(Courtesy of Rutgers University) The award-winning author of “Denial: Holocaust History on Trial,” which became the basis for the film, “DENIAL,” starring Rachel Weisz, will speak at Rutgers University on March 31 at 5 p.m.
Deborah Lipstadt will discuss the topic of “Antisemitism Here and Now,” which is also the title of her new book recently released by Penguin Random House. Lipstadt will present a penetrating look at the rise of anti- Semitism at home and abroad in the past ten years, and speak to how we can, and must, address it.
“Rutgers is an incredibly diverse place, and we need to work hard to protect our culture of respect and inclusion. Anti-Semitism, discrimination and racism have no place here,” said Jenny Mandelbaum, professor of communication and co-chair of the Jewish faculty, administration and staff group, J-FAS. Added Rebecca Cypess, associate professor of music and co-chair of J-FAS, “We are proud that the university is leading the way in highlighting this timely and critical issue.”
Lipstadt’s talk will take place at Rutgers Hillel, 70 College Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Doors open at 4:15 p.m.. A book signing will follow the event, which is sponsored by Rutgers J-FAS with support from Rutgers University through the President’s Initiative on Diversity and Inclusion, Rutgers Hillel and additional support from the Hann Foundation, Harriet and George Blank and the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey.
Admission is free, but registration is required. To register go to jewishheartnj.org/lipstadt. Free parking is available, but parking registration is also required.
Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot professor of Holocaust studies at Emory University in Atlanta, has published and taught about the Holocaust for close to 40 years. The author of six books and numerous articles, she is probably most widely known because of the libel lawsuit brought against her by David Irving for having called him a Holocaust denier. Irving was then arguably the world’s leading denier.
After a ten-week trial in London, in an overwhelming victory for Professor Lipstadt, the judge found Irving to be a “neo-Nazi polemicist” who “perverts” history and engages in “racist” and “anti-Semitic” discourse.
Lipstadt’s TED talk about the trial has received close to 1.2 million views. The movie “DENIAL,” starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkenson with a screenplay by David Hare, tells the story of this legal battle.
At Emory she directs the website known as HDOT [Holocaust Denial on Trial/ www.hdot.org] which contains a complete archive of the proceedings of Irving v. Penguin UK and Deborah Lipstadt. It also provides answers to frequent claims made by deniers. At Emory, Lipstadt has won the Emery Williams Teaching Award. She was selected for the award by alumni as the teacher who had most influenced them.
Professor Lipstadt was an historical consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and helped design the section of the museum dedicated to the American response to the Holocaust.
She has held presidential appointment to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (from Presidents Clinton and Obama) and was asked by President George W. Bush to represent the White House at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. She was part of a committee that advised Secretary of State Madeline Albright on matters of religious freedom abroad.
