La souffrance comme identité

Surveys periods of suffering in Jewish history throughout the ages. Their representations and ritualizations have shaped the lacrymose image of Jewish history amongst the Jews themselves. Contends that the beginning of the "history of suffering" began after the Crusades. Jewish historiography strengthened this view of the Jewish past. After the Holocaust, followed by secularization of the Jews, a new "civil" religion has arisen which connects the Holocaust to the creation of the State of Israel (the representation of redemption). This development is an aspect of the politicization and banalization of the Holocaust. Argues that the ritualized memory of the Shoah among the Jews became a model for other nations and ethnic groups in the process of bolstering their identity. Indicates the dangers of grounding Jewish identity on the memory of the Shoah and pleads for a constructive memory which would reduce the importance of the Holocaust as a basic pillar of Jewish identity and would include positive aspects of memory (as in the liturgical text "Zakhor"). (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)