Bearing Witness™ Program

Bettina and Erwin Pearl New York Bearing Witness Institute™ is a unique professional development opportunity for Catholic school educators in New York.

In 1996, the ADL's Washington, D.C. Regional Office created Bearing Witness™ Program to provide Catholic school educators with the training and resources necessary to teach their students about the historical relationship between Jewish and Catholic communities and the impact of that relationship on Catholic teaching, catechesis and liturgy. Through Bearing Witness, participants explore the history of anti-Semitism, from biblical times to modern day. Themes include the role of the Church during the Holocaust, recent changes in Catholic teachings on Jews and Judaism, issues of prejudice in contemporary society and practical strategies for teaching students about the Holocaust and anti- Semitism. Bearing Witness is endorsed by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In 2000, Bearing Witness™ was one of 15 programs across the country to receive recognition by the NCEA as a SPICE program (Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education). SPICE is a process that identifies, validates, and systematically disseminates elementary and secondary school programs so that teachers and administrators in other schools can adopt them.

Since its inception, Bearing Witness™ has trained over 1000 Catholic school educators across the country. In 1998 it became an ADL nationally sponsored program and ADL regional offices began replicating the program in 2002. As feature stories on National Public Radio and The Washington Post have demonstrated, Bearing Witness™ is a highly visible program, as well as one of lasting importance. In 2005, a new and exciting extension, Bearing Witness™ Advanced, was initiated.