Ethics during the Holocaust

John K. Roth, a professor at Claremont McKenna College and the Ina Levine Scholar in Residence in Washington, D.C., hopes to make an impression.

Not about himself and his accomplishments - however impressive. The impression he aims to make is one on ethics and anti-Semitism in regards to the Holocaust.

Roth is one of seven speakers who will be lecturing at the Bureau of Jewish Education's upcoming "Jewish Passages XXVII 2005." The series will highlight several speakers discussing a variety of topics related to issues affecting the Jewish community and culture.

The philosophy professor has always had an interest in the Holocaust. He tells of a day one summer in the early 1970s when he was "reading with some seriousness" the writing of Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the concentration camps. Roth was "affected deeply" by what he read.

"There was history, there were questions I had to find out," he says.

In his academic pursuits, Roth delves deeper into his passion - ethics during and after the Holocaust.

"There was a hope, an assumption, that anti-Semitism (would be eliminated)," says Roth.

In his Feb. 6 lecture, "Ethics during and after the Holocaust: How did anti-Semitism happen again?" Roth says he will draw from the project he is working on at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies (CAHS), a branch of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, probing "into the history and aftermath of the Holocaust to try to figure out what happened to ethics."

He also hopes to show the effects the Holocaust has on ethics today.

Roth came to be involved in the lecture series partly due to his fellowship at the museum, where he is the Ina Levine Scholar-in-Residence - the same Ina Levine after whom the Jewish community campus in Scottsdale is named.

"Part of the fellowship program includes the opportunity and responsibility to go out into communities around the country interested in having people come to speak," Roth says - and for a "very low cost."

The museum sponsors these efforts. Roth has already been to the University of Iowa and the University of Virginia. He will be speaking to classes at Arizona State University Feb. 3 and will take part in Shabbat services at Hillel at ASU on Feb. 4.

"It's a pretty good relationship ... for the museum ... and at the same time for the colleges and universities," he says.

Surprisingly, Roth is not Jewish - "People often assume (I am) when they see my name," he says. Roth was raised in a traditionally Christian home and has worked to develop Jewish-Christian relationships.

But, as far as ethics is concerned, Roth doesn't see the Holocaust as a purely Jewish issue.

"It's not (just) a Jewish concern," he says. "It's bigger than that."

He adds: "Life is good, and I am grateful for the opportunity I have this year to pursue my Holocaust-related research and writing projects."

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Details

What: "Jewish Passages XXVIII 2005," sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education
Who: Steven Emerson, an expert on terrorism, national security and militant Islam; "Jihad TV: Al-Jazeera, the Global Madrassa"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30
Where: Beth El Congregation, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix
Who: John K. Roth, Ina Levine Scholar-in-Residence, Holocaust scholar and professor of philosophy; "Ethics during and after the Holocaust: How did anti-Semitism happen again?"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6
Where: Har Zion Congregation, 6140 E. Thunderbird Road, Scottsdale
Who: Harvey W. Kushner, expert on terrorism prevention and former consultant to the FBI, FAA, INS and U.S. Customs Service; "Holy War on the Home Front: It will happen here if...?"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13
Where: Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix
Who: Stephen M. Berk, professor of history and consultant to the Wiesenthal Holocaust Center in Los Angeles; "A new Jewish identity for the 21st Century"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20
Where: Beth El Congregation, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix
Who: Jeanine Pirro, a district attorney in West-chester County in New York; "A D.A.'s fight against a system that coddles criminals: Is there a way to make our streets and homes safe?"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27
Where: Har Zion Congregation, 6140 E. Thunderbird Road, Scottsdale
Who: Irshad Manji, a Muslim journalist, author, television producer and media entrepreneur; "The trouble with Islam: A wake-up call for honesty and change"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 6
Where: Temple Emanuel, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe
Who: Jonathan D. Sarna, one of America's foremost commentators on American Jewish history, life and religion; "350 Years of American Jewish History"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20
Where: Temple Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale
Cost: $10 per program; $50 for all seven programs
Call: 480-634-8050

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Ethics during the Holocaust

Professor studies effects of anti-Semitism

STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL Staff Writer

STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer