Forgiveness between individual Jews is an ideal — national genocide is drawn as a different category entirely.
Q. If Judaism sees forgiveness as an ideal, should we not forgive the Nazis for their crimes?
There is a significant difference between the atrocious murderous national genocide of the Nazi Holocaust as opposed to forgiving the crime of a fellow individual Jew. Davka in the name of morality which Israel brought to the world and eternally represents, our national enemies are meant to be hated and hunted, and not only punished, but so severely disciplined that it will deter all future haters and terrorists against Israel, and hopefully, against anyone. Any lover of Israel, and for that matter, any moral person, should have zero compassion and absolutely no forgiveness for the cruel, baby-hunting, maiming, annihilating monsters who shamed all of mankind with their barbaric and sadistic behavior. I suggest you read more on the holocaust, and the more you read, the more you will understand that “Those who love G-d despise evil” (Tehilim 97, 10).
On the other hand, when a fellow Jew wrongs you, the ideal of brotherly love commands us to rise above feelings of hate or revenge when asked for forgiveness. In fact, many have the tradition every night, or at least before Yom Kippur, of forgiving anyone who wronged them. In extenuating circumstances for serious crimes, it is obviously that much more difficult to forgive even the individual Jew, and in such a case, one should consult his local halachic authority.
With Love of Israel, Rav Ari Shvat
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