78 years ago, an unthinkable tragedy, the attempted annihilation of Europe's Jewish population. What was my thing? Because I was born Jewish in 2023 anti Jewish hate crimes back on the rise across the globe. What is sometimes called, the world's oldest hate still persists today. And right here in Cincinnati to hear first hand about things happening in Cincinnati that my grandparents would have experienced in Germany is very alarming. I never really like stopped to think about. Wow, that was like really close to home. The devastating past of anti Semitism, the harsh reality of the present and the necessary steps being taken right now to stop Jewish hatred from impacting our future. We have to wake up now from W L W T. This is let's talk since presented by Western and Southern financial group, put our financial strength behind you. Some have called it the world's oldest hate, anti Semitism, the hostility, prejudice and hatred toward Jewish people. You're looking at images from the holocaust to the hate that still lingers today. Hello everyone. I'm Curtis Fuller and welcome to, let's talk since I want you to consider this more than four in 10 American Jews felt unsafe right here in the United States last year that according to the American Jewish Committee, now that's up 10% from 2021. Their sense of security diminished because of the rise in anti Semitic crimes attacks and violence here in the US. In 2022 3697 anti Semitic incidents were documented according to the anti defamation league, it is the highest number on record since the AD L started tracking these incidents back in 1979. And the AD L says 110 of those incidents happened right here in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. So let's talk about it. Never again. Those are the two words we use when talking about the holocaust, 11 million people were killed, approximately six million of them Jewish in *** blatant act of anti Semitism during World War two, some of the survivors now call Cincinnati home and are trying to spread their message. So history does not repeat itself. I was born in 1938. My father and Jewish men were rounded up first supposedly to go to labor camps. Needless to say they were sent to other camps, but it almost sounded reasonable. There's *** war going on. You need manpower to make tents and stuff from the enemy, but then they started to round up not just men but women and Children and babies. Do you need those in labor camp at that point, everybody tried to either hide or leave the country or what have you. And at that point, my mother and I went into hiding and I was able to hide for *** period of time with my mother. We were discovered, captured, ended up for *** while in Amsterdam. Then taken first to *** camp called, which was *** transit camp on the border of Holland, the Netherlands and Germany. And then from there, I was taken to Bergen Besen. And by some miracle, I survived Bergen, *** Jewish child. Nine months old had no, no chance to stay alive. What was my sin? Because I was born Jewish? That's so ridiculous. So being into hiding, uh I was *** baby, nine months old. *** baby bounds to cry when it's hungry, when it's wet, when it's not comfortable. Maybe when it's cold, my parents had to give me sleeping pills and shots and later on to give me to *** convent, *** Polish cloister, *** Catholic convinced are just to save it from the Nazis. Can you imagine at that time giving me, where did they take all this? I have no idea. Just thinking, will they ever see me again? Uh But the belief in God was so, so strong that time with the justice of prevail and I was reunited with them with all the hardship that they went through with all the hardship that I when so certainly there are people who deny that the holocaust happened. And since I'm, I wouldn't say fortunate, but since I am one of those who survived it, I think it's, I, I almost think that it's one of the reasons that I survived is to bear witness that it happened. Anti Semitism was always there. It did not started just with the, with the holocaust. We were always hated. Even during peso, we read in the book of, we tell the story of Peso and it's written in every generation, somebody came rose up to kill us in God saved us. So I do think I'm scared of anti Semitism. I'm very scared. Can I forgive? Can I forget? I cannot forget. It's my obligation to educate. This doesn't have time in our life. Nobody should live to it. Henry and Zaha built lives for themselves here in Cincinnati. Zaha still teaches to this day and after spending 40 years as *** professor at the University of Cincinnati, Henry now tells his story of survival at events virtually and in person coming up preserving the memories of holocaust survivors. We want our visitors to know that just because the holocaust happened in Europe, that doesn't mean there isn't any connection here in Cincinnati. *** look at the technology and progress to make sure their stories of anti Semitism impact the next generation. Welcome back. Everyone. We just heard the stories of Holocaust survivors. Henry and Zaha Rind Cincinnatian have been lucky to meet them and hear their experience in person. But what happens when survivors are no longer around to tell their stories. The Holocaust and Humanity Center is making sure their testimonies live on. Happened to you during the war, I started my life as *** prisoner in *** prison. Then I was sent to Auschwitz and from Auschwitz to be we want our visitors to know that just because the holocaust happened in Europe, that doesn't mean there isn't any connection here in Cincinnati. I'm being interviewed today and asked questions apparently for the purpose of saving it historically dimensions and testimony is this amazing project, an amazing partnership with the US C show *** foundation in which we film survivors with this new technology so that someday we can have conversations with them um in real time uh through this artificial intelligence, we have Henry who is our Holocaust survivor who is sharing his story with us. Um We are filming him in what's called *** capture so that we are capturing um questions and answers that he is giving us um that later will be put into the um interactive biography so that we can have conversations with him later on in the museum or in other spaces um throughout the throughout the world. Actually, uh we have *** dimension in testimony gallery and currently we have five survivors featured in that gallery, but none of them are local. And so we were so fortunate to be able to bring two of our local survivors to this technology, everything we have on Henry, including our archival material goes into building *** script which is hundreds of questions spread out over five days of filming, uh 3 to 4 hours *** day. So it's pretty grueling, especially when we're working with um an older community as well. Um It's tiring for the entire team, but mostly for the Survivor. Actually *** little, it's, it's becoming *** little more emotional and moving as the day goes on, you know. So typically I'm invited to go somewhere, go to *** school, go to *** senior class in high school and I speak for an hour. Uh Even then I can't just go home and do nothing. I need *** couple of hours to unwind. There's not much else I can do. Uh this, you know, every day of the week for four hours sitting in here and answering questions is pretty serious. I see how this speaks to visitors and it's an incredible experience. It's very meaningful, especially for students who have questions, they're not necessarily comfortable asking in front of their peers or asking *** teacher. And it's just really incredible to see them come alive and have this dialogue that just seems so very organic and natural. Hm, the Holocaust and Humanity Center tells us you'll be able to ask Henry questions through dimensions and testimony in May 2024 hate after the holocaust to hear first hand about things happening in Cincinnati that my grandparents would have experienced in Germany is very alarming what anti Semitism looks like in greater Cincinnati today. And the multi generational efforts to combat it, we've heard about the past but it did not end with the liberation of Jewish people after the Holocaust, anti Semitism is still very much alive. Today, rates of violence against Jewish people continue to rise throughout the country, the world. And here in Cincinnati, I come from *** family of Holocaust survivors who fled Nazi Germany at *** time that you know, is beginning to look like Jews would no longer be welcome. And so to hear about to hear first hand about things happening in Cincinnati that my grandparents would have experienced in Germany is very alarming. People don't realize that it didn't start and it didn't end with the holocaust that unfortunately, what is sometimes called the world's oldest hate still persists today. Well, the Jewish community in general has been around for thousands of years. We have gotten very good at adapting to circumstances and dealing with adversity. So much of the hate that is coming against the Jewish community is from misinformation and disinformation conspiracy theory that they might have read from the protocols of the elders of Zion, for example, *** fabricated document that's been proven to be false for so many years. But yet this information continues to permeate our society nationally. We've seen *** pretty remarkable increase in anti Semitism over the last 10 years or so in Cincinnati, much of what we're looking at the state of play *** lot with propaganda campaigns flattering as we often call them where anti Semitic individuals will distribute anti Semitic propaganda in various neighborhoods. You know, in *** lot of cases, there are literally just *** few folks driving around in the car with *** Ziploc baggie with some anti Semitic materials filled with some corn or something to weight down. They toss it out the window as they drive through the community every day. I read and I hear from, you know, concerned citizens in the city um about being made to feel unwelcome about, um, you know, *** teacher teaching, um from *** source that hasn't been vetted properly and contains some, you know, anti Semitic conspiracy theories to, um, you know, people saying, waking up to find, um, you know, flyers in their yard that, um, you know, say that Jews aren't welcome in our society. We also see *** lot of anti Semitism within educational institutions. I'm sad to say, especially within colleges and high schools, we see *** lot of incidents where Jewish students are meant to, made to feel marginalized amongst their peers, they're told. Well, you can't participate in this or that student group if you're Jewish or if you believe that there should be an ability for *** state of Israel to exist, all sorts of different incidents were often responding to that. I'm grateful to say that in our community, we haven't had to respond to *** ton of violent anti Semitic threats in recent years. But we're always also working proactively with certain community offices to ensure that we know what threats might be coming our way so we can head them off before they occur. We might say that this is not, you know, what, what we experienced in the holocaust is absolutely correct. However, if we don't stop it, if we don't put *** check to it, now, there's no telling what it might grow to, you know, part of fighting anti Semitism is creating allies at an early age. And that is exactly what the Holocaust and Humanity Center is doing in partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools. Today, we're coming here to learn about anti Semitism and how it's connected to the lessons we've been taught in school and how it connects to modern day as well as the origins of it. The Cincinnati public schools partnership began two years ago, all told it's *** five year partnership where every ninth grader with Cincinnati public schools will come through this museum. So we are really privileged to see what this is doing. The way the students respond to. It is so cool and powerful. I did not know that it was as recent as it was. I thought it was like *** really long time ago. So to be reading about like anti Semitism and like the things that happened to Jewish people during the holocaust and all the other people who were impacted by the holocaust. I never really, like, stopped to think about. Wow, that was like, really close to home. *** lot of people say never again. And, um, one of the things that I was struck by is that so many of my students and other students, they recognize the anti Semitic message, but they don't realize what it is. They don't realize it is anti Semitism. So they will, when we're learning about the Holocaust, they'll bring up these, you know, messages that have been used for generations to justify this hatred or, or, or discrimination against the Jewish population. And they don't even realize that there is so much emphasis on what you're not allowed to teach. Um But this is something that is really important. It ties in, in *** variety of the areas. I mean, like in American history, I mean, once you become aware of discrimination, racism, anti Semitism, it's really hard to unsee it. Um But if you're never made aware of it, you never know. Um And so don't shy away from those hard history examples because the kids will be better off for it. This idea of humanity education and character strengths is something that will provide these kids *** foundation as they continue to grow into the kind of ups standards we need in the world today. That partnership is currently in its second year, the Holocaust and Humanity center, hoping now to partner with additional school districts to teach young people about anti Semitism the past and the present. While Cincinnati City Council is also using its authority to help the Jewish community. Rachel Zheer reports on the newly adopted definition of anti Semitism. And the message it sends about stomping out hate in Cincinnati City Council is sending *** clear message that hate of this kind is not welcome in Cincinnati. Thank you to the Jewish community for not running and standing firm on what you will not tolerate. I think *** lot of people can take *** page from that sparking change and standing up to anti Semitism is one of many goals. City Council is tackling *** unanimous vote, allow the adoption for the globally recognized working definition of anti Semitism for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The resolution will help city government leaders and law enforcement identify anti Semitism and take appropriate action if and when it emerges. But it also gives us tools to work with in the future. Now, when we're dealing with potential issues of anti Semitism, we have something we can point to and say our city has adopted *** resolution describing what anti Semitism looks like and what we are dealing with in this or that scenario that is anti Semitism. And it needs to be taken seriously examples by the I H I of what constitutes anti Semitism include holocaust denial, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis and accusing Jewish people for being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by *** single Jewish person or group in downtown Cincinnati. I'm Rachel. Hers. Now, if you believe you are *** victim of any anti Semitic act or would like to report one, you could always reach out to the Jewish Community Relations Council looking toward the future to end anti Semitism for good. I don't want anybody's for you to be my best. The work being done in Cincinnati to ensure history doesn't repeat itself. And finally, today, there are folks on the front line fighting anti Semitism. So we don't repeat the past various organizations, Holocaust survivors and alliances here at home are standing up and standing together before it's too late. I don't want anybody's for you to be my best. Our mission is to advocate on behalf of *** safe thriving Jewish Cincinnati. Recognizing that that kind of community only comes through collaboration with other groups and building them up as well. We're really trying to think 10, 15, 20 years down the line, how we're going to turn Cincinnati into *** community that has integrated its Jews into the fabric of society. That's the way that we're going to adapt and respond to this. So that in the next 10 years, we see *** fall in anti Semitism rather than *** continued rise. Anti Semitism doesn't exist on its own. And so to combat anti Semitism, we need to take *** deep look at our society and really try to fix it from within one of the things we do *** lot is respond to incidents of anti Semitism. When those occur, we get in touch as quickly as possible with the affected people as well as any contacts we have within the relevant organizations. We try to figure out what's going on here, all sides of an issue, make sure we have *** good comprehension of what's taken place. And then we advocate on behalf of our communities the best of our ability. But we're just so thankful that there are so many open minded, kind hearted and those willing to have these conversations to put aside agendas and political differences and communal differences, to come together, to strengthen our society, to promote compassion, love equity. It's really what we need here in Cincinnati and throughout the and throughout the world, it will happen. If we will not learn from the past, there is no place for racism in our world. And I don't think I just, it doesn't matter whatever your religion is and the time is now to start to educate. We have to look for *** bright future for all of us and all of us deserve it. And you, I'm talking to you really sincerely. We ups stands, will you stand with me? An ups stander is *** person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of *** person being attacked or bullied. Remember together, we can all stand up and make *** difference that does it for the program today. Thanks for joining us. I'll see you next time for another edition of Let's Talk since.