By BEN SALES
(JTA) — A new documentary featuring experts on anti-Semitism, as well as former President Bill Clinton, examines anti-Semitism in the United States and several countries in Europe.
Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations, which is out in the Twin Cities today, Friday, Feb. 28, focuses on the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the anti-Semitism scandal in his British political party, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s campaign against Jewish liberal financier George Soros and anti-Semitic attacks in France.
Director Andrew Goldberg told Newsweek that he believes anti-Semitism is on the rise because of a polarized political environment that’s amplified by social media.
“I see today’s society becoming more fractured and angrier,” he said. “The eruption of anger is at an all-time high. I don’t think we’d be at the level of anti-Semitism now without Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All these communities give people a sense of alignment with one another.”
The documentary features Brad Orsini, Pittsburgh’s Jewish community security director, who conducted a training for the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha congregation before the shooting took place in October 2018. Along with Clinton, it features Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt, conservative columnist George Will and other experts.
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Viral, directed by Andrew Goldberg, is playing at AMC Rosedale 14 and AMC Southdale Center 16.
