by: Jonathan Greenblatt | November 28, 2017 The Forward At the Anti-Defamation League, we have spent more than 100 years fighting anti-Semitism, often referred to as the world’s oldest hatred. And we have labored to distinguish between a more modern phenomenon –- when criticism of Israel can be considered legitimate political conversation and when it crosses the line into insidious anti-Semitism.
We feel obligated to revisit the subject in light of a new book, “On…
619 Results
November 07, 2017 November 2, 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a letter signed in 1917 by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressing his country's support for the establishment of a national Jewish home in Palestine. While the UK and Israel celebrated the anniversary of this Declaration, which has become a symbol of international recognition of the Jewish right to self-determination, Palestinians and others have used the occasion to protest, and demand an…
For parents, families and young people Topic SummaryIn recent years, there has been a lot of attention paid to the diversity of children’s books, shining a light on the lack of diversity and amplifying the need for more children’s and young adult literature that reflects our multicultural society. In 2014, an organization named We Need Diverse Books formed, following a regularly trending hashtag with the same name (#WeNeedDiverseBooks) that helped bring attention to the issue. We…
Teach students about the importance of diverse literature and engage them in a study on the diversity of books in their classroom or school library.
by: Kenneth Jacobson | October 20, 2017 JTA Here we go again: The issue of how and why the United States should engage with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is back in the news.
The announcement by the Trump administration that the U.S. will be pulling out of UNESCO over its biased treatment of Israel is only the latest manifestation of a fraught relationship between America and this U.N. body.
Established soon after World War II as an effort to…
Talk to your family about issues of sexual harassment in the news in the past and currently.
New York, NY, October 9, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on the Executive Board of UNESCO to choose a new Director General “who best exemplifies and champions the values and ideals of the institution,” and who will be a strong and constructive voice against discrimination, including ongoing efforts to isolate and denigrate Israel, and who continues UNESCO’s important work on Holocaust education.
ADL expressed concern that the front runner after…
October 03, 2017 In August 2016, then-NFL San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to take a stand about racial injustice by refusing to stand for the National Anthem at football games. He spent much of the season either sitting or kneeling during the anthem. Fast forward to the 2017 football season where the controversy emerged again when on a Sunday in September, more than 200 NFL players took a knee during the Anthem.
This recent controversy over NFL players and…
September 28, 2017 Following the September 26 attack in the West Bank settlement of Har Adar, in which a Palestinian gunman killed three Israelis, extremist groups have been posting on various forums to celebrate the attacks and incite violence against Israel and Jews worldwide.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, many have posted lauding the attacker and calling him “a heroic martyr,” as Hamas stated on the day of the attack. The Al-Tawhid…
New York, NY, September 7, 2017 … As college students are returning to a new academic school year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has released a new, multi-platform resource to equip them with essential information and tools to deal with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias on campus.
‘THINK. PLAN. ACT.’ is a comprehensive resource that prepares students for encounters with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias by defining what constitutes anti-Jewish animus,…
August 29, 2017 Adults and children alike are grappling to make sense of current events. Discussions of racism, anti-Semitism and social injustice have become increasingly contentious as images of white supremacists carrying torches and chanting hateful rhetoric in Charlottesville fill our social media feeds and television screens. Children are attuned to these conversations and disturbing images of violence, hate and incivility, and are seeking comfort and answers from teachers, family…
August 29, 2017 In response to the recent events in Charlottesville, Facing History and Ourselves, Teaching Tolerance, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Federation of Teachers, and EduColor teamed up to support educators as they return to the classroom. Hosted and led by AFT, we asked educators what topics they were most concerned about and addressed them in a co-hosted webinar, “When Hate Is in the Headlines: Resources for K–12 Educators.” Together, we offered…
ADL responded to an op-ed by a Jewish Voice for Peace staffer, who asserted that alt-right leader Richard Spencer was right in his remarks that Zionism is akin to white supremacy. Days after the horrific showcase of American far-right extremism in Charlottesville, America’s leading extremist, white supremacist leader Richard Spencer, appeared on an Israeli television newscast and compared his hate-filled ideology to Jewish nationalism, declaring it “white Zionism.”
…
What is anti-Semitism?
Anti-Semitism is a form of prejudice or discrimination directed toward Jews as individuals or as a group. Anti-Semitism is based on age-old stereotypes and myths that target Jews as a people, their religious practices and beliefs, or the Jewish State of Israel.
Words or actions related to Israel are anti-Semitic when they blame all Jews for the actions of the state, single out Israel in denying the country’s right to exist as a Jewish state and an…
In the 1930s, the dean of Yale University’s medical school — who was Jewish himself — reportedly advised his admissions team, “Never admit more than five Jews, take only two Italian Catholics, and take no blacks at all.”
The American college campus has come a long way in the past century. Colleges are more diverse, and there are greater efforts to create inclusive environments whereby all students feel comfortable on campus. But that does not mean you…
August 13, 2017 Racial hatred, bias and white supremacy were on full display in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend.
In the largest and most violent gathering of white supremacists in decades, “Unite the Right” brought together white supremacist groups including the alt-right, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Their stated goal was to save the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, because like other places in the South, there are still monuments there celebrating heroes…
What is the source of our free speech rights? Free speech rights emanate from the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[1] and from state constitutions. The U.S. Constitution limits the government’s ability to regulate speech based on content and it applies to all public colleges and universities. It serves as a floor, not a ceiling. State constitutions may grant more robust free speech rights than the U.S. Constitution, but never fewer. Is there a distinction between private and…
July 19, 2017 In recent months Jewish Voice for Peace, the largest and most influential Jewish pro-BDS group in the United States, has taken increasingly radical positions and has employed questionable tactics in pursuit of its mission to diminish support for Israel. The following are some of ADL’s main concerns with the group’s ideology and tactics.
Harassing LGBT Groups:
One of JVP’s longtime tactics has been to allege that Israel’s proud record of support for…
June 28, 2017 In early June, several Arab countries - notably Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain - announced that they were abruptly severing ties with Qatar over what they described as the latter’s support for terrorism. And even though what’s involved is mainly an internal Arab affair, some Qatari news sites published conspiratorial cartoons suggesting Israel was behind the diplomatic crisis. Some depicted Israel as a wolf in sheep’s clothing or as a…
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers As part of our ongoing efforts to provide current, relevant and quality educational resources in various formats, ADL offers a free podcast series that you can listen to at your convenience. Each podcast offers a rich and inspiring conversation with a specialist in the field or children's book author. The podcasts assist educators in building inclusive and respectful classrooms and provide timely and important information on curricula…