SWC Plays Role in First-Ever US State Dept Conference on Combating Online Anti-Semitism

October 23, 2020

The Simon Wiesenthal Center had a significant role in helping put together the historic US State Department conference on online anti-Semitism.  Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC’s Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action led one of the sessions, as well as served on the planning committee identifying international experts to participate in Ancient Hatred, Modern Medium, the first ever US government-sponsored event to focus on the troubling rise of online anti-Semitism.

During this 2-day virtual conference, The US Department of State brought together leaders of government, religious and civil society, social media platforms, and academia to devise effective counterstrategies that combat anti-Semitism while upholding America’s longstanding commitment to free speech. 

Hosted by Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, conference participants included Deputy AG Jeffrey Rosen, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Members of Congress, the UK Parliament and the Israeli Knesset, EC Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism Katharina von Schnurbein, IHRA President Amb. Michaela Küchler, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, and many more. 

Rabbi Cooper moderated  a panel entitled Building Coalitions and Alliances – Anti-Semitism: The Canary in the Coal Mine? The Need for Cooperation. He was joined by Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), Prof. Salim Mansur, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Western Ontario, Canada and Shari Dollinger, Co-Executive Director, Christians United for Israel (CUFI).

“During the global pandemic, social media is how the world communicates. It is also brazenly used by anti-Semites, racists, and terrorists, to 24/7 demonize and threaten us all. For 27 years the SWC’s Digital Terrorism and Hate Project has been in the forefront of exposing and combatting online hate. We are grateful to have helped plan and contribute to the historic State Dept Conference. We are proud of our role in Facebook’s decision to remove Holocaust Denial from all its platforms. We are grateful for your continuing support….,” stated Rabbi Cooper.

To watch conference video and Rabbi Cooper's session click here