This past year, the words “selfie,” “twerk,” and “badassery” made their way into the English dictionary. While these words have interwoven themselves into everyday speech, there is another far more important word that deserves proper recognition: upstander.

Upstander: A person who chooses to take positive action in the face of injustice in society or in situations where individuals need assistance.

The term upstander has been featured in the vocabulary of human rights activists and organizations worldwide, including former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power and the non-profit Facing History and Ourselves among many.

Now more than ever, the importance of this word needs to be recognized. Bullying exists in entirely new dimensions with the prevalence of social media. The term “bystander,” the antithesis of the upstander movement, is an officially defined word in our dictionaries. What message are we sending to our youth? If we want to make the upstander a reality- if we want our kids to fight against injustice and intolerance- we must define this word. We need to encourage everyone to speak up, stand up, and stop hate by embracing the role of an upstander.

We kindly urge you to support the movement to define upstander. Through officially defining the word upstander, together we can combat prejudice and promote tolerance in our world.

Call to action - please sign the petition on Change.org

The Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center joins with the Simon Wiesenthal Center to condemn the fact that the Government of Italy allows a winery to glorify the images and deeds of the perpetrators of the worst mass genocide humankind has ever known.  To use the images of the gas chambers gang—Hitler, Himmler, Göring and Eva Braun—among 30 Nazi-themed labels to promote wine from Veneto, Italy produced by Vini Lunardelli is a disgrace to the decency and humanity of the Italian people.

Call to action: please sign the petition on change.org

The issue is resolved and the publisher is no longer publishing the magazine.

An investigation by the Simon Wiesenthal Center found that Der Landser, a German magazine, has glorified the operations of the German Waffen-SS, an organization responsible for the mass murder of millions of innocent civilians during World War II.  Der Landser publishes articles that actually praise the work of these mass murderers by portraying them as welcome liberators and every day soldiers like American, Canadian and British forces.  Following Simon Wiesenthal Center’s lead, The Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) urges members of the Westchester community to stand up against this publication which persists in denying the facts of the Holocaust.

New York Times article
 
The articles in the magazine are available for download on Apple’s iTunes and Amazon.  Please contact Apple and Amazon demanding that they cease distribution of false and inflammatory Holocaust-denier publications like Der Landser.  You can also call the German Consulate in NYC demanding that they enforce their own laws that prohibit Nazi propaganda and Holocaust denial.
 
Contact Information:
 
Apple
[email protected]
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 974-2042
 
Amazon
206-266-7180
[email protected]
 
German Government
871 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
(212) 610-9700