The Center for Jewish Civilization invites you to a lecture by Ambassador David Saperstein.

References to the Holocaust, Hitler and Nazis are often used by politicians, religious leaders and others, in America and across the globe, in justifying their political positions. We see it in discussions on issues ranging from the challenges facing oppressed religious and ethnic groups like the Rohingya, Tibetan Buddhists, and Uighur Muslims in China; abortion; ISIL; Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons; animal rights; the treatment of detained migrants; the nuclear arms race; stem cell research; and most recently, on Israel’s policies. By reviewing and evaluating real examples of ads, speeches, and campaigns, we will try to determine if the Holocaust is so unique it should not be used in political analogies at all. And if it should, what standards should determine when its use is appropriate and when inappropriate?

Ambassador Saperstein was the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom from January 2015 to January 2017. He is currently an adjunct professor with the Walsh School of Foreign Service’s Center for Jewish Civilization and previously was a senior research fellow of the Religious Freedom Research Project at the Berkley Center. An ordained rabbi, he served for several decades as the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism representing the public policy positions of the Reform Jewish Movement, the largest segment of American Jewry, to the government and leading the movement’s efforts to strengthen social justice programming in synagogues across North America.

Any person with an accommodation request is welcome to email us at cjcinfo@georgetown.edu. We will try to meet these accommodation requests to the best of our ability.

Lunch will be served prior to the event. Please RSVP at saperstein2019.eventbrite.com