Anne Frank was 15 years old when she died in a Nazi concentration camp. Yet her words outlived her body. Words scribbled in a diary from a secret attic in Amsterdam became one of the world’s most powerful mirrors.
This summer, I found myself in Amsterdam for Mindvalley U. By chance, my Airbnb was on the street next to Anne Frank’s house. Each morning, I’d step outside and see the same canals, the same cobblestones, and the same rooftops Anne may have glimpsed in stolen moments when she dared peek out from her hiding place.
A few mornings later, I opened the news and froze. The Diary of Anne Frank had just been banned in Florida schools under new book-ban laws. Imagine that. In 2025, one of the most important human documents ever written—the testimony of a teenage Jewish girl hiding from Nazi genocide—was deemed “inappropriate” for children to read.
The synchronicity hit me hard. I was standing before the building where those words were written. Words that survived Anne, even though she did not. Words that outlived war, genocide, and cruelty—only to be silenced again today by politicians who fear truth more than hatred.
And this got me thinking.
If Anne Frank were alive today, what would she say about America? About Israel & Gaza?
What I’m about to share may feel uncomfortable—but Anne’s words demand we face discomfort.
Who was Anne Frank
Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt in 1929. When the Nazis rose to power, her family fled to Amsterdam, hoping to escape persecution. In 1942, when deportations began, they went into hiding in a small annex behind her father’s office. For over two years, Anne, her sister Margot, her parents Otto and Edith, and four others lived in silence, relying on the courage of Dutch friends who smuggled them food and news.
Anne wasn’t just a symbol. She was a teenager—funny, sharp, sometimes rebellious, and always observant. She dreamed of being a journalist. She once wrote, “I want to go on living even after my death.” And, tragically, she did—not through her life, but through her words.
In August 1944, they were betrayed. The Gestapo stormed the annex. The Franks were deported to Westerbork, then Auschwitz, and finally Anne and Margot to Bergen-Belsen. In early 1945, both sisters died of typhus—just weeks before liberation. Anne was 15.
Only Otto Frank survived. After the war, Miep Gies, one of the helpers, handed him Anne’s diary. He published it, fulfilling her dream. Today, it has sold over 30 million copies and been translated into more than 70 languages.
Anne’s body was silenced. But her voice became immortal.
Anne’s words in today’s world
Anne once wrote:
“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor, helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”
She was describing Nazi roundups in Amsterdam.
But doesn’t that sound eerily like ICE raids in America today? Parents taken in the middle of the night. Children left crying, bewildered, abandoned. Different time, different uniforms—but the same cruelty.
Anne also wrote:
“We are chained to one spot, without rights, a thousand obligations… waiting for the inevitable end.”
That could be the voice of Gaza today. Entire families locked in. Starved. Bombed. Denied freedom of movement. Children asking, “Why must we suffer simply because of who we are?”
Her words, written 80 years ago, read like dispatches from the present. History is not past. It is a loop—unless we break it.
A hard, controversial mirror
Anne’s diary teaches us to look at cruelty honestly, no matter where it comes from. And one thing history proves: atrocities don’t start with bullets. They start with words.
Dehumanizing language always comes first.
So let’s talk about Gaza, as uncomfortable as this may seem.
Consider the echoes:
- Nazi leadership (1943): Heinrich Himmler at Posen: “I am referring here to the evacuation of the Jews, the extermination of the Jewish people….”
- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (2023): On the Palestinian town of Huwara: “[Huwara] should be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it.”
- Hitler, Mein Kampf: Jews as “the typical parasite, a sponger who, like an infectious bacillus, keeps spreading.” Nazi propaganda routinely cast Jews as vermin.
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (2023): Announcing a siege of Gaza: “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel… We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”
- Nazi propaganda (Goebbels echoing Hitler): Jews blamed collectively for war, threatened with “extermination.”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog (2023): “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible….” — words widely criticized as endorsing collective punishment.
- Nazi euphemisms: “Evacuation” as code for extermination.
- Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (2023): Suggesting a nuclear strike on Gaza was “one of the options.”
Different contexts. Different scales. But the same pattern.
Dehumanize → Justify → Destroy.
Anne Frank’s words remind us: when we hear this language, it is never “just rhetoric.” It is the runway to cruelty.
You see, cruelty always begins the same way: when leaders tell us to fear “the other.”
Fear the immigrant.
Fear the refugee.
Fear the neighbor who looks different.
Fear the people beyond your border.
That is the oldest political trick in the book. And it works—unless we refuse to buy it.
Anne Frank didn’t write her diary so we could cry in museums. She wrote it so we could recognize her suffering in others—and have the courage to stop it.
Why giving people a chance matters
This message hit me with even greater force because, while in Amsterdam, I also had a chance encounter.
I bumped into a young Syrian man who once worked for me back in 2016. At the time, he was a refugee in Malaysia. He and his friend had escaped a country torn apart by war. One had seen his home blown to rubble. The other had lost a brother when a bomb fell on the very place his brother was resting.
Both had lived through horrors most of us can barely imagine. And yet, when I met them, I didn’t just see refugees. I saw brilliant young minds. I saw hope, determination, and resilience.
That year, I had an idea for a new learning model called Quest and needed someone to build the app. These two young Syrians built it in record time. That app became the Mindvalley app—today used by millions worldwide and even featured in 200,000 Apple stores on the iPad.
Yes, our app was built by Syrians. Yes, it was built by refugees who were given a chance.
Anne never got her chance. But when we give people that chance, look what can happen.
This is why I am so adamant about this message. When politicians tell you to fear refugees, or immigrants, or minorities, they’re not just lying. They are robbing humanity of its future.
The rule we must all live by
If there’s one rule we must all live by, it’s this:
The moment a leader tells you to fear refugees, minorities, or immigrants, you are looking at a tyrant.
Do not believe them. Do not reward their fear with your silence—or your vote.
Because fear divides. And division always leads to cruelty.
What the world needs now is unity.
Unity across stripes, colors, races, and ethnicities. Unity across cultures, religions, and especially across borders.
Because the only way we solve the greatest challenges facing humanity—from climate change to war to poverty—is to remember this truth:
We are one humanity.
And kindness cannot stop at the invisible lines of race, religion, or border.
The higher vision
Anne Frank once wrote:
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
That may be the most extraordinary line ever written. She believed it while hiding from people who wanted her dead.
If Anne could believe in human goodness then, we can believe in it now.
Let’s prove her right.
Let’s choose compassion over cruelty.
Let’s stand up for one another across borders.
Let’s silence the voices of fear not by shouting back but by choosing unity again and again.
Because Anne’s diary isn’t just a warning.
It’s a torch.
And it’s in our hands now.
So here’s what we can collectively do.
Stand for unity. Across color. Across race. Across borders. Across religions.
When you hear fear, answer with love.
When you hear division, answer with solidarity.
When a politician uses scapegoating, vote the other way.
The only way to honor Anne is to prove her right—that humanity is good at heart.
And that goodness becomes real when we act.
Because history doesn’t just happen to us. It is written by our choices—and our silence.
I’d like to hear from you: Drop a comment below—let’s create a conversation around unity, compassion, and what it means to stand for humanity in our time.
1,159 Responses
Talking about the atrocities we are all witnessing past months takes, first of all, a HEART and courage 🤍 You’re raising awareness, giving others courage, and reminding people of our shared humanity. I’m with you — please keep going, you’re not alone.”
Vishen clearly said what to say….
The world is ruled by inhuman rule which is drafted unethically. But the hunters doesn’t know that they are also approaching to their death each and every day. Each criminals will be punished once they reach in front of God almighty. the death is just an entrance to experience the punishment what they deserved.
Thank you Vishen for speaking out. Evolving the way we handle conflict is a crucial part of our collective evolution, and freedom with equal rights are essential elements for that to happen. As a long time advocate for a Free Palestine it saddens and frustrates me to see so many people stay silent. Saying that, the world is waking up more each day and many are coming together across the globe. There is such beauty in our diversity and embracing of our global family. A livestream genocide is unprecedented and no doubt is having a profound affect on the psyche of those have paid attention or purposely chosen to bear witness. Healing on so many levels is needed. Ultimately, I hope this propels a deeper connection to our humanity and fuels our commitment to stand firm for change.
Amen, Mika. And I appreciate Vishen’s willingness to help people wake up – he seems to be taking a lot of flak for it. His writing is loving, and rational, but he has unfortunately been met with a lot of vitriol from those who aren’t ready to grant equal rights for everyone. There’s still a lot of fear that if you treat Palestinians as whole humans with equal rights, that will ‘threaten’ Israel’s existence. And therein lies the rub. If your state requires a majority of a certain demographic in order to exist, it will do whatever it needs to maintain that demographic supremacy, unfortunately, including genocide. This is not the first time the world has witnessed this dynamic, but I hope it will finally be the last.
long time advocate, have you ever advocated for Israel ‘s righ to exist ??? there is no genocide, unless you believe Hamas propaganda. But that snot even the issue. Do you believe in Israel s right to exist in security ? do you believe in the right to defend your country when attacked by monsters ? are you silent about the right of Israel ? also have you listened to palestinians lately ? or not lately – but like forever ? the Jew hatred is deep in that society. What do you have to say about that ?
At least one mainstream person has the balls to call it as it is. Everyone else is keeping quiet and not positioning themselves too scared for retaliations.
Now everything is clear, you were not meant to stay where you couldn’t grow.
Thank you, Mr. Vishen. This is one of the most emotional and intelligent posts I’ve seen in recent times. I believe the world needs empathy and love more than hatred. We can all do better and help make the world a better place.
We have inherited hatred and bitterness toward others based on past conflicts between older generations—even though we don’t know the full story. Remember, there are always three sides to a story: your side, my side, and the truth.
Some wars are emotionally fueled, and in many cases, a diplomatic approach could have prevented them. I won’t dismiss the fact that emotion can be a guide, but sometimes, it can also be a curse.
We should let love lead, because in the end, we will all die, and new generations will pick up from where we leave off. My question is: What kind of world do you want to leave for the next generation? Is it a world where they will have to relive our past, or a world where they will embrace peace?
Let love lead. Shalom!
Vishen, thank you for wording my exact feelings about the unbelievable cruelty we are facing in this world. History repeats, yet, it seems as we have not learned a thing.
As I find myself helpless watching this horrific happenings, I appreciate your words on the “how to” make an impact to “fight” back with love, unity and humanity. Thank you!!!!
Dear Vishen,
What would be your historical analogy for the October 7th atrocities? The event briefly appeared in global headlines and then vanished, as if the world forgot. It forgot the very reason this recent conflict began. It forgot the horror of that day—children tortured, families murdered, hostages taken—while the violence was proudly streamed around the world by Palestinian militants.
What would Anne Frank, the Jewish girl whose memory you invoked, say if she were alive today? Your attempt to use her legacy to support your understanding of the conflict and pro-Palestinian views is deeply disturbing and morally questionable.
Before making such statements, I urge you to study history. Quoting Israeli authorities out of context and comparing them to fascist regimes without consulting original sources is misleading. With millions of followers, you bear responsibility for shaping public opinion. Spreading Hamas propaganda does not serve humanity—it harms it.
In the name of love, you justify hatred, leading people down a dangerous path. I suggest you spend a few months living in both Gaza and Israel. You might be surprised to discover where humanism, liberalism, democracy, and love thrive—and where hatred, violence, radicalism, and a medieval mindset prevail. Perhaps after such an experience, you’ll be better equipped to guide your followers with wisdom and integrity.
This is so so beautifully written!!!! This brought tears to my eyes. I pray and pray for this horrible genocide to end. Thank you for using your platform for the truth and for good!
Thank You for Opening the Conversation—A Thoughtful Perspective on History and Current Realities
Dear Vishen,
First, thank you for using your platform and voice to spark such an important conversation about unity, compassion, and humanity in difficult times. Your reflections on Anne Frank and the lessons of history are deeply moving and resonate with many, myself included. The reminder to approach cruelty with honesty and to choose kindness across borders is a message we desperately need today.
As a Jewish woman whose life and education have been profoundly shaped by the history of the Holocaust, and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, I appreciate the intention behind your letter. Anne Frank’s legacy is a vital beacon that teaches us to recognize suffering and to have the courage to act against hatred.
That said, some of the specific comparisons and quotes included in your message caused me deep concern and heartache. Drawing parallels between Nazi propaganda and statements by Israeli leaders without fuller context risks misunderstanding and misrepresenting complex realities, especially in a global climate where anti-Semitism unfortunately persists and has significantly risen by 300%, 400%, even 500% globally in the last two years since October 7th, 2023.
They distort the nuanced realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by equating actions and rhetoric of Israeli leaders with Nazi Germany’s systematic, state-sponsored genocide of the Jewish people. Such direct parallels ignore critical distinctions in scale, intent, and context, and risk misleading readers rather than fostering understanding or constructive conversation. Responsible discussion of these issues requires careful differentiation between complex political realities and historical atrocities to avoid perpetuating false equivalencies that can fuel division and hatred. Therefore, those particular usages are not only inappropriate but also factually and morally incorrect. Those quotes were selected in very poor taste as they continue to mislead people into even more antisemitism & spreading false propaganda, the very thing you seem to be highlighting with such inappropriateness when you use Anne Frank as an example.
What have the Palestinians contributed to the world at large? Sadly, much of their legacy in recent history includes promoting hatred (including Oct 7, 2023 and today the desire to wipe the Jews out) and including sending their children to camps starting as young as age six to learn to hate the Jewish people.
On the other hand, let’s discuss the contributions of the Jewish community to the world. Do you use a cell phone today? Who do you think was one of the largest contributors to the technology in all of our phones that we all use today?
The Jewish community has contributed vastly to humanity in every field & industry, from science and medicine, agriculture, to technology and the arts.
The Jewish people, having fled persecution and genocide, found refuge in Israel, a very small slice of the world, surrounded by Arab counties, where “they”/“we” are supposed to be safe. It is a land rebuilt through immense innovation, resilience, and the contributions of its people across all fields.
The ongoing conflict in the region is tragically complicated, and while the suffering of Palestinians is real and deserving of empathy, it is not ok at the expense of hatred toward the Jews.
Equating modern Israeli leadership’s rhetoric and actions with Nazi Germany’s genocidal intentions oversimplifies and distorts history.
Importantly, October 7, 2023, marked a horrific attack not by Palestinians broadly but by the terrorist group Hamas. It is critical to distinguish between those fighting for peace and those perpetuating violence and hate. To paint an entire people with the brush of hatred is not only unfair but dangerously misleading.
Your call for unity, compassion, and the refusal to buy into fear and division is inspiring and necessary. I encourage continuing this conversation with fuller historical understanding and sensitivity to all narratives involved.
Israeli, Noa Tishby, has written an excellent book on Israel that breaks down how territories have changed over the years. She also reports regularly of current world events, and can be found widely across social media.
Additionally, Author/Scholar and Dan Feferman offer valuable insights that could help broaden perspectives on this complex topic.
I encourage you to follow both of them to gain more education & learning on this important topic.
Thank you again for opening this dialogue. It is through respectful, honest conversation that we stand a chance to honor Anne Frank’s legacy, believing in the goodness of humanity and acting to protect it.
With respect and hope….
Hi Suzi, I’m peruvian and I agree with what you’re stating, as a foreigner but also having a very close bond with jew friends, I found myself very confused in the beginning of this conflict and had to step back to not buy into what everyone was saying and make my own discerment. After reading this email from vishen I felt concerned too, that israeli goverment has been too promoting conflict and hatred, and to be honest, maybe they are, because at the end most wars belong to them goverments that want to control and conquer. However, I also understand and see the nuance of this social conflict and I completly felt that this email was sent without a proper investigation, felt almost like it’s rooting only for palestinians. Sadly, most of them are probably under such a deep programming like you’re saying and it’s concerning how the world is just choosing not to focus on that at all. Thanks for writing your thoughts and feelings.
With love,
Alessandra.
Io scelgo l’umanità.
Vision, I completely agree with you, and I have always tried to live and work in that spirit — staying connected with the greater whole. Ulla
PS I am German, and I am living proof that nations can change.”
Thank you Vishen, I have been wating for you to speak up about this matter. I agree with everything you said. We should all seak ways to fight againsed genocide(s) in this world, both as an indipendent spiritual journey to elevate our consiouseness and to see the true value and dignity of all life, but also to stand up as a collective and speak up when we see and face cruelty. What is happening in Gaza is a planned genocide and should be put to and end and punished.
Yes Maria, what you are saying is beautiful. We should admit that Vishen is extremely courageous to bring this topic on this platform. Violence is the root of disorder. How are we going to stop it and FIRST in our brain cells? If I change there is a chance the world and the consciousness to change otherwise we human being have been brutal and savage from the beginning of time . Sometime we call it different name …but people react so fast with a word like Nazi , Jewish, genocide, Netanyahu, Muslims, Imams, right wings, left wings and after all we have DIVIDE ourselves in so many groups and each agroup agains the other…with concept and theories. My believe agains your believes…etc…my content of my brain against your content…my conditioning agains yours…Let us question our thinking how it is affected by history and actuality and how it is misleading us to destroy ourselves…
What is happening today in Gaza, in the USA, and anywhere a government causes death and destruction is no different from what tyrants have done throughout history—not for the sake of their people, but for power.
Some feel offended when comparisons are made between the Holocaust and the atrocities Palestinians are enduring, as if one tragedy cancels out the other. But pain is pain, and justifying today’s suffering because of terrorism makes no sense. We have all faced violence, crime, or terror in different forms—yet that has never defined an entire people, nor should it be used as an excuse for collective punishment.
My respect for you has grown even more because you’ve had the courage to speak your mind. If we truly follow the values of connection, respect, and love, then what we are witnessing today is the complete opposite of human decency.
The situation in Gaza is probably horrible, I agree. However, I really, really hope MindValley stays politically neutral, and none of the worries of the world are brought onto this platform. Unless, of course, the idea is to get rid of people who may disagree. When it comes to immigration, there are several European countries that have serious problems that are directly caused by immigration gone wrong. Not everyone who comes is a Syrian programmer. The statistics prove that, and to dismiss them as lies is nothing but an ideological decision to close eyes to things that don’t align with the worldview. Problems need to be solved, and the only way to solve them together is to talk about them based on real facts. Hopefully, the place for that is not here on MindValley. Otherwise, it is time for me to exit.
Please Vishen, you are well connected in Palo Alto. Please share with as many powerful people as you can that the US is heading the way of fascist 1930s Germany. We need powerful people to speak out and stop this descent. Talk to Richard Branson, talk to other Silicon Valley leaders. Bring a group of people together to speak out in unison. Now is the time to take actions when a whole different course of action can be directed. Not wait until we’ve gone too far.
Me encuentro en Barcelona ahora después de haber estado en MindValley en Amsterdam, y respecto al tema de la guerra y los inmigrantes estoy viendo desde fuera porque ya no vivo en esta ciudad estoy de paso como la inmigración marroquí de niños jóvenes sin ninguna oportunidad ni futuro vienen aquí con una rabia a la vida que les ha tocado que lo único que buscan es sobrevivir y dañar al otro. No los culpo pero en esto de la inmigración me viene entonces la pregunta: que pasa cuando los inmigrantes vienen con estas intenciones y lo que generan en la población es miedo, violencia, robos y en algunos casos muertes.? Viví 20 años en Barcelona y hace 3 que me fui a Bali y cada vez que vengo a visitar a mi familia, el tema de la inmigración está peor. No generalizó, porque también hay familias y mucha gente que quiere aportar y construir un futuro mejor. Pero ciertamente hay un gran número sobretodo de jóvenes que aún no comprenden y no les importa nada lo de la inclusión y sentirse parte, esto que aquí hablas como unidad humanitaria. Repito no los culpo, no se realmente si dolor y su rabia como se ha forjado, pero si definitivamente lo que se ve en las calles es rabia, dolor y sufrimiento traducida en delincuencia. Gracias Vishen por traer está conversación a la mesa. Y gracias por tu carta. Comparto sentires, y creo en la humanidad tanto como tú. Pero si me hago preguntas cuando a mí alrededor veo ésta realidad que acabo de compartir muy resumidamente en éste escrito. Gracias 🙏🏾
I read your essay with attention and respect for the sensitivity of the subject. What struck me most, however, was not what you wrote but what you chose to leave out.
You speak in the name of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl murdered in the Holocaust at the age of 16, yet you make no mention of October 7, 2023, when Israelis (Jews) were again slaughtered, raped, and taken hostage simply for being who they are.
To write about Anne Frank while ignoring this reality is selective at best and deeply cynical at worst. Anne was a child. She did not live to tell us what she would say today. You were not there, and claiming to know her voice in today’s conflicts is both presumptuous and misleading.
You cite statements made by Israeli leaders, but you never acknowledge Hamas’ declared goal to destroy Jews or the atrocities they carried out on that day. By omitting this, your message stops being about universal compassion and turns into one sided politics wrapped in moral language.
If we want to honor Anne Frank, we must take her lesson in full: to recognize humanity in all people. That includes Israeli victims and hostages, whose suffering you chose not to mention. Compassion that flows only in one direction is not compassion, it is hypocrisy.
When you quote Israeli leaders to teach morality, you erase the voices that truly matter right now, the ones celebrating mass murder.
In January 2025 Khalil al Hayya called October 7 a “miraculous achievement” and “a source of pride for our people” and promised it would be passed down from generation to generation.
Ghazi Hamad made it clear this was only the beginning, saying “The Al Aqsa Flood is just the first time. There will be a second, a third, a fourth.” These are not slips of the tongue but deliberate declarations of continued violence.
And beyond the words there are the actions. On October 7 Hamas fighters dragged the body of Shani Louk, a young woman who had been raped and murdered, through Gaza as crowds spat on her and celebrated. People cheered in the streets, homes were looted, and the stolen belongings of Israeli families were paraded as prizes. These are not acts of resistance.
They are acts of cruelty and humiliation, carried out with pride and cheered by the public.
I am writing this as someone who is both a Mindvalley member and a Jewish woman who has personally experienced antisemitism.
My parents, who were born in Romania, also lived through antisemitism. This makes your words even harder to read, because I see a one sided view that gives preference to the suffering of one side while erasing the suffering of the other. It leaves me with a deep sense of dissonance as your customer.
Anne Frank did not ask to be remembered so that her own people would be shamed while their pain was ignored. She asked us to recognize cruelty wherever it appears. If we want unity, it has to begin with honesty.
Words like yours, spoken by someone with influence, amplify antisemitism around the world.
They make Jews less safe, they fuel hatred, and that responsibility is yours.
Hi Vishen, just wanted to let you know that your words have touched me BIG time as they reveal love, hate, truth, lies, light, darkness … and testify your courage to speak up and share your authentic voice. Thank you! Danielle
Thank you for being so upfront ! Yes things like this need to be voiced ! At the end of the day it’s about humanity that matters! The fight is not between an alien and humans . Let’s not forget the fact that the world is for humans to thrive as God did not segregated people based on land , who are we to do so? We need to Co exist for good ! This bitterness between the same genre will not lead us anywhere. We all as humans need to unite and do worthwhile things for the betterment and upliftment of our race . This ‘I’ needs to be replaced by ‘we’ once and for all!!
I am struggling with this topic. I am wrestling with my own love of others. I have no hatred and I love all people. I do, however, have a very abusive ex-boyfriend who is Jewish and he told me (18 years ago when we were a couple) that his rich Father “bought his way into a secret group: one that would protect him for his lifetime.” He literally said the words to me that “he just has to stay alive and he will always be protected and taken care of.” I have witnessed this to be true. He does illegal things/ He terrorizes me. He is abusing my children and still gets his way in the local courts. He cannot do much with his body due to obesity, yet he simply has to “go get money from a friend” and he gets money. There is some serious corruption with this man. I have no idea how much his Jewish family has to do with this organized criminal group, but I do know I have been terrorized by this man for 18 years, and now he terrorizes my children. I have German descent. You tell me. Is there hatred and crime written into our system? Is organized crime and hate running the world? I cannot tell what is going on in the big picture, but this man I speak of has endless amounts of money and power locally. Why is this? What group would his rich father have “bought his way into??” I ask myself this daily as I endure the abuse… and again, I love all people and want crime and hatred to stop.