The History of Jewish Hate Symposium is brought to the community by the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga and will take place at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road. The sessions will take place beginning Oct. 27 and continue on consecutive Sundays until Nov. 10 from 2-4 pm. There is no cost to attend. RSVP to rsvp@jewishchattanooga.com.
"This symposium is in honor of Herb Cohn who always encourages intriguing conversations," officials said.
The Symposium is as follows:
Oct.
27 from 2-4 p.m. - Panel Title: Antisemitism – The Longest Hatred
Panel members include: Dr. William E. Engel: Judeophobia in the Pre-modern Period. Dr. Engel is from the University of the South; Dr. John W. Steinberg: Antisemitism – What Russia Gave to the Modern World. Dr. Steinberg is from Austin Peay State University; and, Rabbi Craig Lewis from Mizpah Congregation.
Bill Engel is the Nick B. William Professor of Literature at Sewanee, The University of the South, and author of ten books on premodern intellectual history. In addition to being a founding educational consultant for both the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and the Nashville Holocaust Memorial, he has taught Sunday School and adult learning courses at West End Synagogue in Nashville, where he is a lifelong member. Bill has participated twice in the Jewish Federation’s teacher exchange program with sister-cities in Israel.
Nov. 3 from 2-4 p.m. - Panel Title: The Age of Mass Destruction
Panel members include: Dr. John Swanson: The Holocaust, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Dr. John W. Steinberg: Prosecuting the Perpetrators, Austin Peay State University: and, Dr. Alison Vick: Distortion and Denial, Pellissippi State Community College
Nov. 10 from 2-4 p.m. - Panel Title: Whose History is it? Memorialization, Memory, and non-Memory of the Holocaust
Panel members include: Dr. John W. Steinberg: Memorialization Sites in Poland, Austin Peay State University; Mr. Ken Gluck, Tennessee Holocaust Commission
“A final word on why this symposium and why now. The 'now' part of the question is born out of a reaction to what has happened to the world since Oct. 7, 2023. I expect throughout all three symposiums for a sub-topic to exist very close to the surface that is aimed at sharing knowledge that will help people develop a better understanding about why the conflict in Israel/Palestine has led to such a vicious rise in antisemitism on a global level”, said Dr. Steinberg.
"Dr. Steinberg’s leadership has brought the symposium to fruition," officials said.
Dr. Steinberg is Professor of Russian and world history at Austin Peay State University. He was trained as a Holocaust educator by the Holocaust Education Foundation at Northwestern University and has taught courses on the topic in Georgia, Tennessee and Poland for the past 20 years. Dr Steinberg was also a Charles H. Revson Foundation fellow at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advance Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum.