Berit Rosenstiel, a recent graduate of St. Anthony Village High School, recently had two great honors: speaking at high school commencement, and presenting at the state speech competition.
Rosenstiel, with a long background in speech, left her mark with an original oratory that not only secured her a place at the state competition but also sparked much-needed discussions on antisemitism. With a speech ingeniously titled “Antisemitism is Lois Lame,” Rosenstiel combined comic book lore with humor to tackle a serious issue.
“There is an overarching Superman joke [in the speech] because Superman was only created due to the antisemitism in traditional publishing, forcing his creators into the less desirable comic industry,” Rosenstiel said.
Rosenstiel shared insights into the early stages of her work, which began well before the typical speech season. “I kind of went a little crazy this year and started writing my speech in August of last year,” she said.
She explained her proactivity through her desire to address the issue of antisemitism, particularly its exclusion from broader conversations about hate and bigotry.
“The need to be more cognizant of that bias and to call it out when you see it was something I felt very strongly about,” Rosenstiel said. This became extremely relevant as the topic of American antisemitism evolved dramatically just months after she began writing her speech.
After Oct. 7, Rosenstiel and her coach had discussions about the safety and relevance of her topic, but Rosenstiel remained committed to her message. “I felt that it was more important to say it than to let myself be too afraid to have this very important conversation,” she said.
In her speech, Rosenstiel pointed out the normalization of antisemitism she observed among her peers: “I can walk down the hallways of my school and see boys in shirts plastered with Kanye’s face, or I go to a football game and hear our pep band play one of his songs, and I get the privilege of being reminded that to my peers, violent antisemitism is just no big deal,” she said.
This normalization, she said in her speech, stems from a misunderstanding of antisemitism: “There’s a complacency in antisemitism because people cannot understand how it exists. It’s not a traditional form of oppression but a collection of conspiracy theories about the way our world is structured.”
“Antisemitism is just out of sight, out of mind for most of us, but that mentality enabled Hitler’s ‘Final Solution,’ allowed Neo-Nazis to march on Charleston, and permitted individuals to take their frustrations with the Israeli government out on 3,000 innocent American Jews,” she said in her speech.
Rosenstiel advocated for continuous advocacy against all forms of bigotry, including antisemitism. “We have to fight against antisemitism the same way we chose to fight against all other forms of bigotry; if you claim to be for peace, equity, and intersectionality, you can’t conveniently decide to stop when Jews enter the conversation,” she said.
As she transitions to American University this fall, where she plans to study political science, Rosenstiel looks forward to continuing her advocacy through different platforms, including mock trial or debate.
Her speech resonated strongly within and beyond the competitive speech community, attracting both support and controversy. “I got a lot of really strong, positive feedback. And that was the stuff that I read,” Rosenstiel said.
She also highlighted the positive changes she witnessed: “There were also people whose perspectives changed by listening to me, and that was always my goal.”
So proud of you. The speech is powerful and so timely
Would you post a link to the speech?
Thank you for your courage and your Jewish pride!!!!! I would like to read your speech but I’m not on social media. Is there a TC Jewfolk or other online media outlet link where I could find it? Shalom, Trina Porte P.S. If you’ve ever written any poems, please send them to American Jewish World’s Poetry Column: [email protected]