Director Steven Spielberg (77) warned against the rise of anti-Semitism in emphatic words: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said the filmmaker at an event in honor of the 30-year-old existence of his Shoah Foundation. Spielberg was honored with the university’s highest honor on Monday evening (March 25) by the University of Southern California, where his foundation has been based since 2006. In his speech, he struck a serious tone: “The echo of history is unmistakable in our current climate,” said the 77-year-old, according to “The Hollywood Reporter.”
“I am increasingly concerned that we may be condemned to repeat history and have to fight once again for the right to be Jewish,” the three-time Oscar winner warned, adding: “We can stand against the heinous acts of terrorists of October 7 while condemning the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza.”
This makes people a “unique force for good in the world”. He described the work of his Shoah Foundation as “even more necessary today than in 1994”: “It is crucial after the terrible massacre of October 7th. It is crucial when it comes to stopping political violence caused by misinformation, conspiracy theories and ignorance. It is critical to stopping the rise of anti-Semitism and hatred of all kinds, which is critical to the health of our democracy and the future of democracy throughout the civilized world .”
Steven Spielberg founded the Shoah Foundation in 1994 after filming his film “Schindler’s List.” The organization captured the accounts of more than 50,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide in hour-long video interviews for posterity. Some of the survivors from the videos were also in the audience at Monday’s tribute.
“The rise of extremist views has created a dangerous environment,” said Steven Spielberg in his speech. “And radical intolerance causes a society to stop celebrating diversity and instead conspire to demonize those who are different to the point of creating ‘the other’.”
He continued: “Every day we see the machinery of extremism operating on college campuses, where 50 percent of Jewish students now say they have experienced discrimination because they are Jewish.” But discrimination against Muslims, Arabs and Sikhs should not be ignored either. “The creation of the ‘other’ and the dehumanization of any group based on their characteristics are the foundations of fascism. It’s an old playbook, but it has been dusted off and is widely used today.”
