Jewish American director Steven Spielberg addressed the antisemitism surge worldwide on Monday in a Log Angeles event held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the USC Shoah Foundation he founded in 1994. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," he said.
"I am increasingly alarmed that we may be condemned to repeat history, to once again have to fight for the very right to be Jewish," the 77-year-old Hollywood director added.
In his words, he also asked to show compassion toward the Palestinians. "In the face of brutality and persecution, we have always been a resilient and compassionate people who all understand the power of empathy. We can rage against the heinous acts committed by the terrorists of October 7 and also decry the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza."
Spielberg argued in his speech that the importance of the USC Shoah Foundation is now greater than in 1994. "It is crucial in the wake of the horrific October 7 massacre. It is crucial to the stopping of political violence caused by misinformation, conspiracy theories and ignorance. It is crucial because stopping the rise of antisemitism and hate of any kind is critical to the health of our Democratic republic the future of democracy all over the civilized world."
The foundation has collected over 56,000 testimonies of Holocaust survivors over the years for the sake of posterity. In December 2023, two months after October 7, Spielberg addressed the attack for the first time and announced his foundation would also be collecting testimonies of survivors of Hamas' attack. "I never imagined I would see such unspeakable barbarity against Jews in my lifetime," he said.