Jewish Religious Communities: Accepting Extremes Has, So Far, Always Led to Ruin

Bratislava, 9 September (TASR) - Accepting extremism has, to date, always led to ruin, the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities has stated to mark Holocaust Victims and Racial Violence Remembrance Day, the Union told TASR on Wednesday, adding that it fears the moment when extremism becomes a force that may be offered a share of power. "We all have a warning light inside us. It flashes when the situation begins to deteriorate. We've been sensitive to the approaching danger for some time now, because we've already ignored the alarm once. We mustn't make the same fatal mistake twice," stated the Union, noting that it's concerned about the incitement of hatred and the exploitation of human weaknesses. "Extremists are already being viewed as useful partners for those with ambitions for power. This is happening gradually, and society is slowly getting used to it. However, acceptance of extremism has always led to ruin," it warned. It pointed out that opinion-shaping politicians "are well aware that they influence people's thinking". They can calm their voters' passions and refine them. They can guide people towards critical thinking rather than exploiting their instincts, towards tolerance rather than hatred, and towards civic responsibility rather than seeking out enemies. "It's tempting to succumb to the temptation to exploit frustration and turn it into political capital," it added. The moment extremism becomes a force to which a share of power can be offered, the state is transformed into an uninhabitable place. The Union regards this as a short-sighted, self-serving strategy. "Extremists at the negotiating table won't turn into a democrat; on the contrary, they'll degrade their fellow negotiators into minions of evil. Slovak extremists don't possess nuclear weapons. But apart from loud voices, blind hatred and a desire to destroy democracy, they possess nothing else. If people with these traits aren't kept outside the bounds of acceptability, it will no longer be just about Jews or other minorities. The majority of the nation that forms the backbone of the state will be ashamed of the character of society. Unobtrusively, step by step, we're moving towards a tipping point. Let's stop this while there's still a way back," added the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities. Slovakia commemorates 9 September as a national memorial day - the Day of the Victims of the Holocaust and Racial Violence. On this day in 1941, the wartime Slovak government adopted a Jewish Code that introduced a separate legal system for citizens of Jewish origin and faith, significantly restricting their civil, religious, social and basic human rights on the territory of the wartime Slovak republic. The decree consolidated legal regulations enforcing the social, economic, and civil degradation of Jews, which ultimately led to their deportation to Nazi concentration camps. am/df