On February 22nd, my group and I interviewed the Jewish real estate agent Tanya Gersh. We initially requested her to give us a brief rundown of her experience. She said that she had been a victim of a troll storm. A troll storm happens when someone gains access to your profession, address and contact information and distributes it to a group of individuals who are motivated by hate in order to harass you. They might, for instance, search every website that mentions you, leave negative reviews, and wreak havoc on your internet reputation. Also, they can directly message you with hateful comments. Tanya told us that even her 9 year-old and 12 year-old boys were being harassed. Tanya was harassed by a man named Andrew Anglin, who was the founder of the Daily Stormer. The Daily Stormer was a website made to spread hate about people. I am using past tense because after the attacks against Tanya and her family in 2017, she went to court against Anglin, Tanya won 14 million dollars against the Daily Stormer and got it removed from the web. Tanya talked about how she had this naive knowledge of hate, especially antisemitism, because she thought that “as a society we had evolved past hate and grown more inclusive” ever since the Holocaust. However, when everything happened to her she described it as “An instant change, I was almost heartbroken”. When she told us her story, I was very shocked that people in this day and age still possess so much hate for others.

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On Friday, February 24, my group and I had an amazing opportunity to speak with a Holocaust survivor, Leslie Held.
My group and I met up at 12:15 to get ready for the interview, which started with some technological difficulties. He is 92 years old, so unfortunately his memories have faded, but he still made some really interesting comments about the Holocaust. When we questioned him about his experiences, he revealed that he had spent time in two concentration camps and prior to this time, his mother had worked in a library while his father was imprisoned in a labor camp. After he reunited with his father, the family lived in Hungary until 1956, when Hungarian revolts sprung up about the Russian rule which was horrifying. This meant that they had to survive on food rations immediately following the Holocaust. Mr. Held and his family escaped the revolution to Vienna, and soon after, in 1959, he obtained a visa and traveled to the US. During the time Mr. Held was in a concentration camp, he advised us that he remembers the routine which was roll calls to do work, no matter the weather, whether it was rain, snow or sunshine. Finally, one last thing that he told us was that even though the Holocaust was one of the most impactful moments in history, he said that he would still be the same person he is today because he was 8 years old at the time and hardly affected the rest of his life. Even though this interview was tricky, we were still able to get vital and enlightening information from Mr. Held.

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At 12:15 I met up with my group and we prepared for the interview which after some technical issues started. Unfortunately, since he is 92 years old some knowledge was lost though he still said some very eye opening points about the holocaust. After we asked about his experience he told us he was in two concentration camps and before that his mother worked in a library while his father was in a labor camp and once he met back up with his father they lived in hungary until 1956 and that’s when hungarian revolts sprung up about the russian rule which was horrid. This meant that right after the Holocaust these people had to live off rations. All because a leader thousands of miles away decreed it. During this revolution they escaped to Vienna and shortly after in 1959 he got a visa and came to the US. During the time he was in a concentration camp he remembers the routine which was roll calls, in the rain, in the snow and in the sunshine. He remembers standing outside the barracks until noon. He told us that if we just talk about what happened then some people would listen. Lastly, he told us that he doesn’t think his life would’ve changed much if the holocaust hadn’t happened, meaning he would still be the same person and Russia and the US would still cause war and strife all throughout the world.

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We were lucky enough to be able to speak with a holocaust survivor on Friday, February 24th. Though unfortunately due to the combination of time and the way the human mind works, a lot of the information that we could have had was lost in the last 80 years. However the information we did gain was very useful.

Over the course of our call, Mr. Held talked to us about his experience during and after the holocaust, Mr. Held went into a concentration camp at the age of 8, when we asked about his knowledge of the situation he said “I couldn’t really know, I was just following my parents” during his time in concentration camps, he should have died twice. He was sent to the gas chambers, however on that day the camp ran out of Zyklon B. And when he was lined up to be shot, he was pushed down and saved by an old man who took the bullet for him.

After the holocaust, Mr. Held and his mother went back to Hungary until he had to escape in 1956 during the revolution against Russia, and in 1959, he got his VISA and came to the US.

While the interview was a little bit tricky, I am so glad we got to interview Mr. Held because not only was it an amazing experience for our group, but it was also an experience that I would have never expected to have.

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At 1:45 we met with Tanya Gersh who is a real estate agent. At first we asked for a quick summary of her experience. She said she was a victim of a troll storm. A troll strom is when someone like Andrew Anglin gets your information and gives it to a bunch of hate filled people and primes them to harass you. For example they would find every website about you and leave bad reviews and destroy your online life. This caused people who didn’t even know Tanya to think she was bad at her job and an overall bad person. Eventually, there was a march set in her hometown of whitefish montana ending at her house filled with antisemitic people. Though later Tanya told us that these people are cowards having liked the feeling of power over the computer but would never dare go to her in person. She also told us about how things are changing though our perceptions of these people are not. For example, I usually think of antisemitic people as stupid and kind of like a redneck but instead they are taking perfectly fine college students who are smart and educated then indoctrinating them against Jewish people. Then we talked about her reactions which were fear and horror and shattered her entire world view. Which was very closely tied to the show Glee, where a very diverse community celebrated their differences this also made her think Americans had basically overcome adversity and Hate violence. Her children felt the same but were also unsure of whether they were on the right side. After the Judge ruled in her favor though she was reassured that the precedent was out and the judge showed how we won’t put up with these people and we will hold them accountable. After she told us how we could make a difference by being loud and proud showing the best possible image of ourselves combating these harmful stereotypes.

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We sat down for an interview with Tanya Gersh, Tonya Gersh was a victim of an Anti Semitic Troll Storm, a troll storm is when a group of people gain access to your professions, address and contact information and decide to spread hate about you online. This can be done through direct messaging, doxing, or leaving hateful comments on sites related to a person. Not only was Tanya attacked, but her 9 and 12 year old sons.

Tanya spoke about how she had this naive understanding of hate, especially antisemitism, she claims she thought that “as a society we had moved past hate and become more accepting” but when everything happened to her she described it as “An instant change, I was almost heartbroken”.

After the attacks in 2017, Tanya went to court against Andrew Anglin, the founder of the Daily Stormer, a Right Wing Nazi. Tanya won 14 million dollars against the Daily Stormer and got it removed from the web. Tonya spoke on the difference between hate speech and free speech, she said “They were allowed to tell me that they hated me because I was a “Dirty Jewish Kike”… Where they crossed the line, you can not insight violence upon somebody, you can’t say “Ok Masses! Let’s gang up on this person and make their lives hell!” (17:34)

Even though Tanya was a victim of a hate crime, she claims that if it had never happened to her, she would never be as happy as she is today, she used the quote “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Tanya talked about how growing up Jewish, she learned resilience, and how every Torah portion, and every Jewish holiday was praising resilience and how she used her faith to persevere through her struggles.

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We departed from class at 2:15 and started preparing for the interview. We entered the zoom at 2:30, due to a technical glitch, we actually joined at 2:38. “Can you explain to us why you decided to join the ADL and why you’ve stayed there?” Shaffer asked after Dante officially dismissed our tardiness. Scott said that while he focused primarily on civil rights problems throughout law school, which helped organizations like the ADL, he yearned for a more practical experience. He tried to reunite and reconstruct the Jewish community before he joined the ADL because the iron curtain was coming down. He assisted Holocaust survivors during this time. Additionally, it gave me a fresh perspective on the Cold War. Nevertheless, he assists all minorities, not only Jews. He also gave us more information about how his children are coping with and learning about issues he has never had to, such antisemitism, which illustrates how quickly and widely it spread. Social media is primarily to blame for the rapid surge of antisemitism. We can see that there were just 12 instances of antisemitism in NJ in 2017, as opposed to 179 cases in 2020. Additionally, New York has the most antisemitic incidents. Nevertheless, there has been an increase in hate crimes against minorities across the US, and there are a few causes for this. One is that social media helps bring hateful people together and turn people against each other.

In the past, if you wanted your message to be heard by everyone, you had to go to a radio station or a newspaper publisher and ask them to input your message. However, doing so would result in negative publicity, so this rarely happened. Nowadays, you can easily go to a media app and post pretty much anything you want. Another reason is that due to polarization, the opposing side is unable to hear what we have to say. Additionally, it provides people with a justification for hiding their side’s ideas in order to promote their ideology. Last but not least, it demonstrates how those on the right can only control those on the right, and vice versa for those on the left.
The spread of illiteracy across the US is extremely evident. It most frequently manifests in seven pervasive myths about Jews. Which are: Jews hold sway over the world. They have a financial connection. They only have loyalty for Israel. They are different from non-Jews and offer Jewish people benefits. Christ was murdered, according to Jewish tradition, but the pope has refuted this idea, saying it is untrue. that there was no Holocaust! The last is anti-Israel sentiment.

Personally, I was startled to learn just how awful things truly are for minorities in the US and how they are most likely going to get a lot worse very rapidly. Sadly, this also clearly demonstrates the fundamental flaws in both democracy and freedom. The fact that New York has the highest number of anti-Semitic occurrences surprised me the most because I had always considered it to be one of the safest locations for Jews. However, I can now see that their high population made them a more attractive target.

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At 2:15pm we left class and prepared ourselves for the interview. At 2:30pm we joined the zoom though we had a tech issue so really we joined at 2:38pm. Dante formally excused our tardiness and Shaffer asked the first question which was, “Can you tell us why you decided to join the ADL and why you’ve stayed there?” Scott explained that in law school he worked mostly on civil rights issues which lead to organizations like the ADL but he wanted something more hands-on. Before he joined ADL he worked to rebuild and reconnect the Jewish community because the iron curtain was falling. During this he helped holocaust survivors. Also, this showed me a new perspective about the cold war. Though he helps all minorities rather than just Jewish people. He also told us more about how his kids are dealing and learning about things he never had to do such as antisemitism which shows just how big and fast it grew. The main reason antisemitism has risen so fast is mostly because of social media. We see that in 2017 there were only 12 examples of antisemitism in NJ compared to 179 incidents in 2020. Also, New York has the highest number of antisemitic incidents. Though there is a general rise in hate against the minorities all around the US and there are a few reasons for this. One is because of social media which helps unite hate filled people and turn people against their fellow humans. This is in large contrast to the past where if you wanted your message to be out in the world you would have to go to a radio station or a newspaper publisher and ask for them to input your message but that would entail bad publicity so that rarely happening but now you can easily go to a media app and post virtually whatever you want. Another reason is because of polarization which has made the other side unable to listen to us. Also, it gives people a reason to cover up their side’s thoughts in order to spread their ideology. Lastly it shows how only people on the left can control people on the left and vice versa for the right and we have been forcing them in the middle giving no one control over them.

We can see very clearly that ignorance has spread all throughout the US. It shows most commonly in seven widespread misconceptions about Jewish people. These are: Jewish people are in control. They are associated with money. They are only loyal to Israel. They give Jewish people perks and are special compared to non-Jewish people. Jewish people are responsible for the killing of Christ though recently the pope rebuked this conception as not true. That the holocaust wasn’t real! Lastly, there is anti israelism.

I was personally shocked to see how bad things really are in the US for minorities and how it is most likely going to get a lot worse very fast. Unfortunately, this also clearly shows the major flaws with democracy and freedom. What was most surprising to me was that New York has the highest number of antisemitic incidents because I always thought this was one of the safest places for Jewish because there were so many in New York but now I see that that made them a bigger target.

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On Thursday the 26th at the beginning of Big Time, we started heading out for our first fieldwork. Led by Jacob we took the one train for 5 stops to Rector Street where we walked a few blocks to the museum where we entered the Jewish Heritage Museum

The first exhibit we went to was “The Holocaust, What Hate Can Do” we mainly learned about antisemitism, and the 2000+ year history of it. But there was a strong focus on the Holocaust and those who survived it and the stories they told. The entire exhibit was completely moving to me and seeing all of the horrific events that occurred really lit up this spark of anger, because recently there have been major sparks of hate and antisemitism not only in the U.S but also in large countries in Europe. We were in that exhibit for around 2-2.5 hours

The second exhibit we went into was the “life after the holocaust” which was an exhibit about the photos of people and their story about what they did after the holocaust.

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At 1:15 pm, we met with our chaperone Jacob Farkas in the lobby. After getting acquainted, we took a subway straight to the Jewish Heritage Museum. Once we arrived, we saw the exhibition The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do. When we first entered the exhibition, we were surrounded by pictures of regular Jewish people. This was done to help us feel more a part of the culture and to give it a more authentic feel. Next, we witnessed a brief overview of antisemitism’s long history. Then, we were introduced to Judaism. Following that, it discussed concentration camps and places of execution. We also saw lots of paragraphs about the history of antisemitism. I found out that antisemitism has existed for many years before the Holocaust. We spent about an hour on the first floor, thus the rest of the museum required us to move more quickly. More information concerning the Holocaust was discussed on the second level, although the emphasis was on individual accounts, crimes, and resistance. Once we got to the top floor, we saw a documentary about a photographer who captured 75 images of Auschwitz survivors on the 75th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. Behind us, the images were displayed in a chamber. Through this event, I discovered that antisemitism has existed for a long time throughout history.

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We met up with our teacher Jacob Farkas in the lobby of our school at 1:15pm. After that, we went to the Jewish Heritage Museum. Once we got there we went to the Exhibition called: The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do. When we first went into the exhibition there were photos everywhere of just regular people just like everyone else. This was done to connect us to the culture and make it feel all the more real. Next, we saw an overview. We saw a quick history of antisemitism going back thousands of years, next. Then, we got associated with Judaism. After that it talked about concentration camps and execution sites. We spent around 1 hour on the first floor and so we had to pick up the pace throughout the rest of the museum. On the second floor it talked more about the holocaust but focused more on individual stories, atrocities and resistance. I especially remember listening to a survivor talk about his experience seeing a dead boy inside a basket of laundry. On the last floor we saw a documentary about a photographer taking 75 pictures of holocaust survivors for the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation and behind us was a room filled with the pictures of them. Through this experience I learned that antisemitism has been prevalent throughout the history of the entire world. I also learned that there has been activists counteracting this throughout everyone’s history.

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