Academics on the right side of history once again.
In total, more than 20 Israeli academics have signed the letter, among more than 1,000 overall. Outside of Israel, signatories include two Nobel laureates and numerous scholars of the Holocaust and Jewish history. Klein is an expert on the Holocaust and has studied contemporary antisemitism.
It’s actually not uncommon. Trauma and PTSD leave epigenetic changes in people. These can become hereditary through a combination of both nature and nurture. Unless treated, this leads to an intergenerational heightening of fight or flight responses and a host of other issues. This in turn predisposes people to do horrible things in the name of “survival” (in their minds), even when it’s not actually necessary.
In short, traumatized families are predisposed to inflict trauma unless treated.
The truth is simpler than that. There were Nazi sympathizers among the ranks of Zionist activists for about as long as the Balfour declaration was in effect. Veterans of groups like Lehi are still enormously influential around the Israeli security complex.
2 things can be true at the same time.