How do you fight against extremist views and hatred? Have an open dialogue, compassion and empathy.
This was the main message at a forum held Wednesday, March 8 at the Congregation Shir-Ha-Ma’alot in Irvine. Local groups that work to fight racial and religious hate joined faith leaders and community members for a conversation centered on anti-hate.
These leaders and community organizations hope to stop rising anti-Semitism and hate crimes by having open dialogues.
Representatives from different faith backgrounds, police and law enforcement, and leaders from Irvine and Huntington Beach joined Wednesday’s event, presented by Cal State Fullerton’s Leadership Institute for Tomorrow, the Museum of Tolerance and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Jeff Schoep, a former neo-Nazi who helped lead the National Socialist Movement, gave a compelling and vulnerable speech about how he entered – and left, after 25 years – the world of extremism and White nationalism.
Schoep had been involved in the socialist movement since he was 18 years old. He shared how his family had ties to Hitler’s army during World War II, and that he “sought out” these modern-day movements.
“It was a mistake that I made. Anyone can be recruited to these — not only people with traumatic life experiences,” Schoep told the audience, which included many Jewish leaders and community members. “To repair some of the damage, the hate and vitriol that I spewed for many years, the best thing I could do is to help others walk away, and heal from that divide.”
In 2019, Schoep denounced the hateful, White supremacist ideology he had heard and helped spread for decades. He founded Beyond Barriers, a non-profit dedicated to countering and preventing extremism through community outreach. Many involved are former extremist leaders like himself.
Schoep said that radicalization and recruitment into extremist groups perpetuate racism, and the belief to shun others who “don’t have that cult-like…
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