CONFRONTING ANTISEMITISM International Symposium Announced, October 17

Antisemitic violence is sharply rising and becoming more prevalent, indicating that existing programs and traditional solutions are not enough. As trusted public institutions with diverse audiences, how can archives, libraries, museums, and cultural institutions use their unique strengths to combat antisemitism and create lasting change?

This critical question is at the core of Confronting Antisemitism: Activating Archives, Libraries, Museums, and Cultural Institutions in the Fight Against Antisemitism, a symposium made possible with support from the David Berg Foundation and the Leon Levy Foundation, and presented virtually to an international audience by the Center for Jewish History and jMUSE on Sunday, October 17, 2021.

Among the 20 prominent panelists who will take part in the live-streamed initiative are Carla Hayden (Librarian of Congress), David Ferriero (Archivist of the United States), Oren Weinberg (Chief Executive Officer, National Library of Israel), Lawrence Bacow (President, Harvard University), Christopher Eisgruber (President, Princeton University), and Simon Schama (Historian and Author). Symposium topics will range from museum perspectives on modern-day antisemitism to Holocaust denial and revisionism in public institutions, to documenting antisemitism and examining the sources of why it continues to persist, and the dangers it poses to a free society.

"The Confronting Antisemitism symposium will galvanize the community by presenting cutting-edge analysis, offering strategies to resolve barriers to action, and identifying a landscape of possible initiatives," said Bernard J. Michael, President and CEO, Center for Jewish History. "We hope that the distinguished speakers' insights and experiences will catalyze cultural institutions to take a new, crucial role in empowering members of the public to confront antisemitism and, ultimately, to achieve new understanding."

The symposium, to be complemented by a digital publication in early 2022, will share information, encourage collaborative projects, and suggest specific steps for cultural institutions to take to ensure that antisemitism matters to not only Jewish people, but also to non-Jews. The program also will include a pre-symposium workshop for practitioners, scholars, and students that will focus on collections and research housed at the Center for Jewish History.

"Cultural institutions are well positioned to reach and impact individuals and help groups of people recognize and understand antisemitism as a problem for everyone," said Michael S Glickman, founder of jMUSE. "This symposium will activate cultural institutions in the struggle to stem the tide of antisemitism, to marry thought with action and deploy every tool that they have to effectively confront and combat it."

The Confronting Antisemitism symposium will take place virtually on Sunday, October 17, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 6:30 PM ET, with seven online sessions of talks and panel discussions. Free public registration, for any single session or the entire day, is available on its webpage at www.cjh.org/antisemitism.