We were treated to a fascinating talk by Amos Hausner (right). His father was the Attorney General of Israel and was tasked with prosecuting Eichmann in 1961 following his abduction from Argentina. During his opening address he said:

“I am not standing alone. With me are six million accusers, but they cannot rise to their feet and point an accusing finger. Their ashes ane piled upon the hills of Auschwitz and in the fields of Treblinka and are strewn in the forests of Poland…”

Amos recalled that Eichmann’s defences fell into four categories:

1. Acts of state: that Eichmann war merely a civil servant enacting his country’s laws.

2. Territorial jurisdiction: That if there had been any crime, it was committed in Europe and the Israeli authorities had no legal power to prosecute him.

3. Impartiality:  The crime was against the Jews, so Jewish judges cannot impartially carry out their duty.

4. Retrospectivity: The laws under which Israel was prosecuting him were enacted in 1950, several years after the purported crimes were committed.

Gideon Hausman successfully argued that this defence was inapplicable since Germany had not enacted any laws mandating the extermination of Jews as they did not wish to turn world opinion against the regime.

The latter three defences were rejected based on ideas contained in the concept of Universal Jurisdiction.

Amos, a distinguished lawyer in his own right, commented on the weaknesses of international law in relation to Crimes against Humanity: Such cases took far too long, often decades, before the crimes were brought to trial and that there were no preventive laws. By preventative laws he gave examples such as laws that prohibited inciting or conspiring to commit crimes against humanity.

The trial also resulted in some heart-warming moments: A doctor presented himself at the court claiming that he had relevant testimony. Confronted by a policeman, he explained that he had treated a youth who had been sentenced to 80 lashes. The doctor had treated the boy as best he could but he was transferred to another facility and had no idea whether the boy had survived. The policeman said that he could put the doctor’s mind at rest at once as he was that youth. When the doctor eventually gave his testimony in court, he was amazingly able to point out the policeman to the judges.

Many thanks to:

• NZFOI volunteers Joanne Moss, Arthur and Sue Comery and Lynnette Gautier;

• Olga Macagon, The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand;

• Alison Dyson, The Jewish Federation of New Zealand;

• Professor Karen Hudson, The Canterbury University Law School

• The Victoria University of Wellington School of Government;

• Professor Ros Noonan, The Auckland University Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice; and

• Perry Trotter, The Shadows of Shoah Trust

For making his talks in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland possible.

His talk may be viewed on the Victoria University site.

Purim is a spring holiday that commemorates the Jewish community’s narrow escape from collective destruction in the ancient Persian Empire. The word itself, purim, comes from the Persian word for “lots” and is a reference to the fact that the date set for the Jews’ annihilation was chosen by casting lots.

Purim falls every year on the 14th of Adar in the Jewish calendar, but this date varies on the Gregorian calendar. In 2015, the holiday falls on March 4-5.

There are several major components of the Purim holiday, including public readings of the Book of Esther (k’riat megillah), giving charity to the poor (matanot la’evyonim) and delivering gifts to friends (mishloach manot).

But Purim is also characterized by a boisterous feast (se’udah) during which participants dress in costumes and drink to excess. Jews are instructed to revel until they cannot tell the difference between Mordecai and Haman.

In the Book of Esther, Mordecai and Haman are portrayed as the embodiments of good and evil, respectively. In the story, Haman, the right-hand man of the Persian king, feels personally insulted when Mordecai will not bow to him. Discovering that Mordecai is Jewish, he decides to punish the entire community, decreeing that all Jews will be killed. The king approves, and Mordecai declares a time of mourning and penitence for the Jews.

Meanwhile, Esther, the wife of the king and the niece of Mordecai, asks all the Jews to fast with her for three days (this part of the story is honored every year on the eve of Purim and is known as the Fast of Esther). The king does not know that Esther is Jewish. The king also does not know that Mordecai has foiled an attempt on his life.

At the end of the fast, Esther arranges a succession of feasts, inviting both Haman and the king. Esther reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman wishes to kill her and her people. The king decrees that Haman should be hanged instead, and Mordecai eventually takes Haman’s place alongside the king.

During the reading of the Book of Esther, every mention of Haman’s name is drowned out by festive noisemakers (called groggers), shouting, stamping and every manner of booing. Mordecai’s name is cheered. But by night’s end, the difference between Haman and Mordecai, between good and evil, becomes nonexistent. Participants wear masks to acknowledge that goodness, holiness and God are most often hidden. Illustrating this, the Book of Esther is the only book in the Jewish canon that does not mention God’s name.

Source: Huffington Post, 2 March 2015