Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) and Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) spoke to Arutz Sheva Monday about their personal reactions to Auschwitz, as the Knesset made a landmark visitthere for the first time.
"This is my first time here," Bennett reflected. "My grandmother and grandfather are buried on Polish land, and many from our nation are buried here."
Bennett also wondered where the US was during the Holocaust - and why they had not intervened to stop the bloodshed.
"It always bothers me that the US could have bombed [the SS], could have made it their mission to stop the killing machine," the MK explained. "But out of tens of thousands of missions during the war, they did not make an attempt even once."
"We will never rely on anyone else but ourselves," he continued, "only the IDF and the Jewish people."
Danon stated that walking on the "cursed ground" of the death camp led him to deep introspection.
"It is painful to be here, but we are also proud survivors," he noted. "We are proud to be here with a Knesset delegation but we also understand that without our power [as the State of Israel], it could happen again."
Monday's Knesset visit to Poland was in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. A special ceremony was held at Auschwitz and attended by Polish MPs and government officials, Israeli MKs and government officials, and survivors.
