Seeking to stop bigotry and promote respect across lines of culture, religion, tradition, class and gender, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation unveiled HoursAgainstHate.org on June 18.
The simple message of the site and campaign is: Pledge an hour to do something for someone who doesn’t look like you, pray like you, love like you or live like you.
“We ask everyone locally and internationally who are outraged by hate to pledge an hour to help end it,” said Hannah Rosenthal, president and chief executive officer of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
“We must subdue the increase of intolerance and hatred both in our community and worldwide,” Rosenthal continued. “If we can take away anything from the havoc at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek last year, it is to join together to knock-out hatred in all its evil and ugly forms.”
Rosenthal co-founded the original Hours Against Hate initiative, which took the form of a Facebook page, in her former role at the U.S. State Department as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, along with Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith.
They developed the concept at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria on Feb. 17, 2011, and Facebook users in 2012 more than quadrupled its original goal of hours pledged.
The new website and campaign, initiated by the MJF in partnership with the State Department, will officially launch at the Jewish Community Relation Council’s 75th Anniversary Celebration, Tuesday, June 18, 7 p.m., at the Pfister Hotel. (See related article on this site.)
One of the planned highlights of that event will be a conversation with Pandith and Rosenthal moderated by James Causey of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
‘Our shared enemy’
The Federation developed HoursAgainstHate.org through its JCRC to bring greater awareness to the Hours Against Hate initiative. The JCRC saw the initial Facebook campaign as an opportunity for education, outreach and to bring the fight to a new level.
“Hours Against Hate immediately lit a fire in our community, said Elana Kahn-Oren, director of the JCRC. “As soon as we began talking about the initiative, individuals, organizations and elected officials began to ask how they could participate.”
According to Kahn-Oren, “we already have an impressive and growing list of supporters, from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Common Council members to civic leaders and statewide interfaith organizations. They recognize Hours Against Hate’s power not only to spur people to action but also to unite people of goodwill to stand up to our shared enemy — hate.”
A key component of HoursAgainstHate.org focuses on users printing and filling out a pledge form, submitting a photo with the pledge in hand if the user chooses, and then taking action.
“We won’t tell you how to spend your hour, and we won’t follow up to make sure you fulfilled your pledge. We simply ask that you take action,” reads the pledge page.
The JCRC envisions countless pages of the website filled with people holding pledge signs and taking the lead to fight hate. And the photos are hoped to inspire others to do the same.
“Each of us has power to create change — to affect another’s life, to teach and to learn, to build bridges,” said Kahn-Oren. “By devoting just a bit of time, we can each change the world in dramatic and important ways. I am excited to see what our community does with Hours Against Hate.”
HoursAgainstHate.org offers a wealth of resources for schools and civic groups to become involved, including a 10-page toolkit to aid teachers and leaders in developing programs and projects. The toolkit includes inspiration to rally members, organize and launch an event, along with “100 Ways to Help End Hate.”
Some of the 100 ways include: give books about tolerance as gifts; shop at stores in neighborhoods that don’t look like your own; help your community to get rid of graffiti; work towards building diversity in the organizations you’re involved in; write about tolerance on a blog; volunteer at a hate-ending organization in your community; and identify and report hateful material on the web.
HoursAgainstHate.org also features a talk-back forum, where participants can share how they spent their hours.
After the official launch on June 18, the JCRC plans to build on the momentum.
“I am eager for the opportunities of community members to create more alliances, more friendships and more partnerships with Hours Against Hate as our shared work,” noted Kahn-Oren.
A core value of the JCRC and Jewry is tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that means “repairing the world.” JCRC leaders point out that “by devoting one hour to help end hate, you’re doing your part to repair the world.”
Jeff Jones is marketing project manager for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
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