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Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Teaching the Holocaust: proceed with caution
Opinion Thanks to Byron Rempel-Burkholder (A more varied curriculum, Letters, Free Press, May 7) for suggesting that Holocaust Studies are wasted if the study of human atrocities stops there. And a special thanks to John Longhurst (Yair Rosenberg in North American Jews face rising antisemitism, speaker warns, Free Press, May 9) for addressing the intricacies and inadequacies associated with 'just talking about the Holocaust' as 'not enough.' Rosenberg admits that the Israel-Gaza war has not only stoked the fires of antisemitism but also increased the urgency to address current scapegoating and conspiracy theories about Jews. One thing I'm sure of is teaching about the Holocaust won't be easy — it is not just a simple curriculum fix or another moment in history. The Holocaust cannot be treated objectively and dispassionately. And today, Holocaust studies will lead us directly into discussing the Gaza conflict, one which most teachers have been told to avoid. We're treading on treacherous grounds which could make things worse for everyone. In the mid-1980s, I was an assistant superintendent in charge of programming in Seven Oaks School Division when I first introduced Holocaust studies to our board of trustees. Since our communities and our trustees were predominantly Jewish and Ukrainian, I followed this up later with Holodomor studies. While neither was overly contentious at that table, emotions were raw and strong. Memories and stories were painfully visceral. And I will never forget them, as I have also never forgotten the public responses with ranged from praise to denial to neo-Nazism. As we proceeded, I knew that those studies needed to include controversies over economic security, national sovereignty, citizenship and immigration, many of which are directly tied to the Western world's politically privileging economic priorities over human rights. Additionally, our political landscape needs a wake-up call to go along with any curriculum change of the proposed nature. Today's politics of difference informs me that if I am not a Jew, I cannot understand or appreciate the injustices of antisemitism. And God forbid that I question the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and the West Bank and criticize their claims about just defending a homeland. Today's politics of division tell me I have to choose between being Zionist or pro-Palestinian, either for Gaza and against Israel or for Israel against Gaza. I have no problem lining up against Hamas, but I do have problems with lining up with an Israeli government who tries to justify slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent people and their children and simultaneously wiping out education, health care and food aid. Or against those caught in the crossfire. As it stands, I know schools and teachers are ill-equipped to deal with the inevitable questions they will be asked, the positions they will be asked to take and the backlash they are in for — no matter how even-handed they try to be. Our schools are intended to be unique safe environments for children where they can learn to think and engage critically with issues bigger than their current understandings and still maintain hope and affirmation. Before we saddle our children and teachers with the responsibility of fixing the world, we adults need to clean up our own acts. We adults must openly and vigorously support our Jewish friends and neighbours in their efforts to confront and wipe out antisemitism — it's everybody's responsibility. We must continue to support the same basic rights for Jews and Palestinians along with the freedoms, rights and protections statehood offers — what we would want for all peoples. At the same time, we must call the Gaza war what it is — the unjustifiable slaughter of thousands of innocent people. We must in no way be apologists for Hamas and their wanton hate and cruelty. But we must commit to finding better ways than the killing of masses of civilians and destroying schools, hospitals and homes in the false hope that somehow evil forces and terrorism will be brought to heel. It has never worked before and is unlikely to now. There is no better guide for human solidarity than the values, norm and mores expressed in the myriad UN declarations and conventions on the desirable rights and freedoms of peoples. They could form the basis for Holocaust education which celebrates humanity and human possibility over division, difference and destruction. I am worried that any Holocaust curriculum will fail in combating antisemitism without expanded studies and the adult commitments that must accompany it … and a huge dose of truth, reality and generosity toward others with whom we disagree. John R. Wiens is dean emeritus at the faculty of education, University of Manitoba.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Antisemitism growing among young North Americans, U.S. journalist tells Winnipeg audience
North American Jews are facing a frightening new reality, a U.S. journalist told several hundred Winnipeggers this week. 'It's not in your head,' Yair Rosenberg, a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine, said in his address Wednesday evening at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, referring to rising antisemitism. 'You're not paranoid.' JOHN LONGHURST / FREE PRESS Yair Rosenberg speaks to Alissa Schacter after his presentation Wednesday. Rosenberg, who has been writing about the subject for more than a decade, said a big concern is the growth of antisemitism among younger people. Citing research in the U.S., he said 27 per cent of people in their 20s said they had an unfavourable opinion of Jewish people, compared to less than five per cent of people age 60 and over who felt that way. Research in Canada found people between the ages of 18 and 34 were twice as likely to have an unfavourable opinion of Jews as those over the age of 50. 'The younger you are, the less favourable opinion you have of Jews,' Rosenberg said. 'Antisemitism is growing in younger populations.' Rosenberg provided several explanations, starting with disappearing knowledge of the Holocaust, as survivors and non-Jewish witnesses to the evil die off. American and Canadian soldiers who returned from the Second World War's European battlefields brought back with them the stories of the Holocaust, Rosenberg said, calling it a 'pivot point for North American society.' The Holocaust changed how people in North America viewed Jews, he said, noting that before the war, a majority of North Americans were not favourably disposed toward Jews. 'The Holocaust inoculated people against antisemitism after the war,' he said, adding the new generation does not have that same knowledge. 'We are returning to the state of affairs that existed before the Holocaust. Younger generations are not inoculated against antisemitism.' Old conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world contribute to the problem, he said. 'We like to think of antisemitism as personal prejudice, but these theories imagine Jews as a group running the world, a sinister cabal behind the scenes — string-pulling Jews,' he said. Such conspiracy theories can be found on both the left and right of the political spectrum; blaming Jews for problems 'unites opposing ideologies,' he said. The rise of conspiracy theories goes hand-in-hand with the collapse of trust in traditional media, he said. 'That's a perfect breeding ground for conspiracies,' Rosenberg said of the rise of social media, which impacts younger generations to a far greater degree. About 85 per cent of Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) Canadians say they get news from social media, and 46 per cent from that group believe that information is more trustworthy than news from traditional media. Rosenberg said there has been a collapse in the consensus that the State of Israel is a good thing. 'It's gone,' he said. 'Negative views of Israel are rising.' Anger towards Israel is sometimes directed at Jewish people elsewhere because they and the State of Israel are viewed as a monolith. North American Jews are held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, he said. Earlier Wednesday, the Winnipeg Police Service released its 2024 statistical report, which showed 44 recorded hate-motivated incidents, down slightly from 46 in 2023. Most were mischief incidents targeting the Jewish community. Last year, police said there was a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. As a counter to anger directed at the Jewish community, Rosenberg suggested people try to be more active on social media and focus on education about Jews and Jewish life. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'But just talking about the Holocaust is not enough,' he said, urging young people to tell their stories so when non-Jews hear conspiracy theories, 'They can say it 'doesn't track with the Jews I know.'' Jews should also get out and meet more people outside the community, Rosenberg said. 'People need to meet real Jews in all our complexity,' he said. 'If they did, they would know we can't agree with each other on how to adjust the thermostat, much less on how to run the world.' Rosenberg was brought to Winnipeg by the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada for its annual Sol & Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture series. faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Miami Herald
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Postpone Miami Beach 'No Other Land Vote.' Producers offer way to watch film free
I am a proud native of Miami Beach. I went to elementary school at North Beach Elementary, and I went to a synagogue across the street at Temple Beth Sholom, where my mom worked. I now live in Jerusalem with my wife and our 3-year-old daughter. I am pursuing a doctorate in Jewish and Israeli education from the University of Haifa, and since Oct. 7, and for many years before, I have worked to teach North American Jews about current events in Israel and the occupied territories. Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner is trying to pass a resolution to terminate the lease and remove funding from O Cinema on Miami Beach after it screened this year's Oscar-winning documentary feature 'No Other Land.' As I read in a Miami Herald article from March 14, in the mayor's opinion, 'No Other Land' is a 'false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents.' As a former Miami Beach resident, educator and scholar on the subject, and as someone who has spent time in Masafer Yatta and seen first-hand the dangers and challenges residents there face daily, I believe that 'No Other Land' connects to several of my deepest-held values: The value of justice: in seeking justice for all value of knowledge: in learning about social issues that affect people from around the value of diversity: in engaging people who hold different cultures, identities and beliefs from my own. I was taught those values as a child in North Beach and Beth Sholom in the heart of Miami Beach. As such, I am curious about how Meiner arrived at the conclusion that this film doesn't represent the values of Miami Beach. Which values in particular don't align with our city, and what specifically within the film does he take issue with? From the impressions Meiner shared publicly about the film and from his proposed vote on the issue on Wednesday, he is probably not yet at a place for me to ask him to reconsider his proposal to terminate the lease and defund the O Cinema. Instead, I ask that the commission postpone the scheduled vote to a later date so that we might use this moment as a learning opportunity for Miami Beach residents to clarify our collective values and truly understand what issues the film raises. It's important for those voting on this proposed action and other Miami Beach residents of conscience to understand with depth what story 'No Other Land' is telling and how it's situated within the broader Israeli/Palestinian conflict. In fact, to facilitate our learning about this film and this issue, the filmmakers of 'No Other Land,' Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, have generously agreed to permit the people of Miami Beach to watch the documentary online, for free. 'No Other Land' will be screened online from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 18. RSVP by registering here to receive the free link to watch the documentary. I believe this is a great opportunity for Meiner, city commissioners and all Miami Beach residents interested to learn more about the film and the issues it raises. I hope the commission decides to postpone the scheduled vote and engage the people of Miami Beach in a more thoughtful and deliberative process about the film and O Cinema's right to screen it. If they do so, residents will know that our public servants are willing to listen to the concerns of our community and willing to learn substantively about the issues they seek to legislate. In the end, if the mayor and the other Miami Beach commissioners still choose to terminate the lease and defund O Cinema, then at least we will have collectively and intentionally discussed whether this is the right move forward for our community and grow closer as a result — even in our differences. If you care about this issue? Call your Miami Beach commissioner. Bryan Hanan Oren (formerly Bryan Susman) is an activist and a doctoral candidate in learning and teaching sciences at the University of Haifa in Jerusalem. He is a Dorot Fellow alum with a Master in educational leadership from the University of North Florida.
