Eradicate Hate Global Summit Coming To Pittsburgh This Week
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Happening on Monday, a group of global activists and leaders will be in Pittsburgh for the first-ever Eradicate Hate Global Summit.
The three-day summit includes national icons like former president George W. Bush and local leaders like Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.
Organizers say it's an opportunity to show how far our region has come since the Tree of Life shooting three years ago.
A global response to the Tree of Life Synagogue attack will take the main stage on Monday.
Jeff Finkelstein is on the steering committee that helped organize the summit and he's also the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
He said he personally felt the hate dealt towards his community during the shooting. He also said the Eradicate Hae Global Summit is a chance for scholars to prove Pittsburgh is moving in the right direction.
"This is a city where there are deep connections and relationships between the communities that make up this region," he said. "To me, that's what this conference is about. Let's recognize that this horrible incident took place here, but this city is so much more than one horrible incident that took place."
Finkelstein said there are two ways to think about Pittsburgh: one is just of the attack and the other is how to move forward.
"The conference is not a be-all, end-all, it's the platform to begin these dialogues with concrete next steps to impact what we have in the society today," he explained. "There's too much hatred."
Mark Nordenberg is one of the co-chairs of the summit and he says it has been in the works for a long time.
"I think Pittsburgh is a very special place and the summit is a campaign in part to build on that spirit of Pittsburgh and extend it more broadly than our own community," Nordenberg said.
Nordenberg believes the goal isn't just to eradicate hate but to spread love.
He said the summit will be an annual event and organizers say they hope the changes will be tangible such as new laws and policies to prevent hateful acts or help the victims of hate.
