The Brandeis Center hosted a webinar last month entitled ‘Holocaust Denial and Erasive anti-Semitism.’ The webinar is part of the Brandeis Center’s support for the Shine a Light campaign and was hosted on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.. Brandeis Center Founder and Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus and President Alyza D. Lewin served as moderators. Marcus and Lewin were joined by three distinguished panelists, including Yfat Barak-Cheney, Ben Freeman, and Arthur Traldi.. Barak-Cheney, the World Jewish Congress’ Director of International Affairs and Human Rights, began the webinar by defining Holocaust denial and distortion with reference to the IHRA definition. Cheney said, “Holocaust denial refers to discourse or propaganda that deny the historical reality as well as the extent and intentionality of the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis and accomplices during World War II.” In contrast, “distortion is not denying that the Nazi’s sought to murder the Jews of Europe, but still significantly and purposively misrepresenting the historical record.”. Barak-Cheney leads WJC’s efforts on combating online hate and described how Holocaust denial and distortion are not a new problem – but they are growing in prevalence with the rise of social media. She noted that according to a recent UNESCO report, 16.4% of all Holocaust information across popular platforms is Holocaust denial, and on some platforms, such as Telegram, 50% of Holocaust information is denial and distortion. “With the online world being so welcome to such ideas, we’ll soon just not be able to separate truth from lies,” said Barak-Cheney. “We will not be able to claim established narratives, and we will face the erasure of Holocaust history, and with it, a significant part of our ability to prevent genocide in the future.”. Freeman, the author of Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, spoke next and categorized Holocaust denial and distortion as forms of erasive anti-Semitism and erasive Jew hatred, two terms he coined. He defined these terms as taking two forms: the erasure of Jewish identity and experience and the erasure of Jews as victims of prejudice. This erasure serves to rewrite Jewish history, erase the minority status of Jews, and undermine their need for protection and allyship. . Freeman asserts that erasive anti-Semitism is a danger to the Jewish people and a danger to the ability of the wider world to understand the Jewish people. “We cannot allow the Jewish story to be told by others, we cannot allow our story to be rewritten, with specific reference to the Holocaust, because what a horrendous insult to the six million Jewish souls who were stolen from us,” said Freeman. “It is our duty to honor them as best we can by retelling their stories.”. Brandeis Center Senior Counsel Arthur Traldi described ways in which erasure shows up in legal settings. He identified three examples of erasure in federal hate crimes law: two months ago when the FBI dramatically underreported anti-Semitic hate crimes, which the Brandeis Center called on the FBI to correct; last year when the FBI claimed that the Colleyville synagogue hostage taking had “nothing to do with the Jewish community”; and in university’s legally mandated hate crime reporting, where anti-Semitic hate crimes have been underreported. . Traldi also described the ways in which erasive anti-Semitism shows up on university campuses, an area in which the Brandeis Center specializes. “At a time of rising levels of anti-Semitism on campus, Jewish students are told their identities and targeting don’t count or aren’t important enough to be included in what is ironically called inclusion programing.” . Traldi referenced the Brandeis Center’s complaint against Stanford University in 2021, which came in response to the DEI program’s refusal to recognize or address anti-Semitic hostility on campus. The complaint also detailed the program’s decision to exclude anti-Semitism from its DEI curriculum and initiatives and attempts to silence and intimidate Jews who challenged its decisions. . The webinar ended with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions, largely focused on how both Jews and non-Jews can combat erasive anti-Semitism on university campuses and beyond. Panelists and moderators agreed that the best way to combat erasive anti-Semitism is through education. Jews can contribute to this effort by continuing to share their identity and experience and non-Jews can help by listening and creating space for Jewish voices to be heard.