The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has launched its Words to Action facilitator training seminar in Latin America. The inaugural seminar coincides with the 30th anniversary of the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires.

According to an ADL press release, Words to Action is an educational program that provides tools to Jewish youth to address antisemitism, anti-Israel bias, stereotypes, prejudice, and hate speech. ADL will initially offer it in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The organization plans to expand it throughout Latin America in the future.

The press release states that the inaugural training program will be provided in cooperation with the Jewish Museum of Chile, and the Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires will serve as host. The seminar is targeted at local Jewish educators, who will then transfer the tools to Jewish youth, families, and communities.

The ADL has consistently exemplified this type of educational and restorative dialogue. In 2022, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote about his unexpected friendship with Damien Patton, former CEO of Banjo app, an early AI tech company who is a disavowed white supremacist. This relationship highlighted the transformative power of dialogue and repentance. Greenblatt reflects on the profound lessons of forgiveness and the potential for change even in those with deeply ingrained hateful beliefs. This friendship underscores the broader themes in Greenblatt's work about combating hate and building inclusive communities.

"It’s tempting to want to 'cancel' people like Damien once and for all, and of course moral censure is important when people don’t repent and cling stubbornly to repugnant views," Greenblatt said. "But we should reserve such censure for the worst culprits, those whose serial offenses over a long period demonstrate a deep refusal to change or even acknowledge an alternative point of view."