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Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ryan Geertsma.

Voice 2

And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

In December 1993, Isaac Schnitzer and his parents were preparing for the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. Isaac placed a Menorah, a traditional Hanukkah symbol, in his bedroom window. One night, someone threw a large rock through Isaac's window. Isaac was only five years old. And he was the victim of a hate crime.

Voice 2

Police investigated Isaac's house. They urged the Schnitzer family to take down the other Jewish symbols on their house. Police feared the vandal would attack their house again. They feared the Schnitzers would suffer more violence because of their religious beliefs.

Voice 1

Hate was all around the community. Different ethnic groups around the city had been targets of hate. But no one had done anything to stop the hate.

Voice 2

Today's Spotlight program is the third in a series of ten programs. In this series of programs we will look at ten ways to fight hate.

Voice 1

Hate is powerful enough to destroy people and communities. So Tolerance.org has made a list of ten ways to fight hate in your community. On today's Spotlight program we will look at the third way to fight hate in your community: Support the Victims.

Voice 2

Isaac's family was at risk of suffering more violence. But Isaac's parents refused to take down the other Jewish symbols on their house. Instead, Tolerance.org writes about how they called their local newspaper. The Schnitzers asked the newspaper to write a story about the attack. They also asked if the story could be on the front page of the newspaper. They wanted everyone to see it. They wanted other people to understand what it was like being a victim. The local newspaper agreed. In fact, the newspaper had an even better idea! They decided to publish a full-page picture of a Menorah in every newspaper. The newspaper then asked people to hang the paper Menorah in the windows of their homes and work places.

Voice 1

Many people supported the idea. Soon, hundreds of people in the area had the paper picture of a Menorah in their windows. However, the violence continued. The vandals broke windows of schools and churches showing the Menorah. They vandalized, or damaged, vehicles of people showing the Menorah. But the town continued to support the Schnitzers. In fact, the police chief of the area encouraged MORE people to show the Menorah. He said:

Voice 3

"Signs of support for the Jewish community must increase, not decrease. For every incident of vandalism, I hope that ten other people put Menorahs in their windows."

Voice 2

By the end of the month, 10,000 people showed the paper Menorahs in their windows. The people living in this city gave the vandals a message. The people of THIS community would not accept hate toward any of its members. Isaac's mother, Tammie, said:

Voice 4

"I would like to think that if this incident had happened to my Native American community, local people would have put up a Native American symbol in their window. Or if it happened to the gay and lesbian community they would put up a pink triangle. I would like to think they would have done that."

Voice 1

The hate crime incident involving the Schnitzers could have happened in any city or country in the world. People attack other people because of the colour of their skin, their religious beliefs, their sexual preferences, their abilities, or just because they are different. A person is a victim just because of WHO SHE IS.

Voice 2

It is even more sad that the victims of hate crimes feel alone and afraid. Sometimes, the victim of a hate crime will refuse to report the hate crime. He may be afraid that he will suffer again. Or he is afraid that the authorities will not help him.

Voice 1

Tolerance.org believes that one way to fight hate is to support the victims of hate crimes and hate based incidents. When a victim feels supported he is more likely to report a hate based incident or hate crime. And when victims REPORT hate crimes, communities can do better at preventing future hate crimes.

Voice 2

Victims of hate crimes feel as if they have no value in a community. So, the people of a community must show that they DO value every member of the community.

Voice 1

You can do MANY things to support victims of hate crime. Tolerance.org says that even SMALL and SIMPLE acts of kindness can make a victim feel as if he has value. A note, a visit, or a telephone call can show your support and love for a victim of a hate crime.

Voice 2

If a hate crime has damaged a person's property, you can offer to help fix the damage. You could ask other members of the community to help. Help to paint over harmful words. Help to clean up broken glass.

Voice 1

When communities support victims, they help to stop hate. They send a message to hate criminals that they will not accept hate.

Voice 2

If you are a victim of hate, you should not suffer in silence. Tolerance.org urges you to report your incident to the police. Often, unpunished violence escalates. It grows and gets worse. You can also report your incident to the local newspaper. Information and education are powerful. Inform the people of your community about your experience. Finally, Tolerance.org encourages people to research their legal rights. Many countries have laws against hate crimes. People who do hate crimes are criminals. The law can punish them.

Voice 1

The fight against hate includes all people. Every person in a community is different. Each person has different skills and resources. It is important to ACT against hate. It is important to UNITE against hate. And it is important to support the innocent victims of hate.

Voice 2

This is the third program in a series of ten programs on ten ways to fight hate. This list is from Tolerance.org. Here are Tolerance.org's ten ways to fight hate.

Act, Unite, Support the Victims, Do Your Homework, Create an Alternative, Speak Up, Lobby Leaders, Look Long Range, Teach Tolerance, and Dig Deeper.

Keep listening to Spotlight to hear the complete series. And be sure to visit Tolerance.org on the internet.

Voice 1

The writer and producer of this program was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from the United States. Computer users can hear our programs, read our scripts, and see our word list on our website at www . Radio . English . net. This program is called "Ten Ways to Fight Hate: Support the Victims."