Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education presents Dr. Karen Mock

Dr. Karen Mock, the Executive Director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, lecturing in Cincinnati as a keynote speaker for Holocaust Awareness Weeks 2003: Women and the Holocaust, is targeting the serious issues of intolerance. The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is proud to provide the community with an opportunity to hear a woman who has successfully fought worldwide the destructive effect of hate and hate crimes and offers many effective ways to combat hate and repair the fabric of society.

Dr. Mock will be featured at three events during Holocaust Awareness Weeks. She will give her keynote lecture, “The Hate Hunter: A Woman Battles Intolerance,” at Memorial Hall on Elm Street on Monday, April 28 at 7p.m. On Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30p.m. at Mayerson Hall Auditorium at Hebrew Union College, Dr. Mock invites educators across the Greater Cincinnati Area for a lecture and discussion targeted specifically for educators. Earlier that day she will give some insights during her sermon at the Yom HaShoah Memorial Service on Tuesday, April 29 at 11a.m. at Scheuer Chapel at Hebrew Union College. These lectures are sponsored through the generosity of Karen and Christos Kotsovos in loving memory of Holocaust survivor Irving Poloniecki.

Prior to her government position as the Executive Director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Dr. Mock served for twelve years as the Director of the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada. She has taught courses in multiculturalism and race relations, as well as developmental and educational psychology. Dr. Mock is widely published on multicultural anti-racist resources on countering racism and hate. She currently works on training programs relevant to racism in the criminal justice system and on hate/bias crime. She uses her knowledge of hate crimes to testify in court cases. Because of her testimonies, judges and juries are able to deliver stiffer sentences to the offenders who commit hate crimes.

“Dr. Mock is one of the leading international experts in the field of identifying and dealing with hate crimes, and helping the justice system properly prosecute them. Cincinnati is fortunate to have her give us an overview and her depth of understanding to properly address these issues. She approaches it with a professionalism that is awe-inspiring,” says Dr. Racelle Weiman, Director of The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.

The Cincinnati community will be inspired by the passion behind Dr. Mock’s lecture, “The Hate Hunter: A Woman Battles Intolerance.” The oppression and intolerance of which Dr. Mock speaks is reflected in the theme of this year’s Holocaust Awareness Weeks 2003: Women and the Holocaust as well as the recent race relation problems in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati City Council is taking steps toward combating intolerance by passing the hate crime law on February 5, 2003. This law will enforce a more tolerant community through effectively doubling a penalty if a crime committed was based on sexual orientation, race, religion, age, gender, national origin, physical or mental disability.

The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education is an education and community resource center located on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. It offers workshops, professional training seminars, and graduate courses. Teaching Holocaust Studies from academic and theological perspectives, The Center promotes tolerance and social justice in a broad range of civic and cultural concerns. For more information, contact The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education by phone (513) 221-1875, ext. 355 or email chhe@huc.edu or check the website at www.holocaustandhumanity.org.