Crucial Conversations: Confronting Antisemitism - Global Antisemitism

In the third session of this series, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum will expand our geographic scope and look at antisemitism on a global scale, with a particular focus on antisemitism in Europe. In the past two decades, there has been a distinct increase in antisemitic rhetoric from governments and political parties, in the destruction of Jewish cemeteries, and in violent antisemitic attacks. Who is participating in the rise of global antisemitism, what accounts for it, and what can we expect to see in the future?

About the Panelists
Dr. Günther Jikeli, a historian and sociologist with a particular interest in the study of antisemitism, holds the Erna B. Rosenfeld Professorship at the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism/Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University. He is an associate professor at Germanic Studies and Jewish Studies. He is the recipient of the Raoul Wallenberg Prize in Human Rights and Holocaust Studies (2013). Jikeli’s academic work was recognized in 2019 by The Algemeiner as one of “The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life.”

Dr. Sharon Nazarian is Senior Vice President of International Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). She heads ADL’s work fighting antisemitism and racial hatred globally, including overseeing ADL’s Israel office. Prior to ADL, Sharon was active in three worlds: academia, philanthropy and foreign policy. She is the President of the Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, with a regional office in Israel named the Ima Foundation. She is also the founder of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Chair of its Advisory Board. Sharon taught as an adjunct professor at UCLA in the Department of Political Science and is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. She studied at the University of Southern California (USC), double majoring in Journalism and International Relations, and received her Masters and Ph.D. in Political Science from USC.

Dr. Robert Williams is Deputy Director for International Affairs at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, sits on the steering committee of the Global Task Force on Holocaust Distortion, and served for four years as chair of the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. He regularly advises international organizations on antisemitism and Holocaust issues and is currently overseeing a major international initiative that assesses the impact of Holocaust and genocide denial laws. His research specialties include German history, US and Russian foreign policy, and contemporary antisemitism. Outside of work, he is co-editing a volume for Routledge on the history of antisemitism and a separate monograph on the impact and forms of contemporary political antisemitism.

About the Moderator
Dr. Sara Abosch-Jacobson is the Chief Education, Programs, and Exhibitions Officer for the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. An experienced educator, she has researched, taught and written on Jewish culture and history. She holds a PhD in modern European and Jewish history, an MA in modern British and Jewish history, and an MA in Political Science with a concentration in Civil/Military Relations. At the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, she is responsible for all content-related matters. She regularly speaks on the Holocaust, topics in Jewish history and culture, and the history covered in the Museum’s core and special exhibitions.

Register here. The conversation will take place on the online platform Zoom. A link to join will be sent to registered guests via email one hour before the start of the program.

About the Series