One way to ensure that Holocaust education, at least within the Jewish community, becomes more effective is to focus on a different set of figures from those who most often get attention. Figures like the philologist Zelig Kalmanovitch, who participated actively in various forms of Jewish nationalism before settling on Zionism and returning, near the end of his life, to religion. Daniela Ozacky Stern describes his record of life in Vilna under Nazi occupation.

His diaries, painstakingly penned under constant threat of discovery, offer a poignant account of his personal struggle and philosophical, existential musings. They reveal a man grappling with faith, the atrocities unfolding around him, and the role of a scholar in a world gone mad.

A central theme in Kalmanovich’s writings is his unwavering faith in Judaism. He viewed Jews as part of the big “sacred triad”—the Land of Israel, the Torah, and God—which provided a source of enduring strength and was a guarantor of ultimate Jewish victory. Even as suffering intensified, his diary entries resonated with deep optimism. He believed that by clinging to their heritage, Jews could preserve their identity and emerge stronger.

He championed the ghetto’s schools, synagogues, and libraries, viewing them as battlegrounds for the preservation of Jewish identity and a continuation of Jewish history. He believed that by clinging to their heritage, Jews could defy Nazi attempts to extinguish their spirit.

Eyewitnesses recalled his last words: “I laugh at you. I am not afraid of you; I have a son in the Land of Israel.” Indeed, his son emigrated in 1938 and settled in a kibbutz, where his descendants still live.

Kalmanovitch died in a Nazi labor camp in Estonia in 1943. If you click on the link below, you’ll find a photograph of a bearded man in a fur hat captioned, “Jewish librarian at the Vilna Ghetto.” This is no ordinary librarian but Khaykl Lunski, another outstanding figure who perished in the Shoah. I’ll be sure to write about him in a future newsletter.

While the current Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has never been friendly to Hamas, his government has objected strenuously to the Israeli campaign in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip. Haisam Hassanein explains why:

Cairo has long been playing a double game, holding Hamas terrorists near while simultaneously trying to appear helpful to the United States and Israel. Israel taking control of Rafah threatens Egypt’s ability to exploit the chaos in Gaza, both to generate profits for regime insiders and so Cairo can pose as an indispensable mediator and preserve access to U.S. money and arms.

Egyptian security officials have looked the other way while Hamas and other Palestinian militants dug tunnels on the Egyptian-Gaza border. That gave Cairo the ability to use the situation in Gaza as a tool for regional influence and to ensure Egypt’s role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not be eclipsed by regional competitors such as Qatar and Turkey.

Some elements close to the Sisi regime have benefited from Hamas control over Gaza and the Rafah crossing. Media reports indicate an Egyptian company run by one of Sisi’s close allies is making hundreds of millions of dollars by taxing Gazans fleeing the current conflict.

Moreover, writes Judith Miller, the Gaza war has been a godsend to the entire Egyptian economy, which was in dire straits last fall. Since October 7, the International Monetary Fund has given the country a much-needed injection of cash, since the U.S. and other Western countries believe it is a necessary intermediary and stabilizing force. Cairo therefore sees the continuation of the war, rather than an Israeli victory, as most desirable. Hassanein concludes:

Adding to its financial incentive, the Sisi regime views the Rafah crossing as a crucial card in preserving Cairo’s regional standing. Holding it increases Egypt’s relevance to countries that want to send aid to the Palestinians and ensures Washington stays quiet about Egypt’s gross human-rights violations so it can maintain a stable flow of U.S. assistance and weaponry. . . . No serious effort to turn the page on Hamas will yield the desired results without cutting this umbilical cord between the Sisi regime and Hamas.