Heritage: civilization and the Jews

Part 8 Out of the ashes : Out of the ashes comes the understanding that no one’s life can be guaranteed without constant struggle. Belief in the ultimate ability of humankind to overcome the darkest, most brutal of forces is the light which must carry us forward," declares Ambassador Eban in this haunting hour. Out of the Ashes attempts to treat the Holocaust not only as a devastating memory of yesterday, but as a profound challenge for today. The program concludes with the words of author Eli Weisel, noted author and Holocaust survivor: "We have all the reasons in the world to despair and to give up on man and to give up on culture, on civilization, on language and even on God. But we won’t permit it to happen. We have the reasons to do so, but we will not invoke them and, in spite of everything, we shall go on believing
Part 9 Into the future. Although the Nazis had been defeated, the persecution of Jews continued in Eastern Europe after World War II. Although many of the survivors found a haven in the United States, there were still many borders closed to Jewish refugees. Their hope rested in the Middle East, in Palestine, part of the disintegrating British Empire. The program examines Israel’s relationship to American Jews and modern Jewish communities elsewhere in the world. It reviews the distribution and the state of Jews and addresses the long-range issues which confront them: the lingering anti-Semitism in many countries; the crisis of Jewish identity in the United States and Israel; the crisis of Palestinian relations in Israel; and the larger question of the role of the Jewish people in today’s rapidly evolving world.