“It is important to engage with every situation”: Rudy Rochman on why he will debate anyone, even neo-Nazis
Rudy Rochman, a Jewish-rights activist who rose to prominence after videos of his on-the-street debates around issues of antisemitism and Jewish identity went viral, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he explained why he chooses to debate antisemites.
“I would say my work revolves around correcting the problems that I see,” he said. “For me, it’s about empowering the next generation of Jewish people…to be able to stand up for ourselves.”
He stated that one of the problems that he sees is “antisemitism…from the right to the left to every extreme.”
Mr Rochman believes in using social media as a tool to combat misinformation and to empower Jews. “I always think it is important to engage with every situation,” the activist said.
This attitude has seen the activist take on all comers, including neo-Nazis. In one video, a tense interaction sees a man becoming increasingly angry and invading Mr Rochman’s personal space. “I’m warning you not to touch me,” the activist says.
In another debate, one man, referring to the Holocaust, tells Mr Rochman: “You want me to cry for some fake six million.”
After the man alleged that millions of deaths were caused by “Jewish lies”, Mr Rochman says “So everything bad in the world, you blame on the Jews,” to which the man says: “Absolutely.”
The activist’s philosophy requires him to engage his opponent’s ideas while maintaining boundaries. “Maybe its the first time that person meets a Jew, maybe its the last time that person meets a Jew,” he said. “So, there’s always a balance of respect, but also there’s a certain line I don’t let them cross where they have to respect as well, and I will definitely expose the individual if they cross a certain line…it doesn’t mean we just accept what they say but we do have to engage those ideas and correct them.”
Mr Rochman says that he has always been blessed with a calm demeanour, allowing him to not get flustered during his debates. However, as he says, “Some of these people are looking to trample over Jews and I’m holding a certain level of ‘I’m not going to let you cross this line’ which also prevents them from going too far.”
The key, Mr Rochman believes, “is finding the balance between demanding respect in a conversation with your confidence and with the way you communicate but also not trying to trigger the other person and aggravate the other person, and to the contrary, trying to calm them down.”
Throughout the interview, Mr Rochman touched upon a variety of other issues which included his upcoming documentary series, getting kidnapped in Nigeria and why he believes there is no such thing as a lost cause in regard to antisemites.
This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.
