USC Shoah Foundation Convenes Inaugural Countering Antisemitism Summit at Capital Campus

On April 30, the USC Shoah Foundation convened its first Countering Antisemitism Summit at USC’s Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., uniting policymakers, scholars, diplomats, and civil society leaders for a bipartisan conversation on one of the most urgent challenges facing democratic societies today.

Titled “Countering Antisemitism in a Time of Distortion,” the summit marked a significant moment for the organization, expanding its role both as a leader in testimony preservation and education and as a convener of leaders working to confront antisemitism in real time.

Across keynote addresses, panels, and discussions, one idea surfaced repeatedly: antisemitism is not a marginal issue. It is a defining challenge for American society and democratic life.

Framing the Moment

Opening the summit, USC President Beong-Soo Kim emphasized the role of education and civil society institutions in responding to a moment dominated by rising distortion, denial, and misinformation: 

“It is only by fostering spaces for open dialogue, and bringing people together from a variety of fields and perspectives, that we can hope to find common ground and move forward on solutions.”  

Drawing on the history of Jewish life in the United States, Dr. Robert J. Williams, CEO and Finci-Viterbi Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation, framed antisemitism as fundamentally incompatible with the country’s founding ideals:

“Antisemitism is not only a Jewish problem. It is not just an historical problem, a European problem, or a Middle Eastern problem. It is an American problem, and it is getting worse. Unless we address it as citizens and as a Republic, it will diminish and define us.”

At the same time, he emphasized the importance of engaging across differences and remembering that civil disagreement is healthy when we share a desire to overcome a common challenge. His central call was to return to an ambitious vision for the future that seeks “to cultivate a stronger American civic life that pushes back against antisemitism and hate not because the law requires it, but because we understand what is at stake when we don’t.”

A Bipartisan Imperative

The summit brought together leaders from across the political spectrum, underscoring that addressing antisemitism requires sustained bipartisan engagement.

Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, spoke to the importance of keeping this work outside partisan divides, grounding it instead in shared values and lived experience.

Later in the day, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) echoed that call, urging leaders to confront antisemitism directly and consistently, regardless of where it appears.

Their remarks crystallized a central message: antisemitism is evolving, transcending party lines, and becoming normalized. It demands collective, urgent action, not a partisan response.

Anchored by three panels—Antisemitism and Global Affairs, Media, Technology, and Antisemitism, and Antisemitism and Hate—the summit examined antisemitism globally, digitally, and as part of broader hate, charting its evolution across political and social domains.

Preserving Truth in an Era of Distortion

Throughout the summit, speakers returned to the mounting challenge of Holocaust denial and distortion and the role of testimony in confronting both.

Jeffrey Miller, Chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council, captured the stakes:

“The Holocaust did not begin with gas chambers. It began with words… words that made the unthinkable acceptable.”

He pointed to the work of the USC Shoah Foundation as essential in this moment:

“You are not just preserving testimony. You are preserving conscience.”

As the number of living survivors declines, the conversation underscored a shift already underway: the responsibility to carry these stories—and their meaning—is passing to testimony inheritors—institutions, educators, and future generations — who must ensure these voices continue to inform how we understand the past and act in the present.

A Global and Evolving Threat

The first panel, Antisemitism and Global Affairs, brought together international leaders to examine how antisemitism operates across geopolitical contexts and international systems.

Ambassador Dr. Yechiel Leiter of Israel described antisemitism as persistent and shape-shifting, often driven by distortion and inversion, in which reality is recast and moral clarity is eroded.

Ambassador Jens Hanefeld of Germany emphasized that antisemitism must be confronted across all its forms:

“Antisemitism is not a ‘Jewish problem.’ It is an attack on the integrity of our democracy.”

He outlined the need for multi-layered responses—combining law, education, and civil society—while recognizing that no single approach can fully address the complexity of the problem.

During a midday address, Leo Terrell, Chair of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, emphasized the civil rights dimension of combating antisemitism, stressing the need for durable institutional responses that extend beyond moments of crisis.

Technology, Media, and the Acceleration of Hate

In the Media, Technology, and Antisemitism panel, experts explored how digital platforms are changing the spread and normalization of antisemitism. Speakers noted that social media accelerates the spread of antisemitism, amplifies extremism, and exposes younger audiences to harmful rhetoric through engagement-driven algorithms. Algorithmic systems designed to prioritize engagement often reward outrage over accuracy, making antisemitic rhetoric more visible and more accessible, particularly for younger audiences.

Participants also highlighted foreign actors exploiting digital systems for disinformation, normalizing antisemitism faster than before.

Education and the Next Generation

Education emerged as both a challenge and an opportunity.

Speakers pointed to gaps in knowledge and media literacy, especially among younger people navigating today’s complex information landscape.

Without foundational knowledge, students struggle to discern facts, enabling misinformation and a lack of historical context.

The conversation emphasized the need not only for Holocaust education but also for approaches that build critical thinking, intellectual humility, and the ability to engage across differences, skills that remain essential in a polarized and digital-centric world.

Building Coalitions, Strengthening Society

A consistent theme throughout the summit was the importance of coalition-building.

The final panel, Antisemitism and Hate, examined how antisemitism intersects with other forms of extremism and social fragmentation.

Professor Cornell William Brooks reflected on how moments of rising antisemitism often expose deeper societal fractures:

“These moments in our country and in the world act as windows and elevators. Windows that reveal what is already here that we have not addressed and elevators that raise and make more prominent what we have long ignored.”

Speakers emphasized that antisemitism does not exist in isolation. It intersects with broader patterns of hate, polarization, and democratic erosion. Addressing it requires partnerships across communities, including Jewish, Black, Muslim, and other groups, as well as collaboration across government, civil society, and the private sector.

These efforts, participants noted, are essential not only to countering antisemitism but to strengthening the democratic values it ultimately threatens.

From Conversation to Action

In closing remarks, Dr. Brian Hughes, Director of the USC Shoah Foundation’s Countering Antisemitism Laboratory, emphasized that clarity alone is not enough.

“The field of antisemitism research is still too siloed,” he noted. The work ahead requires ongoing collaboration that integrates research, policy, education, and community engagement—transforming understanding into sustained action. “The time to develop training protocols and institutional muscle memory is now.”

The summit itself, he suggested, offered a model for what that coordination can look like when leaders across sectors engage in good faith.

A  Beginning

This inaugural convening marked an important step forward for the USC Shoah Foundation.

It demonstrated the organization’s ability to bring together leaders across sectors to engage in collaborative conversations with a shared commitment to confronting antisemitism.

As Dr. Williams made clear at the outset, that work begins with a uniquely American premise:

Antisemitism is antithetical to our ideals as Americans. The future of our nation cannot tolerate such hate. Overcoming this requires civil dialogue and civil disagreement; and these are strengths from which we can build a future together.