> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO ‘METROFOCUS,’ I’M RAFAEL PI ROMAN.

YOU KNOW, IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT RISE IN ANTI-SEMITIC ACTS OF VIOLENCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THE 92nd STREET Y, ONE OF NEW YORK CITY’S LONGEST-RUNNING CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, HAS STARTED A NEW DISCUSSION SERIES TO HIGHLIGHT THE DANGERS OF ANTI-SEMITISM.

THE SERIES TITLE ‘SPOTLIGHT ON ANTI-SEMITISM’ FEATURES PROMINENT SPEAKERS TO PROPOSE ACTIONS TO CON FRONT THIS KIND OF HATE HEAD-ON.

THE CONVERSATION SERIES KICKED OFF LAST MONTH WITH THE HEAD OF THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE AND THE NEXT DISCUSSION WILL BE WITH BRETT STEPHENS OF ‘THE NEW YORK TIMES’ ON MARCH 6th.

JOINING US NOW AS PART OF OUR CEO OF THE 92nd STREET Y, SETH PINSKY.

HE’LL TALK TO US ABOUT HOW THEY’VE BEEN ABLE TO FUNCTION DURING THE CONTROVERSY PANDEMIC.

SETH, WELCOME BACK TO THE PROGRAM.

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IT’S GREAT TO BE HERE.

SO, SETH, FIRST OF ALL, TELL US ABOUT THE LARGER 92nd STREET Y CONFRONTS HATE CONVERSATION SERIES.

HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE SERIES COME ABOUT AND WHAT TOPICS HAVE YOU ALREADY COVERED OR ARE PLANNING TO COVER, ASIDE FROM ANTI-SEMITISM?

WELL, AS AMERICANS, ALL OF US AT THE 92nd STREET Y HAVE UNFORTUNATELY OBSERVED THE INCREASE IN HATRED AND DISCRIMINATION ACROSS OUR COUNTRY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND AS A JEWISH ORGANIZATION, HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF HATRED AND DISCRIMINATION.

WE’VE BEEN PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE TO THAT AND FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HIGHLIGHT THIS INCREASE AND TO TALK ABOUT WAYS THAT WE AS A COUNTRY COULD COME TOGETHER TO TRY TO ADDRESS HATRED.

AND SO, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WE LAUNCHED OUR 92Y INITIATIVE.

WE’VE FOCUSED ON THE ISSUES THAT ARE BEING FACED BY AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THIS COUNTRY, BY IMMIGRANTS OF VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS, BY LATINOS, BY ASIANS, AGAIN, THE UNFORTUNATE THING IS THAT THE LIST IS VERY LONG.

YEAH.

AND WE’VE TRIED TO FOCUS ACROSS THE BOARD, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WHERE HTRED IS ALLOWED TO SURVIVE IN ANY FORM, UNFORTUNATELY IT IS ALSO ABLE TO SPREAD.

WE ARE BOTH MARRIED TO ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES THAT THEY’VE HAD AND IT’S NOT GOOD.

NO.

ANYWAY, UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S ALL TOO EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY ANTI-SEMITISM WOULD BE PART OF A SERIES ON CONFRONTING HATE.

AS I MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION AND AS YOU JUST POINTED OUT, ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWISH AMERICANS HAVE INCREASED, INCLUDING HERE IN THE CITY.

IN FACT, ACCORDING TO THE NYPD’S LATEST CRIME FIGURES, HATE CRIMES AGAINST JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE CITY WERE UP 275% LAST YEAR, COMPARED TO JANUARY OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT’S HAPPENING, PARTICULARLY HERE IN THE CITY, WHERE — WHICH IS A PLACE WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION OF JEWISH PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF ISRAEL?

LOOK, THIS IS A MULTI-LAYERED PROBLEM, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, AT THIS POINT.

SO, IN SOME WAYS, YOU COULD ARGUE THAT THE SITUATION THAT WE’RE IN OVER THE SEVERAL DECADES AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR WAS REALLY THE ANOMALY AND WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW IS THAT WE’RE JUST REVERTING BACK TO NORMAL.

BUT I DO THINK THAT THE COMBINATION OF THE POLARIZATION AND THE GENERAL RISE IN THE WILLINGNESS OF PEOPLE TO EXPRESS EXTREME VIEWS AND HATRED, THANKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY, HAVE NOT BEEN HELPFUL.

I ALSO THINK THAT THE PANDEMIC AND THE DISPLACEMENT THAT THAT’S CAUSED HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS INCREASE.

BUT YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN AROUND FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND LIKELY WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME IN THE FUTURE, AND IT’S IMPORTANT FOR US TO RAISE OUR HANDS, AS WE DO WITH ALL FORMS OF HATRED AND SAY IT’S UNACCEPTABLE AND IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE’RE JUST GOING TO STAND BY AND ACCEPT.

YOU’RE THE SON OF A RABBI, YOU GREW UP IN AND AROUND NEW YORK CITY, SPENT THE FIRST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE HERE.

I MEAN, WERE YOU LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE LEARNED ABOUT ANTI-SEMITISM FROM YOUR FAMILY AND FROM YOUR STUDIES LIKE THE REST OF US WHO ARE NOT JEWISH PEOPLE, OR DID YOU EXPERIENCE YOURSELF PERSONALLY?

I MEAN, I’VE CERTAINLY SEEN ANTI-SEMITISM AND BEEN THE VICTIM OF IT, MOSTLY IN IMPLICIT WAYS.

I REMEMBER GROWING UP IN MINNESOTA, I USED TO HAVE A HABIT OF WRITING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR IN THE NEWSPAPER AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE, THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT I WOULD HAVE A LETTER PUBLISHED AND I WOULD RECEIVE THEN ANONYMOUS LETTER FROM SOMEONE THAT MADE REFERENCE TO THE FACT THAT I WAS JEWISH, EVEN IF THE SUBJECT OF MY LETTER HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH JUDAISM.

BUT I THINK I’VE GENERALLY BEEN FORTUNATE, AS A JEWISH INDIVIDUAL, THOUGH, WHO WAS BORN IN THE GENERATION OR TWO AFTER THE HOLOCAUST, IT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY MUCH PRESENT IN MY EDUCATION AND SOMETHING THAT I, OF COURSE, WAS TAUGHT TO BE AWARE OF AND SENSITIVE TO AND I THINK IT’S SOMETHING THAT ALL JEWS BORN AT ANY TIME HAVE TO BE AWARE OF, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT’S JUST BEEN PART OF OUR HISTORY FOR AS LONG AS WE’VE BEEN A PEOPLE.

NOW, IN THE EVENT DESCRIPTION FOR THE UPCOMING CONVERSATION WITH BRETT STEPHENS ON MARCH 6th, IT SAYS THAT THE DISCUSSION WILL INCLUDE AN EXPLORATION OF, QUOTE, THE PERNICIOUS EFFECTS OF ANTI-SEMITIM ON OUR CULTURE AND DEMOCRACY.

I GUESS YOU HAVEN’T HAD ABOUT ADVANCE GLIMPSE OF HIS REMARKS, BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

IT WAS AN INTERESTING QUESTION.

HOW DOES ANTI-SEMITISM UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY, DO YOU THINK?

WELL, I THINK IN MANY WAYS, JEWS HAVE SERVED AS A CANARY IN THE COAL MINE FOR WESTERN CIVILIZATION, THAT AT TIMES WHEN ANTI-SEMITISM RISES, IT USUALLY COINCIDES WITH OTHER SERIOUS ISSUES IN SOCIETY, AND SO WHEN YOU SEE THIS KIND OF HATRED ONCE AGAIN REARING ITS HEAD, IT’S USUALLY AN INDICATION THAT SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING WRONG AND SOMETHING DEEPER IS GOING WRONG IN SOCIETY.

AND SO, I THINK WE AS AMERICANS, WHEN WE WITNESS A RISE IN ANTI-SEMITISM AS WE’RE SEEING TODAY, NEED TO ASK OURSELVES, WHAT’S GOING ON, AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO ADDRESS NOT JUST ANTI-SEMITISM, BUT THE POLARIZATION THAT SEEMS TO BE FEEDING AND UNDERLYING IT.

THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION.

I SAID THAT THE SERIES PROPOSES ACTIONS TO CONFRONT ANTI-SEMITISM HEAD-ON.

THE SERIES ITSELF IS DOING THAT.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER WAYS THAT — THOSE LISTENING TO OUR CONVERSATIONS CAN DO TO CONFRONT ANTI-SEMITISM HELD-ON?

WELL, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS NOT TO ALLOW IT TO BECOME BACKGROUND NOISE.

WHEN I LOOK AROUND AT THE CURRENT CONVERSATION, VIS A VIS HATE AND DISCRIMINATION, IT SEEMS TO ME, AT LEAST, THAT ANTI-SEMITISM IS NOT IN A PRIMARY PLACE ON THE LIST OF DISCRIMINATION, FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION THAT PEOPLE ARE FOCUSING ON AND IS FARTHER DOWN THE LIST, ALMOST AS IF THE FACT THAT IT’S RISING IS NOT BEING NOTICED.

AND I THINK PART OF THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT IT NEVER REALLY HAS GONE AWAY.

AND SO, IT’S — IF NOT ACCEPTED, AT LEAST EXPECTED.

AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US IS TO CALL IT OUT AND TO SHINE A LIGHT ON IT.

AND WHAT MAKES IT SO PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING HERE IN THE UNITED STATES IS THE FACT THAT UNLIKE OTHER FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION, IT DOESN’T TEND TO COME FROM ONE END OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM OR THE OTHER, IT TENDS TO COME FROM BOTH ENDS OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM, WHICH MAKES IT EVEN HARDER TO ADDRESS.

SO, SETH, WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES LEFT AND I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE SECOND TOPIC THAT WE INVITED YOU FOR.

92nd STREET Y IS, OF COURSE, BEST KNOWN AS A VENUE FOR LIVE EVENTS, INCLUDING TALKS AND CONCERTS AND FOR HOLDING ALL KINDS OF CLASSES ON-SITE.

I’VE GONE TO THE CONCERTS AND TO THE TALKS AND I’VE TAKEN SOME CLASSES THERE, SO I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

HOW DID YOU COPE DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC?

WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?

WELL, THE GOOD NEWS FOR US IS THAT TODAY WE’RE WELCOMING 2,000 TO 2,500 PEOPLE INTO OUR BUILDING ON A DAILY BASIS AND OUR PROGRAMS ARE COMING BACK AND COMING BACK IN FORCE.

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD TO DO WHEN WE CLOSED OUR DOORS IN MARCH OF 2020 WAS TO PIVOT VERY QUICKLY TO AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT.

THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY HADN’T DONE, AT LEAST AT SCALE IN THE PAST.

WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING, THOUGH, IS THAT WE DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE FOR OUR PROGRAMMING.

WE’VE SINCE MARCH OF 2020 PRODUCED OVER 4,600 ORIGINAL PROGRAMS ONLINE THAT HAVE DRAWN ABOUT 5.5 MILLION LIVESTREAM VIEWS AND WE’VE SOLD OVER 250,000 TICKETS TO OUR EVENTS, TO PEOPLE FROM ALL 50 STATES AND OVER 200 COUNTRIES.

SO, AS PAINFUL AS THE PANDEMIC HAS BEEN, AND IT’S CERTAINLY BEEN AS PAINFUL FOR US AS IT HAS BEEN FOR ANYONE ELSZ, IT’S OPENED OUR EYES TO THE FACT THAT NOW WE’RE NOT JUST A NEW YORK INSTITUTION, BUT WE’RE A TRULY GLOBAL INSTITUTION, WHICH HAS BEEN A REALLY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR US IN WHICH WE VIEW AS PART OF A FUTURE WE HOPE WILL MAKE US EVEN STRONGER THAN WE WERE PRE-PANDEMIC.

SO I GUESS YOU’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE A HYBRID INSTITUTION NOW, THANKS TO THAT.

BUT AS FAR AS THE OPEN EVENTS, WHEN WILL YOU HAVE IT LIKE IT USED TO BE, BEFORE THE EVENT?

AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE AUDIENCES ARE SAFE?

WELL, AS WITH MANY OF OUR PEERS, WE’RE REQUIRING VACCINATION FOR PEOPLE WHO ATTEND OUR EVENTS.

IN OUR PERFORMANCE SPACES, WE’RE REQUIRING PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS.

AND WE’VE HAD, ACTUALLY, A VERY GOOD TRACK RECORD OF KEEPING OUR AUDIENCES AND OUR PATRON BASE MORE GENERALLY SAFE AND SECURE THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ON MANY DAYS, IT FEELS HERE EXACTLY AS IT DID PRE-PANDEMIC.

NOT EVERY DAY.

AND WE STILL HAVE TO BUILD TOWARDS SOMETHING THAT’S CLOSER TO WHAT THE OLD NORMAL WAS LIKE, BUT I’M FEELING VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THINGS AND REALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE’S A THIRST AND A HUNGER FOR THE KIND OF PROGRAMMING THAT WE DO AND THAT AS THE WORLD GETS BACK TO WHATEVER THE NEW NORMAL IS, THAT THE 92nd STREET Y WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT NEW NORMAL.

ALL RIGHT, SETH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

YOU KNOW, IT’S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO TALK TO YOU, IT REALLY IS.

I HOPE WE CAN DO IT AGAIN SOON.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I HOPE SO, AS WELL.

THANK YOU.