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‘Hack the hate’ April 24-30, 2026 • Achrei Mot-Kedoshim • 7 Iyar 5786 • Vol. 25, No. 12
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YU president links Shoah memory to AI responsibility, asks techies to join fight For The Jewish Star Yeshiva University’s president called on technology leaders to take an active role in combating antisemitism and online hate, framing the challenge as both a moral and creative responsibility, in remarks at “Hack the Hate NYC 2026” on April 14, Yom Hashoah. Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, speaking at the Yeshiva University Museum on West 16th Street, addressed an audience largely composed of professionals working in artificial intelligence and technology, urging them to consider the broader societal impact of the tools they build. “Tonight, we stand in the shadow of memory,” Rabbi Berman said. “We remember 6 million Jews — lives of infinite dignity, extinguished by hatred that sought to erase truth itself.” He described the Shoah not only as an act of mass violence, but as “an assault on reality,” arguing that its legacy continues to echo in modern forms of disinformation and digital hate. “Antisemitism and hatred more broadly spreads at the speed of technology,” he said. “Disinformation travels faster than truth. Lies are amplified and reality is blurred.” At the same time, Rabbi Berman emphasized that technology also offers an unprec-
Following the “Hack the Hate 2026” program at the Yeshiva University Museum, YU President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman exchanges ideas with Benjamin Good, director of content policy for Meta, and Yfat BarakCheney, executive director of the Institute for Technology and Human Rights. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
edented opportunity to counter those forces. “If technology can spread darkness, it can also spread light,” he said. “That’s why this moment and this room matters so deeply.” Organizers said the event was designed to showcase how Israeli tech innovators and global Jewish communities are building a “digital iron dome,” leveraging new technology to intercept viral blood libels and ensure accurate representation in the systems training the next generation of artificial intelligence. Hack the Hate is an international initiative led by Generative AI for Good and the 8200 Alumni Association, in collaboration with Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business, the World Jewish Congress Tech Human Rights Institute, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism, Gesher, Maccabee Ventures, and President Isaac Herzog’s Voice of the People initiative. Rabbi Berman told attendees that their work in using emerging technologies — including generative AI — extends beyond technical innovation. “More than coding products, you are shaping what people see, what they believe and how they understand one another,” he said. “And that is a sacred responsibility.” See Hacking hate on page 2
Mamdani cold-shoulders Jews and calls Trump a killer fascist
Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the Annual Inner Circle Show at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan on March 29. Michael Appleton, Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused President Donald Trump of “killing thousands of people” in the Iran war and defended his decision to revoke his predecessor’s executive orders about Jew-hatred and anti-Israel boycotts, in an interview at City Hall with Leila Fadel, of NPR. Fadel pressed the mayor multiple times about his relationship with Trump, with whom Mamdani has met at least twice at the White House since his term as mayor began in January. “I’ll keep the nature of the conversations with the president between the two of us,” Mamdani said, emphasizing that the has “a deep opposition to this war, a deep opposition that comes out of a concern for what our politics are incentivizing in this moment — the killing of civilians, as opposed to the uplifting
of working-class people across this country.” Fadel noted that Trump has called Mamdani a “communist lunatic” and that the mayor called the president a “fascist.” “Now that you’ve met with him, that you’ve spoken with him multiple times, do you still think he’s a fascist?” she asked. “Yes,” Mamdani said. She asked if the mayor has told Trump that he considers him a fascist. “Yes,” Mamdani said. Asked how Trump responded, Mamdani said that “I think everyone saw in the conversation we had in the Oval Office after our first meeting.” “He seems to like you. Are you and the president friends?” Fadel wondered. “I would say that he’s the president and I’m the mayor,”
Mamdani said. “The basis of the relationship comes from those two positions.” “Look at the war in Iran today,” he told Fadel in response to another question. “We’re talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country cannot afford the bare minimum.” Mamdani, who has said that he wants to build stronger relationships with Jewish New Yorkers, has drawn “significant support from liberal and leftist Jewish Americans, Jewish communities,” Fadel said. “But you also drew a lot of skepticism, and there was a lot of fear that your sharp criticisms of Israel would also translate into someSee Mamdani cold-shoulders on page 2