According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents grew a startling 86 percent in the first three months of 2017, compared to the same quarter in 2016. In the wake of this increase, The Global Institute at Long Island University will host a groundbreaking conference to combat anti-Semitism. The urgency of this event was made even more apparent by the White Nationalist protest in Charlottesville, VA, that erupted in violence.
The conference, “The State of Anti-Semitism: Local and Global,” will bring national and international leaders together to collaborate with key regional leaders on effective strategies to identify, confront and overcome anti-Semitism in communities and abroad. Led by former Congressman Steve Israel, chairman of the Global Institute at LIU, the conference will be held at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 13, from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The event will be headlined by Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History, and one of the world’s most respected Holocaust historians and anti-Semitism experts. Lipstadt was recently portrayed in the 2016 film Denial, which was based on her extensive work in combating Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.
Ambassador Dani Dayan, consul-general of Israel in New York, will provide opening remarks. There will also be a panel of local law enforcement leaders talking about what we can do to protect communities, including Taryn A. Merkl, assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, chief of civil rights for the criminal division; Madeline Singas, Nassau County district attorney and Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini. Representatives of the Anti-Defamation League will also present updated information.
The goals of the event are to assess the state of anti-Semitism throughout the world and throughout our region, and to work with law enforcement to identify best practices and better partnerships to improve safety for Jewish institutions in our communities on Long Island.
Event sponsors include NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Counter Extremism Project and Bruce Pergament.
The event is free and open to members of the public. RSVP is required to attend the event; call 516-299-2560 or emailing Harrison Feuer at harrison.feuer@liu.edu.
