Today's Shoah

Alex Hershaft was five years old when the Nazis invaded his native Poland, and half a million Jews were crowded into the Warsaw ghetto.  Some died from disease or starvation, others went to Treblinka death camp, and those left in the Warsaw Ghetto put up a heroic fight, against the Nazis who ultimately destroyed the entire ghetto.   Alex and his mother survived because of the kindness of gentiles; his father was killed by Nazis.

“Why was I spared? Is there a lesson we can learn from this terrible tragedy?”

Dr. Alex Hershaft has a Ph.D. in chemistry and worked as an environmental consultant, when he was sent to a slaughterhouse in the Midwest.  Dr. Hershaft turned a corner and saw piles of body parts – hearts, heads, and hoofs.  Horrified, he remembered the extermination camps, and could not get the images out of his mind.  He began to see other similarities between animal agriculture and the death camps in Europe: 

farm animals are branded with numbers,

separated from their families,

taken to their death in rail cars,

and murdered.

The parallels are not about the victims, but about the perpetrators. 

It was the arbitrary nature of the cruelty that struck him. Their actions are made possible because of arbitrary distinctions that enable cruelty, “The Christian lives, and the Jew dies; the dog lives, and the pig dies.” 

Dr. Alex Hershaft is the co-Founder of FARM, Farm Animal Rights Movement, the nation’s oldest, and the world’s first, organization devoted exclusively to promoting the rights of animals not to be raised for food.  In addition, he is the Founder of A Well Fed World.  He works closely with Jewish Veg, an organization that encourages Jews to embrace plant-based diets “as an expression of the Jewish values of compassion for animals, concern for health, and care of the environment.”

Why work on behalf of animals when humans suffer? 

“Animals are the most defenseless, the most vulnerable, therefore the most oppressed sentient beings on earth.  Oppressing animals is the gateway to oppressing humans”, says Dr. Hershaft.  “Everyone has the awesome power of life and death over animals.  Every time we shop for food, we literally make a choice between subsidizing life or subsidizing death”. 

Dr. Hershaft quotes Deuteronomy, chapter 30, verse 19:                        

“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life.”

“The Search For Raoul Wallenberg  - The Truth”, a new book,  tells the behind the scenes story of the efforts to learn the fate of disappeared World War II hero, Raoul Wallenberg, savior of 100,00 innocent people.  This inspirational story is full of intrigue and surprises.  It will educate, inform, inspire, and empower you!  It goes beyond the past and applies Wallenberg’s qualities of courage and compassion to present day issues. 

“The Search For Raoul Wallenberg – The Truth” is the true story which reaches back over 100 years, touches on the lives of over 100,000 people, involves the governments of four countries, includes hundreds of documents, and both exposes scandals, and showcases heroism.

There are many books about Raoul Wallenberg, the Diplomat who saved 100,000 innocent lives during World War II.  This one is unique.  It is about all the behind the scenes activity involved in the release of his prison records from the Soviet Union, where the idea originated, why it was important, how it was done, and the background of the impartial investigation which followed. 

In addition, it exposes the people who tried to prevent the truth, the reasons why, who confronted them, and those who worked tirelessly on behalf of this great hero.  I know because this is my story.

The book will demonstrate what an individual can accomplish if they are dedicated, imaginative, courageous, and compassionate.  Further, the book extends into the future by advocating implementation of lessons learned, avarice avoided, and compassionate lifestyles adopted. 

Life Is Precious

“There are many bodies: insects, animals, people – but there is only one life.’  Krishna Gautam, Founder of Aging Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The mountains of North Carolina are incredibly gorgeous!  The Blue Ridge, Smokey and Appalachian Mountains all come together in Western North Carolina.  Summers are balmy and delightful.  Mountain roads are deceptively peaceful and harmless, with little indication of the inherent dangers.

Just like New Yorkers are knowledgeable about driving in snow, and how to steer into the direction of the skid on ice, anyone who lives in the mountains knows of the hidden danger in the curvy mountain roads.

I was driving from Lake Lure to Marion on a warm, and wonderful summer day with little or no regard for the posted speed limit. I was just enjoying life and the gorgeous scenery when I lost control of the car.

There was nothing I could do as my car crossed over the opposite lane.  The last thing I remembered seeing was a wall of green – the foliage covering the quickly approaching vertical hill before my car went straight up the hill, then fell back on its roof.

Was there a reason I survived an accident where people are usually dead or paralyzed for life?  I believe there is a God and that life is very precious. 

Veganic Agriculture

The standard American agricultural model depletes fruit and vegetables of the vitamins and minerals, and adds toxic chemicals. Almost all the elements are found in soil, and are needed for optimal health.  Fertilizers and pesticides are poison.

According to Dr. Ron Weiss of Ethos Health and Farm in New Jersey, years ago there was fear that American farmers would not be able to grow enough food to feed all Americans.  A political decision was made to use every inch of farm land to grow crops.  The ultimatum was ‘Get Big or Get Out!’.  Small family farms were forced out of business, and large agricultural entities were formed. The situation has since softened, but the damage is already done.

The standard American agricultural model has one goal – profit.  Crop rotation does not exist in standard American agriculture or in Organic agriculture.  It involves leaving one field empty for the soil to rest and replenish.  An empty field does not produce a profit.  Instead, fields are repeatedly planted and harvested, depleting the soil of its natural nutrients and requiring heavy applications of fertilizers and pesticides. This is done on both conventional farms and organic farms.

I graduated from the Organic Growers School of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Program when I had a Vegan Retreat / Veganic Farm near Asheville, North Carolina.  An Organic Certifier from Clemson University told me that on an Indian reservation there is not a single bug, they do not use any pesticides; they rotate the crops.

In order to maintain an acceptable level of nutrients, the soil needs to be replenished between crops.  It needs to rest and be nourished so that the next crop will have access to the vitamins and minerals which give fruit and vegetables their nutritional value and taste  Without this natural practice, it is necessary, even for organic farms, to use fertilizers to sustain the new crops.  Poisonous pesticides are used to kill the predators who become entrenched, feasting on their favorite crop, and becoming resistant to pesticides.   Instead of putting in a crop that predators do not like so they would leave, stronger poisons or more poison are used.  Organic farms use the mandated organic fertilizers and pesticides.

Fortunately, there is an alternative to conventional or organic agriculture.  It is Veganic Agriculture!