Confronting Antisemitism: Communities Standing Up, Together

R. Derek Black grew up at the epicenter of white nationalism. His father, Don Black, founded Stormfront, the first and largest racist community on the internet. His godfather, David Duke, was a KKK Grand Wizard and politician. By the time Derek turned 19 and entered college, he was regarded as the leading light of the burgeoning white nationalist movement. At New College of Florida, he encountered diverse perspectives and for the first time questioned the science, history, and prejudices behind his worldview. Eventually, at tremendous personal cost, he disavowed everything he was taught to believe. A graduate of New College, Black is a PhD candidate in medieval studies at the University of Chicago, and is writing a book about his personal experiences.

Hanadi Doleh has spent her adult life working in and for New York’s Muslim community. She earned a BA in Political Science and MA in International Relations from Brooklyn College, CUNY. Her academic work has informed her understanding of the issues that shape Muslim life in the US and abroad, as well as her social justice activism on behalf of Muslim Americans and other underrepresented communities. Following the completion of her MA, Hanadi worked for seven years at the Park51 Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the NYC Faith Sector Community Preparedness Program with New York Disaster Interfaith Services and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In 2019, Hanadi was a Community Advisory Board Member at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum for their Contemporary Muslim Fashions Exhibit, which was displayed from February 2020 to July 2021. In June of 2019, she received an honor from New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer for her contributions to the civic life of New York. Also, in December of 2019, Hanadi was honored and recognized by the Muslim Democratic Club of New York for her commitment to empowering Muslim communities and people of color through her organizing and civic engagement. Hanadi served as the Vice President of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York from 2020 until January 2023.

Heather Fife has been teaching since 2002, and with the New York City Department of Education since 2007; she currently teaches at the Professional Performing Arts High School. In addition to teaching English in China and Peru, Heather has taught subjects ranging from humanities to A.P. U.S. History to Civics. Additionally, she has presented original scholarly research on issues of historical memory, race, and activism. Since 2009, Heather has placed Facing History at the center of her approach to studying the past. She believes it is important to help students make personal connections to the material they study in class; but she also wants students to think critically about the past they have inherited and to make choices based on informed critical thinking and empathy. Outside of the classroom, Heather has traveled extensively for work, study, volunteerism, and teaching. In these capacities, she has worked and volunteered with Kiya Survivors in Peru, Global Glimpse, NYC Japan Society, and as a Fund for Teachers Fellow in Senegal. Originally from California, New York City is her home now, where when she isn't in the classroom she's at the playground with her family. She has an M.A. in Chinese Studies from U.C. Santa Barbara, an M.S. in ESL from City College, and a B.A. in History from Whitman College.

Rev. Edward-Richard Hinds is an Ordained Minister and has been in ministry for 26 years. He currently serves as the Youth Pastor at The Rugby Deliverance Tabernacle, Brooklyn NY. He also serves as the President of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, “The GodSquad” an organization of faith leaders which seeks to lessen neighborhood tensions between community and cops and whose mission is to end gun violence. Rev. Hinds sits on the Community Advisory Board for the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, co-chair for Cities of Joy Campaign, Urban Hope NYC and serves on the faith advisory council of the Fire Department of New York, FDNY.

Having suffered personal loss of a family member to gun violence in Jamaica, Rev. Hinds has been committed and active, for the past eight years, in the transformational work of reducing gun violence. As the President of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, “The GodSquad” he currently administers the overall operations of the organization and liaises with elected officials, community agencies and wrap-around service providers, while also giving rapt attention to community engagement and youth development.

He has received numerous distinctions and certificates from government and private sector groups in the USA and the Caribbean, the most recent being the Caribbean Impact Award for community service to the Caribbean diaspora.

Rev. Hinds is a trained counselor, mentor, sought after speaker for conventions across denominational lines, and a respected presenter at seminars and workshops both locally and internationally. Rev. Hinds’ philosophy centers on service as he believes “serving God is serving people.”

Rabbi Bob Kaplan is the founding Executive Director of The Center for a Shared Society of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. The Center seeks to honor the dignity of others in order to harness diversity as a value. We engage diverse leaders from across New York City’s government, business, faith, and not-for-profit sectors to assist diverse communities to thrive and prosper, creating a better quality of life for all in a constantly changing New York. The Center focuses on leadership in diversity, cultural humility, conflict prevention, coalition building and community building. Under Bob’s 30-year stewardship the Center has created leadership initiatives such as YouthBridge-NY, We Are All New York, and the Haitian Leadership Fellowships, annually training more than 100 diverse leaders in problem solving and community building. The Center has likewise incubated coalitions and initiatives such as The New York Jewish Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform, Interfaith United, We Are All Brooklyn, Project CARE in Crown Heights, the Queens Coalition on Immigrant Aging, and the Center for Bronx Non-Profits at Hostos Community College. He likewise serves as a Clergy Liaison to the NYPD. Mr. Kaplan serves as a Commissioner for the NYC Commission on Human Rights. He currently serves on the boards of the NYU-Langone Brooklyn Medical Center/Family Health Centers at NYU-Langone, The Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College, Let’s Get Immunized NY, and The 67th Precinct Clergy Council

Mr. Kaplan is called upon by the non-profit and government sectors and as an expert and consultant in the arena of diversity, community building, leadership development, coalitions, and intergroup relations. In February 2009, 2011, and again in 2019, Bob Kaplan, along with Mohammed Razvi, trained Jewish and Arab mediators and community leaders in the skills of coalition building, cultural competency, and dignity work, in mixed cities in Israel on the behalf of the U.S. State Department. He also served as a consultant for the United Kingdom Foreign Office working with groups in London and Bristol on Muslim/Jewish relations. Bob Kaplan was a grief counselor for the American Red Cross at the respite center located at Ground Zero.