Before he became head of the Anti-Defamation League's Pacific office, Jonathan Bernstein was with the ADL in Texas. He was there when African-American James Byrd was dragged to death.
When he comes to Utah next week, he'll lead a discussion about the rise of anti-Semitism worldwide. He hopes to put the problem in context and get people talking about solutions.
He says "putting the whole thing in context" is what he did in Jasper, Texas. His job there, in 1998, was to describe the racially motivated murder to reporters and to help the community acknowledge the seriousness of its racial problems.
In Jasper, Bernstein started awareness training at the Boys and Girls Club. He helped plan an interfaith rally. At the time, Jasper's cemetery was still segregated, and Bernstein is glad to say that he was there when the cemetery got integrated. (But he is sad to report that, just recently, Byrd's grave was desecrated.)
Bernstein made sure to be in Jasper during the trial, when the new Black Panthers and the traditional Ku Klux Klan both showed up. Then Bernstein's job was to try to keep the community cool, to try to prevent more violence. Byrd's family did a wonderful job of asking for tolerance, he says.
In a telephone interview earlier this month, from his office in San Francisco, Byrd described that intense time in Texas. He also talked about what he does between crises.
In times like these, Bernstein oversees investigations of discrimination and monitors what various hate groups are up to. And he travels around promoting human rights.
Because Utah is part of his district (along with Hawaii and northern California), Bernstein was here a few months ago when the Legislature was in session. He was hoping, and failing, to see a hate-crime bill passed.
On this visit he plans to tell Utahns, "Anti-Semitism is at a level we haven't seen since World War II." This is not a scientific survey, he says, but in the 30 ADL districts around the country, reports of anti-Semitism are up. When asked for an example, he gives two.
First, on college and high school campuses, the word "Jew" is once again being used in a derogatory manner. "They use it the same way they use 'gay.' " Second, individuals are being targeted, where before the targets were mostly institutions. Graffiti seems to have given way to scapegoating.
In Utah, Bernstein will talk about recognizing anti-Semitism and responding to it quickly. He'll help his audience identify community leaders, people who can be counted on to speak out firmly when something happens. He'll be talking about some depressing stuff "but in a way that doesn't make people feel hopeless," he says.
On his resume, Bernstein lists his work history and his academic credentials (he's a Raoul Wallenberg Fellow who holds two master's degrees). And he also lists an odd kind of tribute, but one that perhaps puts his job in context: In 1995 he was targeted for murder by an extremist group.
If you go
What: "Global Anti-Semitism: The New Threat"
Where: I.J. & Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center, 2 Medical Drive, Salt Lake
When: Monday, May 24, 7 p.m.
How much: free
Phone: 581-0098
E-mail: susan@desnews.com