Statement by ADL's Task Force on Middle East Minorities on the Nationwide Protests in Iran New York, NY, January 13, 2026 ... The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) Task Force on Middle East Minorities issued the following statement regarding the nationwide protests in Iran: In light of the nationwide protests across Iran, ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities condemns the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown and calls on the international community to make clear to the…
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Under the Trump Administration and continued under the Biden Administration, a public health law called Title 42 has been used against many seeking asylum and other forms of immigration relief at the U.S. border, denying them entry under the pretext of covid-19 prevention. The Biden Administration had announced that it would stop expelling migrants under Title 42 starting May 23, 2022. The plaintiff states in this case are challenging the Title 42 wind-down on Administrative Procedure Act…
New York, NY, November 29, 2021… Members of ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League’s) Task Force on Middle East Minorities issued a letter today calling on United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken to broaden the criteria for Priority-2 refugee admissions status to include Afghan nationals from ethnic and religious minority groups that have a well-founded fear of persecution under Taliban rule.
Vulnerable ethnic and religious groups are now in much greater peril since…
A common hand gesture that a 4chan trolling campaign claimed in 2017 had been appropriated as a symbol meaning "white power." Used by many on the right--not just extremists--for the purpose of trolling liberals, the symbol eventually came to be used by actual white supremacists as well. Caution must be used in evaluating instances of this symbol's use.
New York, NY, March 17, 2021 ... In response to historic increases in anti-Chinese and anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander incidents and assaults, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), the world’s leading anti-hate organization and Committee of 100, a non-profit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, issued the following joint statement:
“We are united with all of our Asian American brothers and sisters in standing up against hate, xenophobia and violence…
New York, NY, December 7, 2020 … ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) Task Force on Middle East Minorities today welcomed the bipartisan passage of two important House Resolutions that the Task Force had endorsed earlier this year as part of its work supporting the rights of vulnerable groups. The Task Force consists of scholars, experts, and activists who serve as an advisory body to augment ADL’s work in protecting vulnerable…
White supremacists, primarily on the West Coast, may use a two-handed hand sign consisting of one hand showing or flashing two fingers and the other hand showing or flashing three fingers. Together, they signify the number 23, a numeric symbol for W ("White"). This itself is often shorthand for the numeric symbol 23/16, which stands for "White Power." Additional Images:
The number 33 is used by Ku Klux Klan adherents to signify the Ku Klux Klan. Since the 11th letter of the alphabet is K, three Ks signify "KKK" or the Ku Klux Klan. When using this reference, Klan members will frequently add the number 6 at the end, as in 33/6, because they think the Klan is currently in its sixth historical "era." Less commonly, some holdouts may still use the numeric code 33/5. Additional Images:
One of the most popular white supremacist symbols is the numeric symbol 88, which stands for "Heil Hitler" (substituting letters for numbers, 88 means HH, i.e., "Heil Hitler"). It is thus not surprising that white supremacists occasionally attempt to display 88 as a hand sign. It is not a very common white supremacist hand sign, probably because it involves some dexterity and effort. Additional Images:
AKIA is Ku Klux Klan shorthand for "A Klansman I Am." It is related to another Klan acronym, AYAK ("Are You A Klansman?"). These are among the many acronyms developed by the Second Ku Klux Klan that emerged in 1915. Although the Second Ku Klux Klan did not survive, much of its terminology and many of its rituals did, and later Klan groups freely used them. Additional Images:
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), a large and violent racist prison gang, uses a hand symbol consisting of a raised index finger and raised ring and little fingers (or the reverse), signifying the numbers 1 and 2. Substituting letters for numbers 1 and 2 stand for A and B, or Aryan Brotherhood. Sometimes ABT members may use a two-handed variation in which one hand "throws up" one digit and the other hand (belonging to the same or a different person) "throws up" two digits, again signifying…
The Aryan Circle is one of the largest white supremacist prison gangs in the United States. Its primary hand sign consists of holding up the thumb and the middle, ring, and little fingers of one hand, signifying the numbers 1 and 3 (which stand for AC). One can also hold up the little finger and the middle and index fingers, plus the thumb.
ALTERNATE NAMES: Bolts Up, Bolts to the SkyThe largest white supremacist prison gang in Tennessee is Aryan Nations (a different group than the neo-Nazi group of the same name). Aryan Nations gang members use a hand sign they sometimes refer to as "bolts up" or "bolts to the sky," consisting of forming the hand into a pistol shape and pointing it upwards or outwards. Additional Images:
ALTERNATE NAMES: Bolts Up, Bolts to the Sky
Read more about Aryan Nations (hand sign - Tennessee prison gang)
AYAK is Ku Klux Klan shorthand for "Are You A Klansman?" It is related to another Klan acronym, AKIA ("A Klansman I Am"). These are among the many acronyms developed by the Second Ku Klux Klan that emerged in 1915. Although the Second Ku Klux Klan did not survive, much of its terminology and many of its rituals did, and later Klan groups have freely used them. Additional Images:
ALTERNATE NAMES: Ku Klux Klan, MIOAKGroup Status: Active (in that there are many active Ku Klux Klan groups)
For the past century, the primary symbol related to Ku Klux Klan groups (other than Klan robes themselves) is what Klan members may call the MIOAK (an acronym for "Mystic Insignia of a Klansman"). It is more commonly referred to as the "Blood Drop" Cross. It appears as a square white cross in black outline against a circular red background. In the middle of the cross is what appears…
ALTERNATE NAMES: Ku Klux Klan, MIOAK
Read more about Blood Drop Cross
The image of the burning cross is one of the most potent hate symbols in the United States, popularized as a terror image by the Ku Klux Klan since the early 1900s. Cross-burnings (called "cross-lightings" by Ku Klux Klan groups, to make it seem as if they are not destroying a Christian cross) have long been used as a traditional symbol by Klan groups, used both in Klan rituals as well as in attempts to intimidate and terrorize victims of Klan groups. So widely associated with racial…
The European Kindred is a large white supremacist prison gang based primarily in Oregon. Gang members often use a two-handed hand sign in which three fingers of one hand are spread to look like an E and two fingers of another hand are spread to resemble a K.
ALTERNATE NAMES: For God, Race and NationFGRN is a Ku Klux Klan acronym for "For God, Race and Nation," a common Klan slogan. It is one of a number of slogans, codes and rituals created by the Second Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century. That Klan did not survive, but many of its codes and rituals were adopted by later Klan groups. In acronym form, the slogan is used primarily as a Klan identifier, typically appended at the end of on-line messages and postings. Additional Images:
ALTERNATE NAMES: For God, Race and Nation
Read more about FGRN
The handsign of the Hammerskins, a racist skinhead group, consists of two crossed forearms emulating the "crossed hammers" of the Hammerskins logo.
Alternate Names: Nazi Salute, Sieg Heil Salute, Fascist Salute, Roman Salute The Nazi or Hitler salute debuted in Nazi Germany in the 1920s to pay homage to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It consists of raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down. In Nazi Germany, it was often accompanied by chanting or shouting "Heil Hitler" or "Sieg Heil." Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have continued to use the salute, making it the most common white supremacist hand sign in…
Alternate Names: Nazi Salute, Sieg Heil Salute, Fascist Salute, Roman Salute
The Nazi or Hitler salute debuted in Nazi Germany in the 1920s to pay homage to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It consists of raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down. In Nazi Germany, it was often accompanied by chanting or shouting "Heil Hitler" or "Sieg Heil." Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have continued to use the salute, making it the most common white supremacist hand sign in the world.
The Nazi salute was one of a number of similar salutes adopted by fascist parties and movements across Europe in the interwar period. These salutes were often claimed to be based on an ancient Roman salute, but this does not appear to have been the case. However, people making such salutes today sometimes assert, typically insincerely, they are “Roman” salutes rather than “Nazi” ones. White supremacists have also adopted the term “roman,” as in “throwing a roman,” for the Nazi salute. In recent years, they have also created a typographical or emoticon version of the salute (see O-Slash Hitler Salute and Double Romans).