David L. Bernstein, former CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and author of the controversial yet prescient 2022 book “Woke Antisemitism – How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews” will speak as part of the PRIMER lecture series.
The program, co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast and Tampa JCCs & Federation, brings in leaders of the fight against antisemitism on a quarterly basis.
In addition, the annual PRIMER award will be given posthumously to Howard Rothman, long-time B’nai B’rith president and activist who passed away in August at age 77. Rothman began his involvement with B’nai B’rith as a child growing up in Toledo, OH where he was active in the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. As an adult, he served on various committees of B’nai B’rith International, culminating in his service as a senior vice president on the Board of Governors.
The event at Temple B’nai Israel in Clearwater will be held Sunday, Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. The event will include a bagel and lox brunch. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at jewishgulfcoast.org/ LECTURE.
Bernstein served as president and CEO of (JCPA) from 2016-2021. He served as executive director of The David Project from 2010 to 2014. During his time at The David Project, a pro-Israel campus group, Bernstein focused on expanding relationships with campus opinion leaders, intensifying efforts at particular campuses and using a more nuanced approach for discussions about Israel.
He also held senior roles with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), where he was a leading advocate for Israel on the legislative, diplomatic, media and inter-group relations fronts.
Bernstein’s book on “Woke Antisemitism” grew out of the 2021 conflict with Hamas when Israel took a beating in both the mainstream press and on social media. Like today, the Jewish state was portrayed as the oppressor and the Hamas government as the oppressed even though rockets were being lobbed at Israel from Gaza.
While Israel has always been subject to excessive scrutiny, Bernstein believed this time was different. What had changed? A self-described liberal, Bernstein broke with the far left over the adoption of woke ideology. In his book, Bernstein traces the growth of this ideology and shows how its core ideological tenets – such as privilege, equity, whiteness, and the oppressor/oppressed – can be and are weaponized against Jews.
He was previously scheduled to speak at the Tampa JCCs & Federation campaign kickoff, but a rally in support of Israel was held instead.
PRIMER, or Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting, was created in 1992 as a means of combatting anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias in the media and is now an important part of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Federation.
