At a time when too many refuse to say what they really think, Steven Goldstein, the fearless and outspoken new executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect in New York isn’t pulling any punches. A self-described social justice advocate and former Rutgers University political science and law professor, Goldstein had a short answer when a conservative commentator on CNN asked him if he believed that Donald Trump was anti-Semitic.
“You bet,” he replied.
The man is willing to point out wrongdoing and bullying where he sees it—that’s why he’s our Revolutionist of the Week. The Anne Frank Center in New York, founded by Anne’s father, Otto Frank, is dedicated to standing up for the equal rights and mutual respect of all people. My mother fought with the Dutch underground during World War II and her deepest regret was that she didn’t do more to save her friends and neighbors during that awful time. I am heartened to know that the Center is fighting on in Anne’s name.
Goldstein, who writes all the press releases and tweets from the organization in plain language has taken Trump to task for his belated expression against anti-Semitism as “too little, too late” and engaged with Sean Spicer on Twitter about it. In a written statement he said, “The President’s sudden acknowledgement is a Band-Aid on the cancer of anti-Semitism that has infected his own administration.”
It’s this kind of revolutionist who inspires and motivates those around him. He is crystal clear about what a revolutionist needs to do in this political climate: “We have no pecking order in which we fight Anti-Semitism first, and Islamophobia and other hatred second,” he said. “We have to save every Anne. Never again must mean never again to anyone. Never again is now.”
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