The 3rd annual Eradicate Hate Global Summit took place Sept. 27 - 29 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The summit was formed in response to the antisemitic attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.
Organizer and co-chair Laura Ellsworth said the forum is designed to drive solutions to hate-fueled violence. She said she was first motivated to start the summit during the immediate aftermath of the synagogue shooting.
“We need to start an effort so that Pittsburgh is remembered not for this act of hate, but for how we responded to it,” Ellsworth recalled thinking. “And that's how the summit was born.”
Over three days, there were 45 sessions and more than 350 speakers delivered remarks. Speakers came from all over the world, representing a variety of disciplines, including academics, journalists, law enforcement officers and video game developers.
Ellsworth emphasized that the summit is intended to be more than just discussion, rather a means to find tangible solutions to hate-based violence.
“The summit is not just a conference where people come and talk and go back to their desks,” said Ellsworth. “It is an ongoing effort where they come, they identify a deliverable, a specific thing that doesn't exist now but should. And then we form interdisciplinary working groups to work throughout the year, to come to achieve that deliverable.”
Working groups cover multiple sectors, including sports, education, tech, finance and law. One anti-hate deliverable discussed at the summit provides education on how to combat hate speech in sports. The sports working group met with major professional sports leagues in the United States, as well as FIFA, to promote practices for sports leagues, teams and fans to quell hateful speech.
Another deliverable realized through the summit is “Stand Up to Jewish Hate,” a $25 million advertising campaign that seeks to raise awareness of antisemitism for those outside the Jewish community. Part of this campaign involves pushing the blue square emoji 🟦 as a symbol for addressing antisemitism.
Matthew Berger, a senior advisor to the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and speaker at the event, explained the thinking behind the emoji.
“We see this as akin to the rainbow flag for the LGBTQ community. Any time you see a rainbow flag, you know that that company or social media accounts or storefront cares about the rights of the LGBTQ community and is making an outward stance that they're there to support the community,” said Berger. “We want the blue square to be the same symbol for the Jewish community and for the fight against antisemitism. And so we're encouraging people across the country to post and share that square as a way of raising awareness and starting conversations about what antisemitism is in our country today.”
On Wednesday, survivors from the 2018 antisemitic attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue reflected on the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial.
“If we hadn't had the trial, we would not have known all the details of what happened, all of the hate that was behind what this person did, every little detail of his life and how it developed,” said Tree of Life survivor Audrey Glickman. “We wouldn't have known our own story.”
The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, delivered a keynote address on Wednesday. He spoke about the lasting impact and trauma created by hate, and the imperative to meet those experiences with love and hope. He also spoke about the impact of 9/11 in the U.S., and the current spread of hateful ideology. Secretary Mayorkas applauded efforts to abate hate-fueled violence, including the newly established federal office of gun violence prevention, federal grant programs, and individual states’ prevention strategies.
“We may not always know the tragedy we prevent, but in our department's work and in our close collaboration with communities dedicated to stopping the next Tree of Life…we see ripples of resolve and hope,” said Mayorkas.
Ellsworth said the summit is an opportunity for Pittsburgh to lead the world in finding solutions to hate-fueled violence.
“The summit is an illustration of Pittsburgh leading the world. So Pittsburgh and the people of Pittsburgh who created the summit are really leading the world on these issues,” said Ellsworth. “We also use Pittsburgh in some of the working groups as a pilot location to road test some of the solutions. So the people will see many different solutions being tried out for the first time here in our Pittsburgh community.”
