I recall reading Boys from Brazil and finding out about Simon Wiesenthal. A couple of years ago I also had the chance to read about Israeli overt and covert espionage activities in a book called “Gideon’s Spies” or something like that. The fascination with the struggle of the Jewish people to survive and thrive as a people is long lasting, and rightly so. It is a story of the most amazing victories in the face of incredible odds. Of course the Jews are not the only ones to have gone through this but somehow the pervasiveness of the Judeo-Christian legacy has meant that their struggle attracts enormous attention. Also, there is something profoundly depraved about the way the Nazis systematically set out to destroy a whole race, which demands close scrutiny. Wiesenthal died yesterday. A man single minded in his pursuit of anti-Semites, he was revered and admired. He once said he could forgive the Nazis for himself, but for what they did to millions of other Jews he just had to plough on.
On a less sombre note but equally uplifting (as the life of Wiesenthal had been) is something which happened in my office this morning. The boss actually called for a discussion with everyone to explore how he may solve a problem with a client referred by a valued accountant (constant source of referrals). He was a bit uncomfortable with how he was thinking/feeling so he called everyone together to bounce his thoughts off us and got our takes on the situation. He made a decision in the end but took into account our opinions and views on the matter. He was the sole proprietor and boss but he chose to do this. That was a very warm and uplifting experience. It was very big of him and clearly what he asked of us (ie work as a team) he did himself.
Ante 