On March 5, ADL LA and Valley Beth Shalom partnered for The State of Anti-Semitism and Hate: A Conversation with CEO of ADL Jonathan Greenblatt and VBS Senior Rabbi Ed Feinstein.
ADL LA Regional Director Amanda Susskind welcomed the audience of about 400 people and described ADL’s diverse regional initiatives that tackle anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and bigotry. ADL National Commission Co-chair Faith Cookler thanked VBS and ADL staff for making the event possible and noted that ADL remains a bulwark against anti-Semitism in all its forms.
Jonathan began his remarks by providing an overview of anti-Semitism as what has been called “the oldest hatred” and indicated that while anti-Semitic attitudes among Americans have steadily decreased in the last 50 years, anti-Semitic incidents have increased since 2016. He explained that anti-Semitism exists on both the left and right sides of the political spectrum and implored the group to have the intellectual integrity to call out hate wherever and whenever it occurs. He also sketched out four significant causes of the uptick in anti-Semitism and other forms of bias: the charged political times and extreme polarization of society, economic uncertainty, increased use of social media, and the receding memory of the Holocaust.
Detailing how ADL is responding to these problematic trends, Jonathan described the crucial role of anti-bias education, innovation (including through ADL’s Center for Technology and Society), efforts to counteract extremism, and the importance of individuals speaking up and taking action.
Following Jonathan’s remarks, he and Rabbi Feinstein engaged in a conversation and took questions from the audience. Rabbi Feinstein described the current state of American Jewry as, paradoxically, “the best of times and the worst of times” and noted the rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses. Despite the assessment that the current climate of hate is indeed a serious problem, a sense of resolve to take action permeated the evening. Rabbi Feinstein reflected that “If BDS makes Jews hide, they win,” while Jonathan encouraged students and parents of students to “walk with confidence” as Jews on campus.