Anti-hate summit coming to Pittsburgh

Leaders in public policy, education and journalism are coming together to host an anti-hate conference, nearly three years after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue.

The inaugural Eradicate Hate Global Summit will take place in Pittsburgh from Oct. 18-21 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The goal of the summit is to change the focus from Pittsburgh being better known as the site of the attack in Squirrel Hill, to how the city responded to violence fueled by an individual’s hate. Eleven worshippers from three congregations — Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, New Light and Dor Hadash — were killed by gunfire during Shabbat services on Oct. 27, 2018.

The summit will feature keynote speakers that include: former president George W. Bush, fresh off his speech at the Flight 93 National Memorial in which he drew attention to the problems caused by America’s political divide; Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Alice Wairimu Nderitu, United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide; Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League; CBS Chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett; and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

“It is our hope that by bringing together some of the world’s leading experts on all dimensions of hate, and by having them share ideas, we will lay the foundation for a series of summits that will actually develop ways to curtail the spread of hate,” said Mark Nordenberg, chair of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics and an integral part of the effort to bring the summit to fruition.

Nordenberg acknowledges that the challenge of eradicating hate is a daunting one, especially with the focus of this summit going beyond anti-Semitism, which is increasing around the world.

“This is grounded in the belief that hate directed toward one group really is a wound to the entire society,” said Nordenberg. “None of us believes that it should go unattended and that we should give up.”

Addressing the problem of hate is one thing, but how can society actually “eradicate” hate?

“That’s a visionary statement. It’s a North Star,” said Jeff Finkelstein of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “It’s where you want to try to get to. And you may not ever actually achieve that fully. But that has to be the goal – to eradicate all hate. You may never get to it, but if you don’t have that as your target, then you’re never going to push the needle.

“What this conference is doing is bringing in the experts from an academic approach and a research approach, some of the smartest minds in the world to look at what science and serious research has shown are the causes of hatred. And then out of this, the conversations will lead to some solutions.”

Some of the sessions will include: The Role of Tech in the Fight Against Hate and Extremism, The Virus of Hate: Covid-19 as a Breeding Ground for Extremism, and The First Amendment and The Communications Decency Act: Important Protections of Speech and Privacy or Enablers of Extremism?