'Some Think Jews Are Evil Forces': Director Andrew Goldberg On Eye-Opening Film, 'Viral: Antisemitism In Four Mutations'

(CBS Local)-- Anti-Semitism is still a problem that plagues America and countries around the world.

Hateful incidents targeting Jews are occurring more often in New York and director Andrew Goldberg's new documentary, "Viral: Antisemitism In Four Mutations," explains why these events keep happening in the state where he resides, and how they harm people.

"A lot of Americans don't know anything about Jews," said Goldberg in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "I think Americans have a couple of different ideas. Some people think Jews are these evil forces and about 10% of Americans hold clear anti-Semitic ideas. A lot of people think Jews are Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David and how it's represented in Hollywood. My interest here is how these ideas of hatred can really grow."

FULL INTERVIEW:

The documentary features interviews with victims of the Tree Of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, a former white supremacist, and former President Bill Clinton. Goldberg's documentary features commentary about anti-Semitism in countries like Hungry and France and he wanted to speak to the 42nd President and New York state resident because of his experience dealing with nations all over the world.

"He was much more interested in talking about anti-Semitism here in the United States and in Hungary," said Goldberg. "It took us a while to get to the interview."

The documentary will be at Village Cinema East from Feb 21-27 and will be at New Jersey's Rockaway AMC 16 from Feb 28- Mar 5. Goldberg hopes people walk away with a greater understanding of the history of anti-Semitism.

"These people who act on these things are acting on them more and more and more," said Goldberg. "We were one of the only film crews that was allowed in the Tree Of Life synagogue after the shooting. We felt like we were in a war zone. They showed us bullet holes in all the walls and a Jewish prayer book with a bullet hole right through it. It's really upsetting and that is not a thing that people see. This is just one example of what happens all over the world and what happens with increasing frequency across the U.S."