Steven Spielberg Receives Anti-Defamation League’s Highest Award

Wed, 12/16/2009 - 12:00am

The Anti-Defamation League has honored Stephen Spielberg with its America’s Democratic Legacy Award for his work as a filmmaker and humanitarian.  Steven Spielberg, in his acceptance speech, reflected on how memory is essential to survival and justice.  “All it takes is the right story at the right moment, one true story, to make the world think.…  Telling stories is a way of bearing witness against injustice.”  Addressing the issue of hate in cyberspace, he continued, “Intolerance is not encoded in our DNA.  What is encoded is our curiosity and the ability to learn quickly.”

Past recipients of the award, the highest honor given by the Anti-Defamation League, include Walter Annenberg, John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and Ronald Reagan.

Read the Los Angeles Times article

Read the Jewish Journal article