Over the past few months, the world has witnessed violent and troubling antisemitic attacks in various countries including France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, recent surveys in North America and Europe have documented that longstanding antisemitic tropes are alive and well.
Yad Vashem has long understood the need to educate about the Holocaust as a tool for combatting antisemitism. Today, as the definitive source for Holocaust remembrance, documentation, research and education, it is working tirelessly not only to ensure that the memory and meanings of the Holocaust continue to be relevant, but also to use its comprehensive knowledge and carefully developed educational tools to fight contemporary forms of antisemitism.
The Rapid Spread of Hate Speech
Dr. Robert Rozett, Senior Historian at Yad Vashem’s International Institute for Holocaust Research, explains that while antisemitism did not disappear with the end of WWII, it became “less politically correct in many segments of society to have antisemitic opinions out in the open.”
However, around the beginning of the twenty-first century, the situation started to change. “Since then, antisemitic incidents, including violent ones, have come more and more to the surface,” Dr. Rozett continues. “In the last two years, violent antisemitism has even reached the United States, considered to be one of the most tolerant democracies in the world.” In addition, the rapidly expanding digital world has enabled these violent messages to circulate exponentially around the world. “As the internet, followed by social media, became more and more popular, they became vehicles for spreading antisemitic sentiment to the masses,” says Dr. Rozett.
“People can spread hate speech rapidly and to a vast audience via these vehicles – and so far, there is little to no oversight regulating the propogation of this material.”
A "Toolbox" Approach
It has become clear to Yad Vashem – and to many of its colleagues around the world – that the struggle against antisemitism requires a “toolbox” approach, tackling it from multiple angles: legal recourse, more rigorous policing of the internet and social media, building bridges between religious groups, and of course, education.
“We see education as the long-term and perhaps most profound tool in our battle against modern-day antisemitism,” Dr. Rozett notes, “and we believe it is in this area that we can be most effective.”
As such, Yad Vashem has developed new courses, workshops and online content that can assist teachers, opinion-makers, the media, researchers, religious groups and even politicians and diplomats on how to handle the rise in antisemitism in their own societies.
Aside from the dozens of international educational seminars Yad Vashem holds each year, it continues to advise policy-makers on the development of curricula for their individual country’s Holocaust educational activities. And of course, education today is not restricted to the classroom, but occurs more and more online. Yad Vashem’s websites in eight languages and its active social media presence are all invaluable assets to teachers in Israel and abroad.
Massive Online Open Course on Antisemitism
One of the tools developed by Yad Vashem in recent years is a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) tackling historical and contemporary antisemitism. The six-part course, entitled “Antisemitism: From its Origins to the Present,” showcases 50 scholars from all over the world who explain the history, development and new forms of this oldest hatred, emphasizing the common themes that may be easily identified in antisemitic expressions today.
So far, some 15,000 people have enrolled in the course, which is offered on both the UK FutureLearn and US Coursera educational online platforms. Of course, every country has its own particular histories, and consequently its own particular sensitivities and needs. Together with local educators and community leaders, Yad Vashem Societies worldwide have played a crucial role in identifying these needs and communicating them back to Jerusalem, where experts at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies have been working hard to develop relevant courses and programs aimed at clearly identifying and exposing antisemitic expressions around the world.
Workshops for Educators
"Over the past few years, teachers have been turning to Yad Vashem as the expert on the greatest manifestation of antisemitism in modern history – the Shoah," says Shulamit Imber, Pedagogical Director of the International School for Holocaust Studies and Fred Hillman Chair in Memory of Janusz Korczak.
"While the circumstances and policies today are clearly not the same as in prewar Europe, there still exists the same 'language of hate,' which demonizes the Jewish people and encourages their discrimination and often their victimization. What is happening today is a continuation of the same anti-Jewish motifs that have been used throughout human history, and it is up to us to enable educators and other professionals to recognize this phenomenon and put a stop to it."
To this end, Yad Vashem recently developed a workshop for educators about contemporary antisemitism as part of its tailor-made seminars for teachers worldwide, which allow educators to easily identify dangerous stereotypes and the “language of hate” as triggers for discussion. Dr. Noa Mkayton, Deputy Director of the International School's European Department at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, helped developed this workshop.
Dr. Mkayton notes that in order to make this topic more relevant, she uses examples particular to the geographic location of the specific educators. “When teachers are confronted with what they fear is antisemitism, they feel lost and helpless,” she continued. “But it doesn’t have to be this way. Yad Vashem offers special tools and techniques to help teachers define and address antisemitism. Through this ‘toolbox’ approach, we have clear criteria for what is considered antisemitism. We help teachers identify the type of language that draws on traditional antisemitic tropes developed and used for thousands of years – and definitively declare that these statements are indeed antisemitic.”
Special Program for US Teachers
Yad Vashem’s educational influence is not restricted to activities in the International School. In 2005, the organization expanded its role in the North American educational sphere with the creation of the “Echoes & Reflections” multimedia program, together with partner organizations, the ADL and the USC Shoah Foundation. This flagship program aims at empowering US middle- and high-school educators with dynamic materials and professional development to teach about the Holocaust in a productive and effective way.
In addition to nine other comprehensive units, “Echoes & Reflections” contains insightful content on both historical and contemporary antisemitism. Sheryl Ochayon is the “Echoes & Reflections” Program Director: "It is very important today for teachers in the United States to have a game plan," she says. "How should you react when you find a swastika daubed on a school or community center wall? What happens when graves are knocked down in your community? ‘Echoes & Reflections’ helps teachers identify antisemitic acts and consider practical steps in the event of such an incident.”
Additionally, the program provides teachers with materials that encourage youth not to be bystanders in the face of antisemitism. “Our educational programs place a great emphasis on responsibility,” Ochayon concludes.
“We want to inspire and support students to take action in the face of racism and xenophobia. We teach and encourage pupils to make the choice to step up and speak out against antisemitism.”
This article is based on one that appeared in The Jerusalem Post.
Yad Vashem's Antisemitism MOOC and educator workshops were developed in part thanks to the generosity of the Philigence Foundation (Geneva) and Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. “Echoes & Reflections" is generously supported by Dana and Yossie Hollander and The Snider Foundation.
This article originally appeared in the "Yad Vashem Jerusalem Magazine," volume 91.
