145619_Simon_Wiesenthal_lr

Simon Wiesenthal Center
Spring/Summer 2020
Vol.1 Issue 19
Circulation 250,000
Leadership with a Global Reach
FIGHTING THE SCOURGE OF GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM
“We are facing
an epidemic
of anti-Semitism
and hate unlike
anything I’ve
ever witnessed.”
- Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean,
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Cover photo story see page 11

From the Desk of Rabbi Marvin Hier
I am writing to wish you and your family well as we face the enormous challenge unleashed
by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which threatens, not only the United States, but the
entire world. ❉ In my six decades of communal service as a Rabbi, which included times
of war, natural disasters and terrorist attacks, including 9/11, I have never experienced a
crisis of the magnitude of the Coronavirus we now face. It is certainly the modern version
of the Bible’s Tower of Babel story, where a robust modern world, with all its sophisticated
spacecraft capable of ascending the heavens, suddenly comes tumbling down without
warning, threatening the entire planet. ❉ Without a doubt, solving this crisis should be everybody’s top priority. All of us must
take seriously the recommendations made by the CDC and our Federal, State and Government Officials. ❉ At the same time,
we must not panic, nor lose faith, that in the end, this too shall pass. Let us remember that we are the people whose ancestors
experienced Auschwitz and the Holocaust, yet still taught their children and grandchildren never to despair. ❉ All of us share
a deep belief that we will come out of this, and when we do, we must make sure that institutions like ours, the Simon Wiesenthal
Center, which is fighting the world’s oldest hatred, remains vibrant and strong. ❉ Indeed, our sages teach that the Almighty
created many worlds before ours, but he still said of his new creation, Earth, “Behold it is very good indeed.” So, must we come
out of this challenge by continuing to teach our children and grandchildren that, behold, “Our future shall be very good indeed.”
Rabbi Hier to
Pope Francis: “Let Us
Unite In The Battle
Against Anti-Semitism
and Hate”
Excerpted below is the speech delivered
by Rabbi Hier at the Vatican:
Your Holiness, we are grateful for your kind
invitation to, once again, visit with you here
in the Vatican. We remember fondly our
first visit just weeks after your election as
Pope. Sadly, our visit today comes at a time
when anti-Semitism and bigotry has again
taken center stage threatening our world
and the future of humankind. ❉ Today
we are facing another worldwide epidemic of anti-Semitism and hate… We have come to ask for your help, as the leader of
the Christian world, to help us to confront this debasement of humanity! ... In 2020, anti-Semitism and bigotry are present
everywhere. In the heart of our democracies in London, Paris, Berlin, in the Parliaments, and here in Rome, where an 89-yearold
Holocaust survivor needs police protection to go shopping. This hate has now crossed the Atlantic and infected America
and her prestigious learning centers like Columbia and NYU, UCLA and Stanford…in the halls of Congress and in the corridors
of the UN. … Worse, reminiscent of the Holocaust years, religious Jews identified by their skull caps, or by their beards, are
particularly vulnerable… In Montreal, it was a taxi driver who punched a young Jewish man in the face because he was wearing
a yarmulke. In Miami, a 68-year-old Jewish man was shot six times. His crime: walking into his synagogue. ❉ Your Holiness,
we seek your help in teaching our world that while we may not be in the Garden of Eden, indifference is too high a price
to pay for men and women created in the image of G-d. We have the ability and the responsibility to stand up to the evil
that threatens us. Let us remember what Winston Churchill said, had the world challenged the Nazis in the early 30’s, tens
of millions would have been spared from making the ultimate sacrifice in the 40’s. ❉ And the words of Simon Wiesenthal
who reminded us: “Freedom is not a gift from heaven, it is something we have to fight for each and every day.”
Pope Francis:
“A Barbaric
Resurgence of Cases
of Anti-Semitism”
During a private audience at the
Vatican, an international leadership
delegation from the Simon
Wiesenthal Center met with Pope Francis
on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the
liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death
camp. In his remarks to the 54-person
group, Pope Francis warned, “If we lose
our memory we destroy our future ...
may the anniversary of the unspeakable
cruelty that humanity learned of 75 years
ago serve as a summons to pause, be still,
and to remember. We need to do this lest
we become indifferent.”
In response to the speech by Rabbi Hier,
who spoke about their meeting coming at
a time when anti-Semitism and bigotry has
again taken center stage threatening our
world and the future of humankind (see
pg 2), Pope Francis went on to denounce
“… a barbaric resurgence of cases of anti-
Semitism, adding, “I will never tire of firmly
condemning every form of anti-Semitism.”
Your Center, active throughout the world, seeks
to combat all forms of anti-Semitism, racism
and hatred. For decades, you have maintained
contacts with the Holy See … you help keep
alive the memory of the Holocaust.…” - Pope Francis
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UK Labour Party’s
Anti-Semitism
Exposed
The Simon Wiesenthal
Center has been on the
forefront of exposing
the anti-Semitism that has
infiltrated into the Jeremy
Corbyn-led Labour Party in the
United Kingdom. Four days
before the British election,
the Simon Wiesenthal Center
named Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn as #1 on its Top Ten
List of Anti-Semitic and Anti-
Israel Incidents of the past
year. Corbyn topped the list,
as no one has done more to
mainstream anti-Semitism into
the political and social life of
a democracy than the Labour
Party. The Wiesenthal Center
has been raising concerns
over Corbyn, placing him on
the Center’s Top Ten list for
the last several years.
Global Efforts to Counter Anti-Semitism
Executive Order to
Combat Anti-Semitism Signed
An Executive Order combating anti-Semitism, signed
by President Donald Trump, was welcomed by
the SWC and by Jews and Jewish organizations.
With rising anti-Semitism across the US and the world, the
Executive Order is intended to ensure vigorous enforcement
of existing civil rights laws against, “prohibited forms of
discrimation rooted in anti-Semitism.” The Order refers to
the definition of anti-Semitism that was formulated, in 2016,
by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)
and has since been adopted by the US State Department and
by more than 26 countries and entities around the world as
a non legally-binding definition of anti-Semitism. The SWC’s
Director of Goverment Affairs, Mark Weitzman, is considered
to be the “architect” of the IHRA defintion and one of the
principal figures in shaping and introducing this definition of
anti-Semitism. Pictured at the White House, following the
announcement of the Executive Order are: Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean and Global Social Action Director;
Larry Mizel, SWC Board Chairman; Robert Kraft, Chariman/CEO Kraft Group and Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of the Treasury.
“I do not recall any time I’ve been as concerned [about anti-
Semitism]. We’re in uncharted territory. Unless we do something,
the results will be horrific and unprecedented in American history.”
In another blow, the Mail on Sunday quoted
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the head of the Nazi-hunting
group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, as saying
that “no one has done more to mainstream
anti-Semitism than Corbyn’s Labour Party.”
Wiesenthal-Zentrum
Labour-Chef Corbyn und Anschlag von Halle
führen Liste antisemitischer Vorfälle an
Das Simon-Wiesenthal-Zentrum wertet Labours Antisemitismusproblem
als schlimmsten Vorfall des Jahres. Auch der deutsche Uno-Botschafter
landete auf der Liste - das Auswärtige Amt protestierte dagegen.
Labour racism: Jeremy Corbyn branded world’s
worst antisemitism enabler by top rabbi
JEREMY CORBYN has been branded the worst antisemite
on the planet in a scathing attack by a leading Jewish
organisation.
Centre Simon Wiesenthal: Jeremy Corbyn est la
plus grande menace mondiale pour les Juifs
Article original : https://infos-israel.news/centre-simonwiesenthal-jeremy-corbyn-est-la-plus-grande-menacemondiale-pour-les-juifs/
SWC Calls on President Trump to Appoint
Special FBI Task Force to Fight Anti-Semitism
- Rabbi Marin Hier, Los Angeles Times
President Trump was urged by
Rabbi Hier (pictured at a press
conference) to instruct the FBI
to create a special task force in
the wake of unending attacks against Jews and religious
institutions across the United States. The official request
was made by Rabbi Cooper in a meeting with US Attorney
General, William Barr, pictured above, at the Justice
Department in Washington, DC. Congressman Christopher
H. Smith (R-NJ) also announced his intent to introduce a
House resolution endorsing the SWC’s call. City Councils in New York and Chicago, and key legislators in Illinois, have already
backed the Center’s initiative. In New York, a resolution calling for the special task force was introduced in the NY City Council by
Council Members Keith Powers and Chaim Deutsch. In Chicago, a resolution sponsored by Aldermen Michele Smith (43rd Ward)
and Debra Silverstein (50th Ward) was unanimously passed. A group of key Illinois legislators sent a letter to President Trump – in
conjunction with the SWC – urging the creation of the special task force.
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Global Efforts to Counter Anti-Semitism
Holocaust Denial and
Threats to Israel by
Iran’s Regime
US Special Representative to Iran, Brian Hook,
briefed SWC officials and Interfaith community
leaders on the Trump Administration’s Iran
Policy, stating, “The Administration stands in solidarity opposing all acts of anti-Semitism…[and] violence against Jews.”
Speaking at a press conference, Hook said, “It was an honor for me to visit the Museum [of Tolerance] seeing so many school
groups ... so that they will be educated on the horrors of the Holocaust, which the Iranian regime continues to deny and
undermine the importance of tolerance as a fundamental goal.”
Four European Countries
Urged to be Added to Watchlist
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in
Washington, DC, held a hearing where Rabbi Cooper testified over
the sharp increase in anti-Semitic attacks in Germany, the United
Kingdom, Sweden, and France. The commission was urged to add
these countries to its Tier II watchlist following alarming increases
in anti-Semitic incidents in these countries, as they have failed to
decisively respond. Citing the worst examples in each country,
Cooper testified that in France, a judiciary “policy of appeasement”
in multiple cases, released violent, anti-Semitic assailants without a trial. French authorities deemed them mentally unfit to
stand trial (see page 11). In Sweden, anti-Semitic hate crimes have increased 53 percent. In Germany, a neo-Nazi tried to
open fire on a synagogue in the city of Halle. Additionally, in the UK, anti-Semitism spread to the electorate through Jeremy
Corbyn’s Labour Party.
Ad Campaign Spotlights
Global Anti-Semitism
To raise global awareness of the rise of
anti-Semitic attacks in the US and abroad,
the Simon Wiesenthal Center launched a
hard-hitting ad campaign, Never Again has
Become Again and Again, which aired during
prime time. MIllions of viewers saw the ad on
CNN and Fox News in selected cities. The
Center is on the frontlines, working 365 days
a year to fight back and protect Jews and
communities against this growing scourge of
anti-Semitism and will not stop until Again
and Again becomes Never Again.
Continued
Leadership in Fighting
Anti-Semitism
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
met with senior Center officials in
Jerusalem where they reiterated the
need for continued robust leadership
from the US State Department in
the struggle against anti-Semitism,
especially in Europe. They also
discussed the plight of the Kurds in
Syria and thanked Mr. Pompeo for his
leadership in ratcheting up pressure
on the Iranian regime through
economic sanctions. The Secretary
of State expressed satisfaction over
the historic cooperation between
the State Department and the
SWC adding, “We look forward to
expanding our relationship with
the global programming of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Museum of Tolerance.” To date, this has included the
translations into 12 languages of several films from the Center’s two time Academy Award®-winning Moriah Films film
division which have been seen by over a billion people in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The State Department also co-sponsored
the Center’s historic exhibition People, Book, Land: The 3,500 Year Relationship with the Jewish People and the Holy Land
which has been shown in 30 countries and translated into 14 languages.
Stand Up To Anti-Semitism:
New Film Project From Academy Award ® -Winning Moriah Films
The Simon Wiesenthal Center will be launching a dynamic new project in the fight against anti-Semitism. A Moriah Films,
six-part series of 45-minute documentaries designed to be aired on major streaming platforms examines the unprecedented
resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe, North America and the Middle East. These films will highlight the prolific explosion
of anti-Semitism in Great Britain, France, Germany,
Hungary and Central Europe, Italy, the Benelux
countries, Scandinavia and most importantly, North
America. It will include interviews with world leaders
and experts as well as the victims of anti-Semitism and
THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER’S TWO-TIME ACADEMY AWARD ® -WINNING FILM DIVISION
their perpetrators. There is no better vehicle for such an
important project than Moriah Films, with its more than
three decades of experience, two Academy Awards ® and 17 documentary films. No other Jewish or non-profit organization
has been able to attract talent including George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Michael Douglas, Orson Welles, Elizabeth Taylor,
Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley, Sandra Bullock, Christoph Waltz, and many Academy Award ® -winners who have all donated
their time to bring these stories to life.
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The New Epidemic of Anti-Semitism
Global Efforts to Counter Anti-Semitism
From the Los Angeles Junior Kings Youth Hockey
team caught on video making Nazi salutes, to high
school students at a party in Southern California
standing around red drinking cups arranged in the
shape of a swastika giving the Nazi salute, to the
vicious attacks in New York City, the capital of the
Diaspora, where Jews are assaulted almost every
day. Yes, even after the horrific attack in Monsey, it
only took a few hours for new attacks to take place
in a subway station on Grand Central, on an MTA
bus, and on the street in Williamsburg.
Attacks in New York: Working with
NYPD, Standing in Solidarity
With ongoing attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in
the New York area, a Simon Wiesenthal Center delegation
stood in solidarity with elected officials (pictured) at the No
Hate, No Fear solidarity march in New York to help bring much
needed attention to the wave of anti-Semitic hate crimes
plaguing the New York and New Jersey areas. Center officials
also met with leaders of the New York Police Department at
their headquarters (pictured lower right) to discuss special
efforts to protect the community and safeguard Jewish
On September 16, 1919, a returning German soldier
from WW I wrote a letter about Jews in which he said
“the value of an individual is no longer determined by
his character or by the importance of his achievements, but by
the amount of his possessions, his money… in a democracy he
courts the favor of the masses, crawls before the majesty of the
people, yet knows only the majesty of money.” By these words,
Adolf Hitler, a virtual nobody, made his entrance into the world.
Anti-Semitism never starts with a bang; rather, it creeps up on
a society that pays little attention to it until it is too late. That’s
the way it all began in Nazi Germany. Small isolated attacks,
every day, on ordinary Jews, sometimes shattering the glass of
a store, painting a swastika on an apartment house. The world
was too consumed with its own affairs to react. When they
finally caught on, it was simply too late. As the Torah reminds
us, “and a new king [rose up in Egypt] who knew not Joseph,”
who forgot the man who saved Egypt and its economy.
We are all astonished by what is happening today in America.
Where have we been in the last 20 years, while all of Europe
has been afflicted by the vicious plague of anti-Semitism?
Look at what almost happened in the UK with Jeremy Corbyn.
Even Hitler would be shocked if he learned that today no
Jew was safe in Paris, or Rome, or Berlin, or anywhere else on
the European continent. So why were we so complacent as
to imagine that anti-Semitism could never cross the Atlantic?
Well, we were wrong. Anti-Semitism is everywhere in America.
So why is this happening? It is happening because
there is a double standard in the way Jews are
treated by the international community. It is a fact
that there is no BDS movement against the terrorist
organizations of Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Holocaustdenying
state of Iran. Only Jews, Judaism and the
Jewish state are vilified. Hitler would be thrilled to hear that in
the house of Washington and Lincoln, a US congresswoman
used his language, saying, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby!”
Tragically, many churches, media, academia, instead of
defending us, often lead the charge, thereby mainstreaming
anti-Semitism. And unlike the 1930s, when it took weeks or
months to sell a lie about Jews, now, with a post or tweet, you
can reach millions around the world in seconds. Even more
dangerous than all of the above is that in today’s world, the farright,
the extreme left, Islamists, are all prepared to put aside
their own differences in order to march together under the
banner: Let’s be rid of the Jews.
Therefore, we must acknowledge that we are facing an
epidemic of hate and anti-Semitism. Time is of the essence.
What we need is a special FBI task force to take charge of
this plague. It is too risky to have so many well-intending
police agencies, mayors, and governors with so many other
important agendas to attempt to lead these investigations.
The haters need to know the task force will be as committed
in apprehending them as they are in carrying out their attacks.
Finally, the American Jewish community, Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform, and secular, despite our political and
religious differences, are all united in defeating the scourge of
anti-Semitism, whatever it takes and wherever it leads us. We
have faced this threat for 3,500 years, yet we are still here.
US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with SWC Government Affairs Director,
Mark Weitzman
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY) with Michael Cohen
Congressman Max Rose (D-NY)
with Mark Weitzman
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with SWC Eastern Director, Michael Cohen
institutions. The Center committed to work closely with
the NYPD in the months to come. Similar efforts have also
taken place with the Los Angeles Police Department and
in Chicago. Rabbi Abraham Cooper also discussed this in a
meeting with US Attorney General William Barr (see pg 5).
L-R: Lieutenant James Woods, Commanding Officer, Police Commissioner
Liaison Unit; Rabbi Cooper; Jason Wilcox, Assistant Chief, Detective
Bureau, Investigative Support; Mark C. Molinari, Deputy Inspector,
Commanding Officer, Hate Crimes Task Force; and Michael Cohen
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Germany: People, Book,
Land at Frankfurt Book Fair
For 16 years, the SWC has been the only non-governmental
organization to monitor incitement, hate and violence on the
shelves at the Frankfurt Book Fair. For the first time, government
Canada: State of the Union
Focuses on Anti-Semitism
Global Efforts to Counter Anti-Semitism
France:
A Call for Justice
representatives, religious and Jewish community leaders,
including Frankfurt’s mayor, pictured with SWC International
Affairs Director, Dr Shimon Samuels, gathered for the opening
of the German version of the Center’s traveling exhibition
People, Book, Land: The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish
People and the Holy Land at the Book Fair.
Mexico: Crippling
The BDS Movement
A campaign was launched by the SWC to
stop Pink Floyd founding member, Roger
Waters from performing on tour in Mexico
later this year. Waters, a well known supporter
of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
targeting Israel has personally urged fellow artists not to perform
there. Businesses in Europe and the Americas, sponsoring and
promoting Waters’ concert, were contacted and urged by the
SWC to cancel their sponsorship of his tour. This led to a decision by
Major League Baseball, to no longer schedule any more advertising
on its platforms for Waters’ tour promotion over his BDS affiliation.
Argentina: Adopting
IHRA To Fight Anti-
Semitism
In Argentina, during the height of anti-
Semitic incidents around the globe, Dr.
Ariel Gelblung, SWC Latin American
Representative met with then-Argentine President Mauricio
Macri to discuss anti-Semitism and ways to address the problem
in the region. Macri is pictured above, looking at a copy of the
SWC’s The Hitler Letter. Dr. Gelblung discussed the imporance of
countries in Latin America adoping the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
Issues of concern to Jews around the world, including anti-
Semitism, the climate for Jewish students on university
campuses, Middle East peace and the current conflict between
Iran and Israel were addressed at the State of the Union event in
Toronto featuring a dialogue between Natan Sharansky, former
Soviet Union refusenik and dissident, and renowned lawyer
Alan Dershowitz. Sharansky was also honored with the Human
Rights Award from Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
for Holocaust Studies. Pictured: President and CEO, Canadian
Friends, Avi Benlolo; Rabbi Jarrod Grover; Alan Dershowitz;
Irwin Cotler; Natan Sharansky; SWC Executive Director, Rabbi
Meyer H. May and Friends’ Chairman Fred Waks.
US: Annual
Digital Terrorism +
Hate 2020 Report
simon wiesenthal center
‘the big five’
digitalterrorism+hate
2020 report card
The SWC’s annual Digital Terrorism +
Hate Report was released in Washington,
DC by Homeland Security Chairman Max
Rose (D-NY), Congressmen Christopher
H. Smith (R-NJ) and Thomas Suozzi (D-
NY). The report details the growing list
of alternative platforms enabling white
nationalists and other extremists to expand their
reach and influence, including messaging and gaming sites.
Accompanying the report is the annual report card grading
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and other social media
platforms’ record on blocking hate and terrorism online.
FACEBOOK
GAB
B-
alt-tech
TELEGRAM
F
D
TWITTER
PARLER
BITCHUTE
messaging
DISCORD
SPOTIFY
D
C-
STEAM
C
B
D
F
TWITCH
VK.COM
CANUND
BRIGHTEON
Incomplete
D
D+ B-
C
D
D
TIKTOK
GOOGLE /
YOU TUBE
VOAT
REDDIT
D-
B-
C
iFUNNY
INSTAGRAM
DISQUS
8KUN
(8CHAN)
gaming video / memes
C-
F
SIGNAL RIOT INC.
SNAPCHAT
C-
A rally in Paris called for
justice for murdered Jewish
woman Sarah Halimi, who was
stabbed and thrown out of her
3rd floor window after a Court
of Appeals ruled that her
attacker was, “not criminally
responsible” for his actions because of heavy drug use. The admitted
killer was a Muslim immigrant who forced his way into her apartment in
the middle of the night and brutally murdered her. During the attack,
neighbors heard him reciting verses from the Koran and shouting
anti-Semitic slurs. The SWC has been on the forefront of fighting for
justice in the Halimi case. Dr. Samuels met with French Justice Minister
Nicole Belloubet (pictured above) telling her, “Alcohol, cannabis and
psychiatry must not be used by the French judiciary system as excuses
for perpetrators of anti-Semitic murder and violence.” A new hope in
the fight against anti-Semitism in France came with the adoption of
the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition
of anti-Semitism by France’s National Assembly.
Belgium & Spain:
Modern Day Anti-Semitic and
Holocaust-Themed Carnivals
For the last several years, carnival festivals leading up to
Ash Wednesday in Europe have become infected with anti-
Semitism. At least five parades have featured anti-Semitic,
At the rally for Sarah Halimi with SWC Europe President,
Richard Odier, Dr. Samuels and Center supporters
stereotypcial depictions of Jews. In Alst, Belgium, (L) ultra-
Orthodox Jews were depicted as vermin with long noses
wearing fur hats, eerily reminiscent of how the Nazis and their
collaborators portrayed Jews in the 1930s. In Spain, (above)
a Holocaust-themed parade featured gun-toting soldiers
dressed half as Nazis with the other half as concentration
camp inmates marching in unison, followed by a singer on
a float standing between two smokestacks reminiscent of a
death camp. (See cover photo). Dr. Samuels, who has been
monitoring and protesting these carnivals to authorities said this has become, “A reflection of the growing levels of anti-
Semitism becoming evident in all corners of Europe.”
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Never Stop
Dreaming: The
Life and Legacy
of Shimon Peres
President Bill Clinton, Cinematographer Jeffrey Victor, and Richard Trank
President George W. Bush with Richard Trank
President Barack Obama with Rabbi Hier and Richard Trank
Moriah Films
Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and
Legacy of Shimon Peres, is the official
film biography of Shimon Peres, Nobel
Peace Prize laureate, three-time Prime Minister
and ninth President of the State of Israel.
The film is culled from more than fifty hours
of interviews by Academy Award®-winning
Writer/Director and Executive Producer
Richard Trank and features interviews with
Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush,
Bill Clinton, former Prime Minister Tony Blair,
Barbra Streisand, President Peres’ son Chemi
and granddaughter Mika.
Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy
of Shimon Peres, narrated by two-time
Academy Award®-winning actor George
Clooney, and the sixteenth production of the
Simon Wiesenthal Center’s two-time Academy
Award®-winning Moriah Films division, has
been acquired by Netflix and will premier
globally later this year.
President Peres and Rabbi Marvin Hier
George Clooney with Rabbi Hier and Richard Trank
Actor George Clooney has
had quite a few challenges
in his career - from films
with hundreds of extras to
tens of pounds in favor of a
role in the film. In the past
year, he joined another
challenge - to announce the
life of the ninth president
of the State of Israel and
one of the most recognized
and esteemed Israelis in the
world, Shimon Peres.
Moriah Films Collection
Stream Today
See back cover for more information

Moriah Films
Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres
highlights President Shimon Peres’ key moments, including working
alongside David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, his role in
building Israel’s military and nuclear program, the Six-Day and Yom
Kippur Wars, his rivalry with Yitzhak Rabin, his involvement in rescuing
hostages in Entebbe, the Oslo Peace Accords, the assassination of
Yitzhak Rabin, and the creation of the Peres Center for Peace. The
President also reflects on his legacy, why his optimism never wavered,
and his belief that Israeli advances in technology and science will
ultimately bring peace to the Middle East.
President Peres and Richard Trank
The vision for the Museum
of Tolerance Jerusalem is
in five million square miles.
Around the whole Middle
East, the State of Israel is the
only democracy and it should
say to the world, “What is a
democracy? Come into this
building and you’ll find out.”
Filming at President Peres’ childhood home in Belarus
A democracy is a place
where we don’t muzzle
people, where people who
are, let’s say, right-wing in
their politics, left-wing in their
politics, Christian, Arabs,
Jews are all welcome here to
learn the magnificent story of
On location at the train station in Vishneva were a young Peres and his brother left in 1934
On Location:
New Doc on David Ben-Gurion
Moriah Films’ 17th documentary, currently in production, highlights
the life of Israel’s first and longest serving Prime Minister, David
Ben-Gurion. The documentary features interviews with former Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak as well as many others
who worked alongside Ben-Gurion in helping to
create the State of Israel. New footage was filmed
on location in Plonsk, Poland, Ben-Gurion’s
hometown, as well as throughout Israel including
in his homes in Tel Aviv, Sde Boker and in the
Negev. Photos: Filming in the Negev Desert and
on the street in Tel Aviv.
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the Jewish people and to commit themselves to the
principles of tolerance and human dignity.
We all say in the synagogues, Ki Mitzion Tei-tzei Torah,
from Zion shall go forth the Torah and the word of G-d
from Jerusalem. What is the word of G-d?
That we should respect each other, that we should
not hate each other. That is what this institution is all
about. The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem is a gift to
tomorrow’s generation. It’ll attempt to say to them, “do
the right thing as your ancestors have done,” to ensure
that the great legacy of the Jewish people continues
along the principles of tolerance and human dignity.
- Rabbi Marvin Hier
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Mamilla Mall
A Museum Like No Other
In The Heart of Jerusalem
Western Wall
Visitors to the MOTJ Site
Old City
Jaffa Gate
King David Hotel
David Citadel Hotel
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Drew and Careena Parker, Gita Nagel, Rabbi Hier, Esther and
Dr. Paul Lerer
MOTJ Campus
Plaza Hotel
Independence Park
SWC Board Member Lee Samson and Rabbi Hier
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New Temporary
Exhibitions
Fighting for the Right to Fight: African
American Experiences in WWII, from
The National World War II Museum in
New Orleans, was displayed in the MOT.
The exhibition examines social changes
brought about by the events of World
War II, and connects African Americans’
efforts during the war to the burgeoning
Civil Rights Movement. Pictured, Allene
Carter, daughter-in-law of Eddie Carter,
who is featured in the exhbiition.
Honoring Our
Holocaust Survivors
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of
Auschwitz was commemorated in the presence
of Holocaust survivors, including one who was
Mutuality, a special
exhibition curated by
Swiss photographer
Saskia Keeley was
exhibited at the
MOT. Since 2016,
Keeley has brought
together Israeli and
Palestinian women living in Israel’s West Bank for photography workshops seeking
dialogue and understanding between neighbors. The exhibit consists of photos
taken by participants from Keeley’s workshops.
Family Sunday
Museum visitors created their
personal interpretations of the
American flag while listening to
soul music by Tough Love and the
#loverevolution band (pictured).
Lead singer, Lloyd Wilkey is a
facilitator for Tools for Tolerance
programs at the Museum.
Family Sunday, held in
conjunction with Fighting
for the Right to Fight exhibit
and Black History Month,
featured activities for
families including Creating
Art through Unity where
MOT offers Family Sunday twice a month.
Thank you
to the Windsong Trust,
Wells Fargo and Macy’s
for their leadership and
generosity in helping sustain
some of the programs of the
Museum of Tolerance
Los Angeles 2020
National Tribute Dinner
Honoring Amal & George Clooney
❉
New Date Pending
Witness To Truth, a photographic series at the Museum of Tolerance, started
in 2005, is a commissioned portrait project by the Simon Wiesenthal Center
and Museum of Tolerance to photograph Holocaust survivors who volunteer
their time. For over three decades, Holocaust survivors have volunteered at
the MOT to speak about their experiences during World War II. Over 50,000
visitors per year meet and hear a Holocaust survivor. Pictured: Pulitzer Prizewinning
photographer Marissa Roth photographing Dr. Raul Artal-Mittelmark,
a child Holocaust survivor.
United Arab Emirates Celebrates National Day
Hazza Alkaabi, Consul General of the United Arab Emirates in
Los Angeles, celebrated the United Arab Emirate’s National
Day at the Museum
of Tolerance. Alkaabi
was given a tour of
the Museum by Rabbi
Hier, which included a
viewing of The Hitler
Letter. Rabbi Hier
has been working to
forge ties in the Gulf
and has visited the
UAE three times.
in Auschwitz on the day of liberation. Rabbi Hier (pictured) spoke about
the significance of Holocaust remembrance for future generations and
its importance in stemming today’s upsurge of anti-Semitism. Pictured,
artist David Kassan’s Bearing Witness, an immense, multi-figural painting
featuring eleven Holocaust survivors, nine of whom are pictured (seated).
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Author & Films Series
Tools for Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance hosted a special screening of
Discovery Channel’s docuseries Why We Hate, pictured right,
produced by Academy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker
Alex Gibney, USC Shoah Foundation founder Steven Spielberg,
and directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s International Leadership
Award, pictured left, was presented to Washington Post
reporter Souad Mekhennet in the presence of diplomats,
as well as community and religious leaders. Mekhennet was
recognized for her diverse and courageous work as a journalist
and author. Pictured L-R: David Suissa, publisher of The Jewish Journal, Rabbi Hier, Ms. Mekhennet, Liebe Geft, Director of
the Museum of Tolerance and Rabbi Cooper.
Holocaust survivor Ella Mandel speaks to a group of
City Year AmeriCorps members following their tour
of the Museum of Tolerance. City Year is dedicated
to helping students and schools succeed, partnering
with public schools in 29 high-need communities
across the US, the UK and South Africa.
New York Times best-selling author
Alice Hoffman (right) discussed her book,
The World That We Knew, a novel about
the Holocaust, in a Q&A with Deborah
Thompson, MOT Book Store Manager and
a former Hoffman research assistant.
Just Mercy, based on Bryan
Stevenson’s critically acclaimed
memoir, was screened to a soldout
audience. Stevenson has
dedicated his career to helping
the poor, the incarcerated, and
the condemned. The screening
was followed by a Q&A with
Stevenson (right), actor C.J.
LeBlanc (middle), and moderated
by Liebe Geft.
The Two Popes, the Oscarnominated
film was screened in
conjunction with Netflix and was
followed by a Q&A moderated by
(L-R) Academy Award®-winning
director Richard Trank, Academy
Award®-nominated
director
Fernando Meirelles, three-time
Academy
Award®-nominated
screenwriter Anthony McCarten
and actor Jonathan Pryce, who
received an Oscar nomination for
his role.
For the last 12 years, at-risk students from the Sunburst
Youth Academy have incorporated a visit to the Museum
of Tolerance as part of a program to develop values, lifeskills,
education and self-discipline necessary to succeed as
productive citizens.
Police Academy cadets spent the day at the Museum
of Tolerance as part of the Tools for Tolerance for Law
Enforcement program. The cadets toured the Museum’s
Tolerance and Holocaust sections, participated in
workshops, and concluded by hearing a testimony from a
Holocaust survivor.
“This is one of our favorite places to visit in LA because it
is so much more than a program. It shapes the minds of
my children to see their value and influence in changing
the world,” said South Korean teacher Deborah P. Kim.
Every year, Kim brings her 5th grade students to tour
the MOT and participate in the STEPS to Tolerance
program. The students were guided on their visit by South
Korean intern, Sugyeong Hong, part of the MOT’s robust
International Internship Program.
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Innovative Educational Projects
Mobile Museum Of Tolerance
To Hit The Streets
The Simon Wiesenthal Center introduced its newest educational initiative
in the US: a high-tech, immersive, Mobile Museum of Tolerance (MMOT) to
launch in Illinois in partnership with the State of Illinois due to a generous grant
from the State. The traveling bus will be retrofitted with high-tech immersive
activities, “theater” seating,
and interactive technologies
to provide a world class
learning experience for students of all ages, accommodating groups of 30
people at a time. Drawing from the Museum of Tolerance Los Angeles’ exhibits
and programs, facilitators willl engage students, educators, and community
leaders on topics related to anti-Semitism, diversity, discrimination, bullying,
and school violence in a safe and neutral environment. The Mobile Museum
of Tolerance is based on the successful Tour for Humanity project (see below).
Pictured: Members of the Illinois State Board of Education, who are committed
to helping build and implement MMOT on a tour of the MOT in Los Angeles. Pictured, top, at Chicago’s Woman of Valor
event, Reverend Mitchell Johnson, Sean Tenner, L-R AnitaMarie Nelson, SWC Development Associate; Alderman Michele Smith,
Chicago City Council; Senator Sara Feigenholtz, IL State Senate; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Liebe Geft.
Tour For Humanity:
180,000 Students,
750 Schools Served
Across Canada
The innovative, award-winning Tour
for Humanity project is a 30-seat,
wheelchair accessible, mobile classroom
designed to bring Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies programming directly to students and
educators across Canada. Workshops are led by experienced facilitators, and teachers are provided access to educational
materials in order to assist in preparing their students for visits. Topics include the Lessons & Legacy of the Holocaust, the
Global Experience and Simon’s Story – Heroes Among Us.
Rising Anti-Semitism Addressed In
New Permanent Museum Exhibition
A new installation at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles
that will deal exclusively with the scourge of anti-Semitism was
discussed with Califonia legislators and Rabbi Meyer H. May.
During the meetings, Rabbi May updated them on the increase
of anti-Semitism sweeping California and the rest of the US.
Pictured with Rabbi May are California Assembly Speaker
Anthony Rendon and Senator Holly Mitchell, Chair of the CA
Senate Budget Committee.
1
Erasing The Hate
A former Skinhead. A one-time neo-Nazi. Two men, both affiliated
with dangerous hate groups in their youth today share their stories
and work with the SWC and MOT to teach young people about racism,
anti-Semitism, and extremism. Tim Zaal speaks candidly about his
induction into the White Supremacy movement. TM Garret (pictured)
is a German-American human rights activist who, in his youth, founded
a number of White Supremacist and KKK-affiliated groups in Germany.
Empowering
Tomorrow’s Leaders
From college campuses to pro-Israel youth conferences to
high schools, the Center’s traveling exhibitions are being
used as a tool to teach students about Israel, the Jewish
people and the Nazi Holocaust.
(1) The Birth of Israel: 18 Months That Changed Jewish
Destiny was recently displayed on the UCLA and University
of California Santa Barbara campuses. Jewish student leaders
stood proudly by the
exhibition even as they were
heckled by fellow students
walking by. (2) Courage To 2
Remember, the Center’s
exhibiton on the Nazi Holocaust has been displayed on high school campuses throughout
Southern California following an outbreak of anti-Semitic incidents, including one at a
party, where students were caught making Nazi salutes. (3) People, Book, Land: The 3,500
Year Relationship of the Jewish People With The Holy Land was used by hundreds
of students as a learning tool during workshops for high school students attending the
annual Club Z leadership conference, which trains the next generation of pro-active,
Zionist leaders.
3
Nazi Hunter Engages Students
Over 2,000 students and 150 educators heard SWC Chief Nazi Hunter,
Dr. Efraim Zuroff, speak at the First Baptist Church in Greensboro, TN as
part of an annual event hosted by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission
to help educate students on the history and lessons of the Holocaust.
Dr. Zuroff’s new book, written together with noted Lithuanian author
Rūta Vanagaite, entitled, Our People: Discovering Lithuania’s Hidden
Holocaust, is a pioneering work which exposes the depth of Holocaust
distortion in contemporary Lithuania.
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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest
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