Antisemitism, racism, and political violence raise difficult questions about how individuals and communities respond to hate. What are the conditions that allow hate to take hold? How can communities resist it without amplifying it? And what can history teach us about confronting mass harm?
This program explores the social and cultural roots of hate, the choices individuals make in the face of violence and injustice, and the ways communities can respond. Drawing on the history of the Nuremberg Trials and Robert H. Jackson’s work pursuing accountability after the Holocaust, the conversation considers what the past can teach us about resisting hate and protecting the values of a democratic society today.
Aliza Luft is an Associate Professor of Sociology at UCLA whose research examines how ordinary people make decisions during war and genocide and mass violence., why some participate in violence, why others resist, and why many look away. Her work explores how identity, social relationships, cultural classifications, and moral decision-making shape behavior under extreme conditions.
Luft is the author of Sacred Betrayal: How the French Catholic Church Broke Its Pledge to Protect Jews during the Holocaust (Harvard University Press, 2026), which examines how French Catholic bishops shifted from condemning Nazism to offering Jewish communities assurances of protection they ultimately failed to provide. Her research has appeared in leading academic journals and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. She serves as Interim Director of UCLA’s Bedari Kindness Institute and has previously worked with organizations including USAID, the United Nations, and Facing History & Ourselves.
The Robert H. Jackson Center is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization that is dedicated to presenting accurate and balanced information about complex issues. The opinions expressed by various guest speakers, panelists, and authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center, its Board, and supporters.
The Center fulfills its educational mission by welcoming diverse views and by providing a forum to explore a wide range of perspectives on often controversial legal and public policy issues. While we make an effort to ensure the information we provide is accurate and balanced, we welcome your comments, suggestions, or correction of any factual errors.
Since 2001, the Robert H. Jackson Center has preserved the values embodied in the life and works of Robert H. Jackson, who served as U.S. Solicitor General, U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and Chief U.S. Prosecutor of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Through programs, presentations, exhibits, media, internships, and scholarship, the Center seeks to demonstrate to current and future generations the relevance and applicability of Justice Jackson’s ideas and writings. The Center provides educational content on the United States Constitution and Supreme Court, civil rights, the legacy of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and international human rights, and the rule of law. During his illustrious career, Justice Jackson addressed these subjects, and the Center recognizes his thinking remains relevant today.
