This summer I took a class at Loyola Law School called Hate Speech Seminar. The course was very discussion based with some non-traditional law school reading. We also read the key First Amendment (Free Speech) cases and important Law Review articles on regulating hate speech.
I learned a lot.
Part of the course was a trip to the Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
I took my tour of the museum today. What follows are some general impressions.
The museum is impressive. It is modern, hi-tech, welcoming and imformative. I have been to a number of the more prominent Holocaust Museums and exhibits. The Museum of Tolerance takes a unique twist on the Holocaust that I personally found more relevant than some of the other attempts to memorialize the Holocaust.
Perhaps most telling is the non-Holocaust exhibits. There museum has a universal message of tolerance and love that I can really relate to. I saw exhibits on segregation and prejudice. The truth is that even if there was no Holocaust exhibit, these exhibits made the trip worthwhile.
The Holocaust section focuses on the prejudices that existed in 1930′s Germany. The presentations are slick and grab your attention. The manner in which the information is presented is more like Epcot Center than a High School classroom. They use multimedia in a non-obtrusive way to convery their message.
The homage to shtetl life was sweet but I felt not entirely accurate. The romanticization of Jewish life in pre-war Europe is common and I only expected better from the MOT because they were so good at everything else they did.
As always, I was very drawn to the artifacts and Judaica on display. I absolutely love seeing real, used “things” from a time long gone. To see a Torah Scroll that was used hundreds of years ago, with its beautiful hebrew calligraphy and adorned with exquisite silver jewelry is very powerful for me. I also really enjoyed the day to day items on display. The collection includes a Cholent Pot from 19th century Germany. It is earthenware and marked with the words “Cholent Pot” and beneath that it has the family name. It looks really nice.
The overall theme of the Holocaust exhibit is that we all have biases. We need to work hard to overcome our prejudices to lead a more tolerant life. I agree whole-heartedly with that message and support the Museum of Tolerance in its work to disseminate that message.
If you are in LA or visiting Los Angles, make a few hour stop at the MOT. It will have an effect on you for a long time.
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