Head of USC Shoah Foundation leaves role with heartfelt letter to all survivors
British-born Stephen Smith departs as chief executive of the California-based Foundation, founded by Steven Spielberg, saying it was 'the greatest honour of my life to work with you'
Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.
A British-born Holocaust educator has announced he is stepping down as head of the USC Shoah Foundation.
Stephen Smith penned a heartfelt letter to ‘To survivors of the Shoah and genocides the world over’ in announcing he is leaving his role as Chief Executive.
The foundation, established by legendary director Steven Spielberg and based at the University of Southern California, has been a world-leader in recording Shoah testimony using technology.
Smith said in his open letter, that Spielberg made “two promises to you when he established the Shoah Foundation. The first was that your testimonies would be preserved in perpetuity.
“The second promise was that we would teach with your testimonies around the globe.
“Today, hundreds of universities and millions of school students learn from you every year.
Steven Spielberg (Gage Skidmore)
Smith, who also founded the UK Holocaust Centre in Nottingham with his brother James, announced that after 12 years at the helm of USCSF he would be leaving and that it had been “the greatest honour of my life to work with you, to bring light to our world through your voices”.
During his tenure he said the foundation now reaches classrooms in more than 90 countries and 14 languages, while the number of teachers has grown from a few hundred to 250,000, and more than 8 million students had heard survivor testimony.
He announced that Dr. Kori Street will become Interim Executive Director, and he will continue in a voluntary role as Executive Director Emeritus, and as a as Visiting Professor of Religion at USC.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
