Jim's story for the December 7 Bulletin

It was Monday, November 30, 2020, and President Tim Hageman designated Debbie Goldberg to lead the Pledge and to share Eleanor Roosevelt’s solution to finding happiness—share it with others…..Richard Montgomery anticipated final City election results, with the third Council slot hanging in the balance.  He also reported on the newest County restrictions, closing playgrounds (not parks and beaches) and restaurants, inside and outside.  (An exception is Pasadena—they have their own Health Department.)……President Tim alerted us to Jan Rhees’ Family of Rotary email remembering Larry Wolf, Sandy Doell, Patty Morehead and Loli Ramizani as they each continue to live with painful circumstances.

 

Jordan Holbert announced our Covid holiday party on December 19, an evening drive-by catered by Lido and Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio and featuring, thanks to Harrison Clay, a Camp Pendleton toy drive…..Robert Guilford introduced El Camino College Rotary Scholarship recipient Jacqueline Anaya, present with Nancy Tonner of the El Camino College Foundation.  Jackie’s goal is nursing.  Robert told us the focus of our current scholarships has been health care.  Nancy thanked us for Warrior Pantry support and for 142 scholarships since 2008.

 

Our speaker was Dr. Kori Street, senior director of programs and operations at the USC Shoah Foundation.  The Foundation focuses on genocide, including not just the Holocaust but also Guatemala, Nanjing, Rohingyas, South Sudan, Rwanda, Cambodia, Armenia, and contemporary anti-Semitism.   The purpose of their Survivors program is to capture testimonies, especially on film (inspired by Steven Spielberg’s efforts after filming Schindler’s List).  The project formally associated with USC in 2008, intended to develop empathy, understanding and respect for others.  So far they have 116,000 hours of videos including 55,000 testimonies (including perpetrators) from 65 countries.  The project records, archives, indexes, preserves, and provides access to these videos.

 

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is now part of the USC Shoah Foundation project.  “Dimensions in Testimony” enables viewers to interact with the filmed subject via virtual reality.  Dr. Street demonstrated for us such an interactive interview, in which we heard the wrenching story of Pinchas Gutter in the Warsaw Ghetto, Buchenwald, and multiple other camps before the May 8, 1945 liberation of his last camp by the Russian Army.  (Mr. Gutter even sang a Hebrew song for us.)  He told us, “I don’t hate perpetrators, but they should be judged and punished, not by the death penalty, but by harsh imprisonment.”  He told us hate begets hate, but justice must be served.  (To experience these interactive interviews, go to iwitness.usc.edu, register as an educator, and click on Activities.)

 

The remarkable Pinchas Gutter, having experienced the worst imaginable horrors, clearly showed us he has not lost his faith in humanity.  But he has no illusions.  He told us, “I have seen the best and the worst in people.”  Condemnation of “The Other” is the foundation of hate and genocide.  People like Pinchas Gutter and Dr. Kori Street remind us of the importance of empathy, understanding and respect for others, and we Rotarians get to be a part of furthering these values through the work of Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation.  We are not just a community club.  We are also spreading the values of peace and justice throughout the world.  Like eradicating polio, we are also eradicating  genocide.