—Examine the Rise and Infectious Spread of Antisemitism in the U.S. and Europe—
Mass murders, vandalism, social media abuse, propaganda, assault – by virtually every yardstick, antisemitism in the U.S. and Europe is rising and worsening in ways not seen since the 1930s. Like a virus, it mutates and evolves across cultures, borders and ideologies, making it all but impossible to stop.
Filmmaker Andrew Goldberg explores its infectious behavior in his film “Viral: Antisemitism In Four Mutations” premiering Tuesday, May 26, 2020 on PBS.
Written, produced and directed by Goldberg, and produced and edited by Diana Robinson, the 90-minute documentary — which had a short theatrical release earlier this year — visits four countries to speak first hand with victims, witnesses and anti-Semites.
Interviewees include: Fomer U.S. President Bill Clinton, Former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Journalists Fareed Zakaria and George Will, and Professor Deborah Lipstadt. The film is narrated in part by Julianna Margulies.
“Viral: Antisemitism In Four Mutations” examines the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the rise of antisemitism on the far right.
In Hungary, it looks at how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a massive campaign reminiscent of Nazi propaganda against Jewish billionaire George Soros.
In England, members of the traditionally anti-racist, far-left Labour party conflate Israel and Jews with antisemitic vitriol, causing tremendous pain for the Jewish community.
And in France, the film illuminates the seemingly endless wave of violence against Jews by Islamists and radicals.
The increasing bigotry and, at times, violence within each of these four countries paints a terrifying portrait of how global hatred disseminates and harms.
As activist Maajid Nawaz says in the film, "If we don't draw a red line in the sand when it comes to antisemitism, Muslims will be next, gays will be next and everyone else who is deemed a minority will be next."
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FEATURED GUESTS:
- Bill Clinton, Former U.S. President
- Andrea Wedner, Survivor, Tree of Life Shooting, Pittsburgh
- Tony Blair, Former UK Prime Minister
- Ken Livingstone, Former Mayor of London
- Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, New Light Congregation, Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh
- Deborah Lipstadt, Author, Antisemitism: Here and Now
- Brad Orsini, Former FBI Agent, Security Director, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
- Rabbi Elisar Admon, Jewish Burial Society, Pittsburgh
- Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, Tree of Life* Or L’Simcha Congregation, Pittsburgh
- Russell Walker, Republican for North Carolina, State House District 48
- Eric Ward, Civil Rights Strategist, Executive Director, Western States Center
- David Nirenberg, Professor, The University of Chicago
- Arno Michaelis, Former White Supremacist
- Yair Rosenberg, Journalist, Tablet Magazine
- Jonathan Weisman, Journalist, The New York Times, and author of “(Antisemitism): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump”
- Fareed Zakaria, CNN
- George Will, Columnist, The Washington Post
- Ben Novak, Journalist, Hungary
- Kata Szasz, Consultant, Hungary
- Yascha Mounk, John Hopkins University
- Kim Lane Scheppele, Professor, Princeton University
- Ira Forman, Former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
- Ágnes Heller, Philosopher and Holocaust Survivor
- Péter Szegő, Journalist, Hungary
- Edit Szegő, Teacher, Hungary
- Zoltán Kovács, Hungarian Government Spokesperson
- Paul Marmot, Andrew Goldberg’s Cousin
- Evey Marmot, Andrew Goldberg’s Cousin
- Howard Jacobsen, Novelist and Broadcaster
- Gideon Falter, CEO of Campaign Against Antisemitism
- Andrew Gilligan, The Sunday Times, UK
- Dame Margaret Hodge, Member of Parliament, Labour Party
- Rachel Riley, TV Presenter, Countdown, Channel 4 UK
- Luciana Berger, Former Member of Parliament, UK
- John McDonnell, UK Labour Party Shadow Chancellor
- Alexa Smith, University of Michigan Student
- Pamela Nadell, Professor, American University
- Jean-Luc Slakmon, Survivor of HyperCacher Shooting, Paris
- Haras Rafiq, Quilliam International Counter-Extremism Expert, UK
- Valerie Braham, Widow of Phillipe Braham, Killed at the HyperCacher shooting, Paris
- Günther Jikeli, Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, US
- Marc Weitzmann, Author, “Hate: The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism in France”
- Abdelghani Merah, Author, “My Brother, the Terrorist”
- Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, American Jewish Committee
- Hakim El Karoui, Institut Montaigne, Pairs
- Farhad Khosrokhavar, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris
