NEW YORK CITY, New York โ More than 20,000 New York City public school students participated in the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation’s “Decode Hate” program during the 2025-2026 academic year, as educators and community leaders seek to address the growing challenges posed by online harassment, digital radicalization, and rising antisemitism.
The initiative, developed through a partnership between the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF), the New York City Council, and New York City Public Schools, provides middle and high school students with tools designed to help them identify, navigate, and confront antisemitism and other forms of hate encountered online and within their communities.
According to AJCF, dozens of specially trained facilitators worked directly with teachers and visited classrooms across New York City throughout the academic year.
The program combines educator-led preparation and follow-up lessons with interactive workshops conducted by AJCF facilitators. Students are taught to recognize online manipulation, identify misinformation, understand the consequences of digital behavior, and develop skills associated with responsible online citizenship.
Classroom sessions include discussion-based activities, scenario exercises, and practical training focused on navigating increasingly complex digital environments.
Students learn how to recognize manipulation tactics, report online harassment, and intervene appropriately when peers become targets of hate or abuse.
AJCF officials said participants completed the program with a greater understanding of antisemitism, bigotry, and online harassment, as well as practical strategies for responding to hateful conduct both online and offline.
Facilitators reported that many students left the program feeling empowered to challenge hateful behavior rather than remain silent.
“This is how you defeat hate, not with slogans, but by giving every student the digital literacy and judgment to recognize manipulation the moment they encounter it online,” Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Director General Jack Simony said in a statement.
“We’re preparing a generation that recognizes hate and refuses to stay silent,” Simony added.
AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson described the initiative as a response to the realities facing today’s students.
“‘Decode Hate’ is more than a program; it’s a movement to ensure that our young people are equipped to navigate the digital world they actually live in,” Bergson said.
“By teaching students to think critically online as clearly as they would in person, we are building a generation committed to justice, empathy, and moral courage,” he said.
A significant component of the curriculum addresses the permanence of online activity and the long-term consequences associated with students’ digital footprints.
Program organizers say students are encouraged to consider how their online actions may affect both others and their own futures.
Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Executive Vice President Michael Cohen said the program’s impact extends beyond the classroom.
“Seeing tens of thousands of students build these skills and then carry that awareness directly into their online communities is inspiring,” Cohen said.
“Education becomes powerful when it gives students the tools to act against hate wherever they encounter it, including in the spaces where they spend most of their time,” he added.
The initiative reflects AJCF’s broader educational mission of using Holocaust history to combat contemporary antisemitism, hatred, and extremism.
Founded to preserve the memory and lessons of the Holocaust, AJCF maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oลwiฤcim, Poland, which includes the city’s last remaining synagogue, a museum, educational facilities, and other preserved Jewish properties commemorating the once vibrant Jewish community destroyed during the Holocaust.
In addition to “Decode Hate,” the organization operates several educational and leadership initiatives, including the American Service Academies Program and the RISE Leadership Program.
According to AJCF, the success of the New York City initiative has already generated interest among school districts and legislators seeking to adapt the model to other communities across the United States.
As educators continue to grapple with the effects of social media, online extremism, and increasing incidents of antisemitism, organizations such as AJCF argue that digital literacy and Holocaust education remain essential tools in preparing students to confront hatred and defend democratic values.
