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Dylan Bell
Ms. Woelke
ERWC
22 April 2015
Repeating History
For as long as the world has been around one phrase has remained true, history repeats
itself. For this reason it is important to know and understand our past, we are to look for similar
signs and recognize patterns from decades or even centuries before. For the Jewish people this is
nothing new, they have been persecuted by evil Pharos, brutal dictators and many countries
around the world, all of which could've been prevented. Ellie Wiesel's Night isn't just meant to be
a story but instead a reminder of the past and the terrible things we allowed to happen.
In World War II the Jews and many other people of all different backgrounds had been
killed in one of the worst atrocities in history. People were round up from their homes, put on
trains, and brutally slaughtered in concentration camps. Hitler and his Nazi party killed over
eleven million people nine million of which were Jews. After the war Israel was created as a state
on May 14, 1948 by the United Nations to act as a homeland for the suffering Jewish people. On
the first day of its creation Israel had already started to be attacked by Palestine Arabs. Many
today would say the Jewish state in the Middle East has failed however, Israel's life expectancy
was ranked fourth in the world in 2010, they have the highest standard of living in the Middle
East and their nominal gross domestic product is ranked 41st.
In recent years the terrorist group Isis has begun claiming land and expanding throughout
the Middle East. They are a group founded upon hate for anyone that doesnt believe in their
ideals, they execute Jews, Christians and even fellow Muslims who don't agree with their radical

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ideology. Unlike the Nazis however they don't try to hide their killings and instead make them
theatrical and record them for the world to see. Although they aren't Nazis and aren't in the same
part of the world they are similar in many ways. Both Isis and the Nazis quickly expanded
gaining masses of territories, both wish to establish a state founded on their principles and both
kill those who don't agree with their principles. Although the Nazis obviously killed more people
than Isis, in due time they may be comparable, that is if we allow them to continue. The world
hasn't seen people more dedicated to the cause of hurting others since the Nazis and how we
react could change the world forever. The United States needs to align with Israel, its only true
ally in the Middle East, in order to end the tragedies Isis has committed.
The book Night has warned us of another holocaust and it is up to us to take action.
Although Isis isn't exactly the same as the Nazis both groups wanted to exterminate others who
didn't follow their radical ideas. History is important because it has a pattern of repeating itself
and we need to pay attention to the signs it gives us before we allow it to repeat.