Holocaust survivor speaks on the resurgence of anti-Semitism

Holocaust survivor Miles Lerman spoke to a varied audience of students and administrators about the importance of curbing resurgent anti-Semitism in the United States and the European Union at Hillel on Tuesday. College students are the key to defending against "hate-mongers" who are less recognizable than anti-Semites in the past, he said.

"Europe, the leader of anti-Semitism, is now experiencing a resurgence of hate that is not just propagated by skinheads," Lerman said. "This hate is now spreading into the white circles and is now crossing borders into the United States."

While Lerman did not speak about his personal experiences, he urged students to "listen to the sounds of the drummers of hate" and commit themselves to ending anti-Semitism immediately.

Lerman was particularly concerned about Holocaust deniers. As the number of Holocaust survivors decreases every day, the task of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive becomes more and more difficult, he said. "In ten years there will be no one left to be witness to the Holocaust. Yet, the enemy is at the doorsteps today," Lerman said.

He stressed that students cannot fight alone and called upon students to mobilize their friends and partners to fight anti-Semitism. "There must be an atmosphere of trust between Christians, Muslims, and Jews," he said.

Lerman also cited the current political situation between the US and Europe and the US position on Israel as factors than impeded the fight against anti-Semitism. "Many more Muslims are living in the European Union than ever before, and these people are spreading anti-Semitism because of the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.

European ill-sentiment toward Jews has certainly become more visible Lerman said. Belgium just "gave its courts the legal right to prosecute Israeli leaders as war criminals" and Sweden and Norway have stopped inviting Jewish professors to academic symposiums calling them "not conducive to academic scientific discourse," he said.

In addition, France has only recently apologized for the deaths of 670,000 Jews during World War II, so it is not surprising that it does "nothing to stop anti-Semitism within their borders," Lerman said.

After his speech, Lerman took several questions from the audience. Sophomore Adam Pulver asked if students, especially Jewish students, should be afraid when studying or traveling abroad. Lerman calmed him by saying that "the days of fear are gone for Jewish people."

Indeed, Lerman said his experience at Tufts gave him hope that students would take the charge against hate and anti-Semitism. "What I have seen here [at Tufts] has encouraged me that you college students are not going to stand by idly," something that Lerman said he would remember for years to come.

Lerman, who is Chairman Emeritus of the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, was a student when the Nazi's invaded his home country of Poland. After losing his family in the concentration camps, Lerman joined a group of other students who worked to sabotage and destroy German military supplies.