On January 27 1945, units of the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. In the years since, Auschwitz, has become symbolic not only of the Holocaust – the murder of 6 million Jewish men, women and children – but of the dangers of unchecked hatred and extremism. Since 2005, the United Nations has declared the day to be an occasion to remember not only the Jewish victims of the Nazi regime, but millions more who were considered by the Nazis to be inferior. But what have we learned since 1945? What challenges do we face as we confront online and real-world manifestations of antisemitism and other forms of hatred? And what can we do to combat the spread of this destructive force?
This webinar occured on January 23, 2020, 1 PM EST.
Watch the presentation HERE. Kindly fill out our post-webinar survey here.
Panelist: Gayle Nathanson
Gayle Nathanson: As the Associate Director, External Affairs at CIJA, Gayle is responsible for developing and supporting relationships with other faith-based and civil society communities and organizations who share common concerns with the Jewish community in Canada. Under Gayle’s guidance, CIJA has collaborated with partner communities on a range of issues, including: combating online hate; fighting all forms of racism and discrimination, including antisemitism; supporting refugees fleeing persecution and genocide; and supporting Canadians with disabilities and their caregivers.
Prior to joining CIJA, Gayle was a Special Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario Office of International Relations and Protocol and was previously the Vice Chair of the Ontario Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Earlier in her career, Gayle was a public affairs consultant and began her advocacy career in Washington, DC where she worked for the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Jewish Committee. Gayle is a lawyer by training and practiced civil litigation at Goodmans LLP in Toronto. She is a graduate of McGill University and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Moderator: Len Rudner
Len Rudner is Principal at Len Rudner & Associates, a consultancy focusing on human rights. He is the former Director of Community Relations and Outreach for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and the Ontario Regional Director for Canadian Jewish Congress. He has spoken at international and domestic conferences focusing on Holocaust education, antisemitism, hate speech and freedom of speech. He is qualified as an expert witness in criminal proceedings relating to hate crimes. He is a member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, the Canadian Interfaith Conversation and a former public member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and the Ontario Anti-Racism Directorate. Len holds an Honours BA from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Education degree from University of Toronto. We Resist: Defending the Common Good in Hostile Times, a collection of essays to which Len has contributed, will be published by McGill Queen’s University Press in Summer 2020. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service.