Shoah Foundation hosts 30th annual gala amid rising antisemitism
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Bruce Springsteen performs at the USC Shoah Foundation's 30th Anniversary Gala in New York City on Oct. 13. Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Shoah Foundation
A foundation dedicated to collecting and preserving testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust held its annual star-studded gala amid anxiety over rising antisemitism and violence across the world.
The big picture: USC Shoah Foundation celebrated its 30th anniversary this week in New York with performances by Bruce Springsteen and appearances by Meryl Streep and Whoopi Goldberg, as organizers urged attendees to press on against ongoing threats of hate.
State of play: New numbers show 2023 hate crimes hit records across 10 of the nation's largest cities, rising 16%, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
- Anti-Jewish hate crimes reported to police across 20 major cities in 2023 rose 48% to a new record, the center said.
- Antisemitic, Islamophobic and anti-Arab incidents all have skyrocketed nationwide after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which became a flashpoint issue on college campuses.
Zoom in: USC Shoah Foundation Finci-Viterbi executive director Robert Williams tells Axios the fight against antisemitism should be a nonpartisan issue in today's politically anxious America.
- "Antisemitism rise is not a problem just of the political right or just of the political left, it is not unique to any single faith or creed. It is a shared problem, and we must unify if we ever hope to bring it to a halt."
- Williams says the gala was an opportunity to thank survivors for their generosity and bravery and to pledge that the foundation "will do everything in our power to bring about the world they deserved."
Zoom out: The foundation presented the Ambassadors for Humanity Award to Holocaust survivors, honoring their strength, resilience and invaluable contributions to preserving history.
- Fewer than 50,000 survivors remain in the U.S., according to the Anti-Defamation League. The very youngest survivors are now in their 80s, and some have spoken out against rising antisemitism — something they've seen before.
- "I am 93 years old. When I speak about my experience, I am 13 years old again — 80 years later, my memories are vivid," survivor Irene Weiss, who accepted the award on behalf of over 50 survivors in the room, told the audience of around 700 attendees.
Context: The USC Shoah Foundation was founded by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg in 1994, following his experience making "Schindler's List."
- Located at the University of Southern California, the foundation has expanded its mission to document contemporary antisemitism and genocidal crimes of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Today, the archive holds over 59,000 testimonies.
Case in point: In addition to Holocaust survivors, the gala hosted Rwandan and Cambodian genocide survivors and parents of Oct. 7 hostages.
- A foundation that promotes the legacy of the late-Holocaust writer Elie Wiesel regularly speaks out against the Chinese government's repression of ethnic Uyghurs.
