This spring, Grace students had the opportunity to attend the annual Never Is Now conference,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
hosted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) at the Javits Center in Manhattan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conference began with an opening lecture in which many prominent figures in the Jewish community shared reflections on their work to combat antisemitism in America. There were thousands of attendees from all over the world inside the lecture hall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the opening meeting, ALD presented awards to recognize individuals in the Jewish community, as well as allies of the Jewish community, for their outstanding work and dedication to combating antisemitism. One of the most memorable speeches was given by award-winning author Emmanuel Acho. Acho, a #1 New York Times best-selling author, Emmy Award winner, and host, was presented with the Ally Award for his book Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew<\/em>. Acho gave a very funny and inspirational speech about what it means to be an ally and stand up for others. The afternoon was filled with engaging speeches, notably by Grammy Award-winning singer Gloria Gaynor. If you do not recognize her by name, you\u2019ll definitely know her from her iconic song \u201cI Will Survive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although he was not there in person, Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, zoomed in to speak briefly to the attendees. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of activism in the Jewish community, especially with the recent surge of antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about her experience at the conference, Ruby S. \u201827 said, \u201cI’m glad Ms. Mazor encouraged us to attend the conference; it was a great experience to bond with our affinity space and discuss the events of the conference.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there were many interesting and engaging speeches during this symposium, there were also some controversial ones. One major topic of discussion after the morning session was that one of the speakers, Robert Kraft, had been in the spotlight recently because of his numerous appearances in the Epstein files. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the conference had its controversies, overall, it was a positive and informative conference for Grace students to attend. We all learned a lot and, most importantly, the conference sparked interesting discussions between both the students and teachers who attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n