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Tears of Rage
Both the soldier and the Jewish artist who created him died more than 70 years ago, yet they still have the visual power to call to action the necessary military response to the massacre by Hamas terrorists.
Polish immigrant Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) who left Europe in the wake of the Holocaust, was known as a fighting artist. During World War II, he dedicated his portrait of America’s commander-in-chief to Eleanor Roosevelt, signing it “F.D.R.’s soldier in art.” Referencing Szyk’s popularity among US servicemen and the praise in the American press for his political cartoons and vitriolic visual commentary against the Axis of evil, the First Lady wrote in her January 1943 syndicated newspaper column My Day: “In its way [Szyk’s work] fights the war against Hitlerism as truly as any of us who cannot actually be on the fighting fronts today.” Of Szyk, we can also say that his fighting spirit hovers over the people of Israel in its righteous determination to kill Hamas terrorists.
Perhaps the best representation of Szyk’s soldiering on is seen in his once well circulated drawing of 1942, Tears of Rage. It captures the screaming anger of a World War II Jewish soldier, with an American helmet and rifle held high, cradling an elderly Jew with a Nazi dagger in his back. In front of them and below a clutched Torah scroll we witness a baby shot in its head, a dazed grieving mother frozen in time, her dead husband leaning on her back, and tears flowing from the baby’s grandmother’s eyes. Were Szyk alive now, ads showing this image would most certainly appear in today’s New York Times and Washington Post just as they did in 1943, responding instead to the unspeakable slaughter of innocent Jews in Israel by Hamas.
At the time this ad appeared, with text written by Hollywood playwright Ben Hecht (both Szyk and Hecht were an integral part of Peter Bergson’s activist groups for Jewish rescue, including the Committee for a Jewish Army), its full page emphasized “Action—Not Pity.” Szyk’s own caption under the image read “To those of my people who fight for the right to die with their boots on–my pride, my love, my devotion.”
Arthur Szyk. We Will Never Die. Official program journal cover. Madison Square Garden, New York, March 9, 1943
This is the time for full scale action by Israel’s military as well as the time for a moral world to be devoted to it with an unfailing and sustained commitment to its just cause. It is a time for boots on the ground, planes in the air, ships in the sea, and a world sick and tired of terrorism. It is a time to thank Israel for being that one nation that is willing to put its sons and daughters on the “fighting fronts” to rid its nation of terrorism while serving as an example for all nations to elevate their own moral and physical courage against terrorism and evil more forcefully.
Prior to its appearance in the referenced newspapers above, Szyk’s Tears of Rage accompanied a December 7, 1942 ad in the New York Times coinciding with the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor. (It also appeared less than one month after the US State Department announced that 2 million Jews had been murdered by the Nazis in Europe.) This time the soldier with the dead and mourning Jews was featured with a “Proclamation on the Moral Rights of the Stateless and Palestinian Jews” (that is, the displaced Jews of Europe and those Jews living in the land of Israel). The Proclamation called for the formation of a Jewish Army of those Jews (not American or British Jews) to fight alongside the Allies. It called upon the free world to support its moral obligation to allow Jews to defend themselves under their own “flag” and fight on behalf of their brothers and sisters who were being slaughtered. Now the world is called upon again to support the right of Jews to do the same thing. With Jew hatred, antisemitism, and down with Israel chants echoing worldwide today, it is apparent that the Jewish people are not only confronted with the right to defend themselves but challenged to justify their very existence itself.
In 1943, five US cities (New York and Washington, DC among them), held dramatic pageants entitled “We Will Never Die” (again, written by Ben Hecht), calling attention to the mass murder and annihilation faced by European Jews. On the cover of the journal distributed at the gatherings (40,000 people attended the pageant in New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 9th alone), Szyk’s soldier once again engaged those who were enraged with tears, proclaiming “We will never die.” Indeed, Jews are willing to fight with their boots on, and to them—our pride, our love, our devotion.
Irvin Ungar is the curator emeritus of The Arthur Szyk Society. His book, Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art, was a winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award.
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Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid
Some rises after an Israeli strike as Israeli forces launch a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
i24 News – Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area at the same time as fighting in the Rafah area and in the center of the Gaza Strip, the army said.
In the Shejaiya area, forces of the 98th Division attacked dozens of terrorist sites with the help of airstrikes from the Israel Air Force.
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers raided a UN school in Shejaiya, where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades and valuable intelligence documents
This is yet another example of how Gazan terrorists use civilian structures to carry out attacks against Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/9oA9KLJehC
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
A UN school was raided where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades, and sensitive documents. In addition, a Hamas command center was discovered in a clinic.
Since Saturday, division forces located weapons, raided and captured terrorist compounds, and eliminated a number of terrorists.
IDF strikes Hamas target in Gaza
Israeli forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area while continuing to push in Rafah and in central Gaza
The IDF attacked and destroyed a mortar launch position located within a tunnel shaft in Rafah pic.twitter.com/JqTACvuMys
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
The 162nd Division meanwhile continues in the Rafah area, eliminating a number of terrorists in various encounters and destroying tunnel shafts in the area.
The 99th Division 99 the center of the Gaza Strip carried out raids and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Also on Saturday, an airstrikes destroyed a mortar launch position located inside a tunnel shaft in Rafah.
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Israeli Government Approves Danny Danon as UN Ambassador
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon at a briefing on Iranian aggression on May 6, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
i24 News – The Israeli government unanimously agreed on Sunday to appoint Likud lawmaker Danny Danon as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, succeeding the current ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
Danon, who previously held this position, will soon serve a second term. Danon’s appointment to this important position comes at a particularly crucial time, as he is expected to represent Israel on the international stage as the country faces challenges at home and abroad.
“I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period,” he said on Twitter.
“As Israel faces battles on numerous fronts, each and every one of us must do his utmost within his skills and experiences,” he said in an earlier statement. “This is how I have behaved in the past, and this is how I will continue to behave in the future.”
I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period.
With Israel confronting challenges on multiple fronts, it is imperative for each of us to contribute to the best of our abilities and experiences. This…
— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) June 30, 2024
“In the face of the diplomatic terrorism that is rearing its head these days, I am forced to present the truth and hold my head high for the people of Israel and our common future here,” he concluded.
It is expected that Avihai Boaron, a former member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, will enter in place of Danon.
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‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister
Governor Newsom speaking at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Photo Credit: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
i24 News – Amichai Shikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora and Antisemitism, has urgently called upon California’s governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles’s mayor Karen Bass to address a concerning escalation of antisemitic incidents in the city.
In a strongly worded letter sent following a surge in antisemitic activities since October 7, 2023, Shikli expressed deep apprehension about the safety of Jewish residents in Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles is becoming more and more unsafe for its Jewish residents,” Shikli stated, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive measures to combat the rising tide of antisemitism.
He highlighted recent violent demonstrations on campuses that endangered Jewish students, alongside two serious incidents that he believes were mishandled by authorities.
One incident he pointed to was the tragic murder of Paul Kessler in November 2023 during a pro-Israel demonstration. Shikli criticized the court’s failure to classify the attack as a hate crime, stating, “It is shocking to see that the court did not recognize this as a hate crime. Paul was attacked for the sole reason that he was a Jew and a Zionist.”
Additionally, Shikli referenced an incident earlier in the week where an anti-Israel group disrupted an event at Adat Torah synagogue, resulting in an attack on Jewish attendees. Despite prior knowledge of the demonstration, law enforcement allegedly failed to take preventive actions to ensure the safety of Jewish residents.
Concerned about the city’s largest Jewish community in North America, Shikli urged immediate steps to enhance security around Jewish institutions and to ensure law enforcement is adequately trained to handle antisemitic crimes effectively. “At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, I urge you to implement measures to combat it,” he asserted.
The minister concluded his letter by proposing collaboration with local authorities and inviting the Los Angeles Police Department to participate in an international training program aimed at equipping security forces worldwide to combat antisemitism effectively.
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