless, after their arrival in Poland, Segev notes a degree of apprehension among the students: Will they suddenly collapse? Will they reemerge from the experience as 'different people'?[1] The fears are not irrational. For the students have been prepared to believe that the trip will have a profound effect on their 'identities,' as Jews and as Israelis.
Feature, 4638 words
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