So, here I am:
a straight, white, male,
without even glasses
talking to you about racism.
You may be thinking, "What does he know about discrimination?"
I'd like to remind you that I also have a red beard.
So I do know a bit about discrimination.
Over the past four years,
I've been lucky enough to call Jerusalem,
Montreal, and then London my home town.
It didn't hit me straight away,
but then I realized that all three cities
have a very interesting relationship with diversity.
Those experiences coupled with an education
to [inaudible] me inclusiveness, openness, and respect,
made me very aware of the discrimination that happens around the world.
With all the unfolding events at the moment,
I really felt that I had to do, or at least, say something;
and because I'm a minimalist,
I decided to say something,
and apparently, it's worth spreading.
I'd like to start by telling you a story.
The year is 1934, in Nuremberg, Germany.
My great-grandparents are the owners
of one of the most prestigious hat shop in the city.
Their family came from AufseB, a small country town outside this city.
At one point,
it was best known for having the highest rate of breweries per capita.
And also... No; actually, that's it.
it was a small town with nothing much,
but that's where my family came from,
that's where they lived for over 200 years.
They were proud of their origins.
They were not really religious,
but still, they were very proud of their Jewish heritage, as well,
and it is for that sole reason, that in 1934,
after one of my grandad's classmate was attached to a fence the whole night,
they decided to flee what was their home for a new one;
what was then called Palestine.
Their heritage, their roots were in Germany,
in Nuremberg, in AufseB,
where my name literally comes from.
But because of racism and Nazism, they had to flee.
How do we challenge that?
As a society, how do we make sure that this kind of event
doesn't happen again in the future?
This is where the magic trick happens.
Together, we'll see how we can use racist tools against them.
Together, let's reverse engineering racism.
One day, I was on YouTube watching videos,
as we often do,
and then, I saw a panel discussion on Fox News,
America's largest news channel and its strongest conservative voice.
The panel was discussing Jesus and Santa.
I was baffled.
There it was: a panel of professional, well-educated journalists
vehemently defending the fact that both icons were white.
When it comes to Santa,
- spoiler alert -
he doesn't exist.
So it doesn't really matter; he's a commercial product.
When it comes to Jesus, however, it's a whole other story.
I think we can say that he had quite an impact on our world,
and so his figure is quite important.
This panel was defending the fact that he was white
so seriously,
that it felt that for them if he weren't, he would be less of a God.
And that troubled me.
If you will, let's look into Jesus's origins.
Jesus was born in Nazareth, as most of you know,
in today's West Bank.
Then, it was called Judea.
But Jesus actually comes from Galilea
which is just north of Judea.
According to anthropologist Richard Neave,
this is what a Galilean would've looked like at that time.
Interesting, isn't it?
It's more of what we would refer to today as an Arab
rather than a white Caucasian male.
I think that by looking into the origins of certain things or people,
we're able to show, explain, and gap bridges
between people that thought they had nothing in common;
for example, Fox News and an Arab.
Another admirable man is Trevor Noah.
He's a South-African comedian
and he's the host of "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah"
on Comedy Central.
Trevor was born in 1984, in Johannesburg, South Africa
and he has a very interesting story.
His mom was a Black South African woman, and his dad was a Swiss white man.
So Trevor's very own existence was illegal.
He was referred as "colored," and he couldn't go to play outside
as he was rejected by both Black and white communities.
In a very interesting documentary called "You laugh but it's true,"
Trevor explains how in post-apartheid South Africa
as he was becoming a comedian,
what was once a handicap became an advantage,
what was once a threat to his life
became a way for him to distinguish himself from other comedians.
He could relate to both communities,
and both Black and white communities saw him as an outsider and an insider.
From a Johannesburg's slum,
he came to host one of the America's progressive, most influential shows.
And all of this by a lot of work, a lot of talent, of course,
but also by understanding how to use his origins
to his own advantage.
So now that we understood
that we can use origins to fight racism,
let's see how we can apply it
to one of today's most important issues:
the rise of islamophobia.
Because when you go to Yad Vashem,
Jerusalem's Holocaust Museum,
which I've visited over five times,
you come to realize
that one of the main issues that allowed this atrocity to happen
was the passivity and the silence
of those who were not concerned.
Not that they were especially racist,
but they just didn't act out.
Of course, there is a problem today with Muslim extremists,
but Islam is not the problem.
It is a political, a financial issue,
but definitely, religion is not the issue.
It is important to make this distinction,
because we should include those Muslims who are not extremists
and not exclude them in the arms of those who are.
To those who say,
"Well, Islam is not compatible with our modern society,"
"It is a hateful, it is a destructive religion,"
I'd like to challenge you,
and once again, let's go look into Islam's origin and history.
First thing: the numbers.
Have you ever tried counting from one to ten without numbers?
Pretty hard task.
We have to thank the influence of Islam for this invention.
al-Razi, a Persian scientist, was the first to use alcohol in medicine.
Quite ironic, isn't it?
Who here hasn't heard of the "One thousand and one nights"?
A poetry masterpiece.
Again, this was written under the influence of Islam.
The Taj Mahal -
an architectural prowess.
It was both requested and designed by Muslims.
For those who have seen it, you know how beautiful it is:
in the details, the arts,
the little stones that make the beauty of it all.
Then, finally - belly dancing.
Oh, yes, we have to thank Muslim influence for this, as well.
You can have a real impact in fighting racism and discrimination around you,
simply by speaking out
and by using racist tools against them
because nothing hurts more
than being beaten at your own game, with you own tools.
Imagine a golfer
being beaten by his opponents; but with his own clubs.
He would probably disregard the importance of the clubs
and just admit his opponent was better.
I believe it goes the same way with racism.
If you can fight their ideology with their logic,
then you put them in a position
where they are not able to say that your argument is invalid.
So I urge you to speak out.
All people are countable for what they say.
Don't be afraid of arguing with someone.
Don't be afraid of being a fool,
because in front of a racist,
they will always be the fool.
I'm just a student.
I don't have more credentials than you do.
I don't have more knowledge than you do.
I just have the will to be on right side of history.
So tap into your origins,
your story, and your history,
and use them to fight discrimination and racism around you.
Before I finish,
I'd like to share with you a quote
than I saw when I was visiting
the Genocide Museum in Kigali, Rwanda, this summer.
And to this date, it's stuck with me.
"When we said never again after the holocaust,
did it concern only certain people and not others?"
Thank you very much.
(Applause)