Technology is Dividing Us. History Unites Us.

I am not sure how tall Alma is, but I did notice the Torah appeared suspiciously large as she paraded it around the synagogue. She stood on a step so she could be seen by the congregants as she read parsha Noah for her Bat mitzvah Torah portion. That’s when the first inkling that the diminutive little girl with disarmingly intensive eyes, was about to enter adulthood with a bang.

Alma was melodic and confident as she effortlessly chanted her way through the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel passages. Her Dvar Torah sermon would have likely sounded smart and spunky had she delivered it before 7th October. After the recent genocidal attack by Hamas, all ears were attentive to what a 13-year-old could possibly say at a time like this.

Referring back to the Tower of Babel, Alma reflected that God is believed to have divided people into separate languages to curtail their arrogance. She took issue with the new current day ‘Tower of Babel’ — social media. Punching the air with her words, Alma shadowboxed with social media moguls Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Her message: That a tower of technology — a social engineering experiment with negative and lasting impact on her generation — was causing confusion and conflict.

My own children and their partners come from very different backgrounds. They are Jewish, Christian, Persian, Syrian, Asian, British, Black, queer and straight. There are nine of them, counting spouses. “Social media is my only reality,” one of them told me, in tears. “I dare not even open my apps now.” The wave of vitriol gets personal very quick. “That’s not reality,” I countered. “Reality is losing a child in Israel, sending your kids to war.”  I tried to reassure her that chatter, however toxic, is merely opinion. The only reality that matters is completing the war with Hamas. “But it is my reality,” she responded sharply. “And what is being said, eventually becomes reality.” She is right of course, words matter. They divide us, breed hate, create the conditions for violence. 

I deplatformed from social media four years ago. I turned off Facebook, stopped posting on Instagram, and closed my Twitter account. I no longer wanted to hear the opinions of a thousand people a day, yelling into cyberspace. I would rather have a dozen friends in real life, than 12,000 friends I have never met.

The wonder of advanced technology has turned many intelligent and well-educated people into isolated, self-opinionated troglodytes.

Social media has the power to impact change for good and the power to reach right into our homes in disturbing ways. The outcome of our communications revolution is the curtailment of curiosity and debate. The drivers of democracy and civilization have been stifled by opinion and vitriol. The wonder of advanced technology has turned many intelligent and well-educated people into isolated, self-opinionated troglodytes.

As CEO of an AI company, I work with social media companies daily. I have deep respect for their remarkable advances. In the right hands, technology can advance humanity. A recent project with social media giant, Meta, “Tell Me Inge …” uses a powerful VR technology to teach about the Holocaust. Online gaming company Epic Games has a Holocaust museum in Fortnite. But the Tower of Technology we have built is just so big, so invasive, that the consequences for Alma’s generation are still unknown. They cannot live with it. They cannot live without it.

A week before Alma’s Bat mitzvah a cloud of sorrow had darkened the same sanctuary. Tears, fears, and bewilderment swirled as the images and stories kept emerging. Jews slaughtered in cold blood, in Israel, in 2023. It was, and still is, unimaginable. Memories of the November Pogrom, the Chmielnicki massacres, the Blood Libel, The Spanish Inquisition, Titus and Haman come flooding back. We have been here before.  

“Give the haters a break,” I advised my daughter. “They only hate you because they want what you have got — roots, community, ancestry, common purpose, identity.” The hate online and the violence on our streets is deeply disturbing, psychologically assaulting, and physically dangerous. But Jews have time on their side. Thousands of years of survival. And we will survive this too. 

As Alma stepped down from the Bimah, a chorus of Siman Tov and Mazel Tov, broke out. Usually, the singing lasts a moment before it tails off as little kids scramble for candy.  On this particular day, two circles of Jews, danced in unison, until the entire congregation encircled Alma as she crossed the threshold into her Jewish future. The singing sounded joyful. What I heard was defiance.

We know how to live through the worst of times. Am Yisroel Chai — the people of Israel live — is not just a statement of fact, it is a statement of defiance, forged in moments just like this.

Iberleben, is the Yiddish term which means ”to survive” and translates as “live over,” or “live through.” Jews have lived through the tragedies of the past and have survived. We know how to live through the worst of times. Am Yisroel Chai — the people of Israel live — is not just a statement of fact, it is a statement of defiance, forged in moments just like this.

Stephen D. Smith is CEO of StoryFile and Executive Director Emeritus at USC Shoah Foundation.