By Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director Today is 10/7. This date has become an eternal shorthand for devastating loss and a deep well of resolve. It is also a sharp line drawn in our collective memory. On October 6 -- the day before the horrific massacre by Hamas -- Israel, its friends and allies, and Jewish people across the world had no idea that we were about to be shaken and tested beyond our comprehension. And then there was October 8, the day after our world was turned…

Let’s say that a university decides to acquiesce to the demands of anti-Israel protestors and divest its endowment from companies with business ties to Israel.    It’s a plausible scenario, despite the many political, economic, and legal reasons to reject the idea: its unfair singling-out and demonization of Israel; the likelihood of reduced endowment returns and lower donations from alumni; state measures discouraging boycotts of Israel; and potential legal risk from…

Campus activism surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict often presents a skewed narrative, painting Israel as the sole aggressor and magnifying its flaws beyond those of any other nation. While all countries have their shortcomings and deserve scrutiny, Israel stands out as a unique target of widespread university divestment campaigns, suggesting a disproportionate focus on its actions and policies. Through their rhetoric and demands, anti-Israel divestment campaigns can feed into the…

There are many reasons why it’s a bad idea for university endowments to divest from Israel. Divestment serves to delegitimize Israel and puts the onus for solving the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli conflict on only one side. It could also likely lead to economic ramifications, such as reduced alumni giving and lower returns, as well as open up the potential for heavier taxation of endowment income.     Beyond all of these arguments, universities that decide to divest…

As encampment protests riled college campuses throughout the Spring 2024 semester, some universities agreed to formally consider protestors’ demands that their endowments divest from companies with business interests in Israel. It is the latest iteration of the years-long Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that seeks to isolate Israel economically.    Brown University reached an agreement for student protestors to take down their encampment and refrain from…

As students start returning to campuses with expected continuation of anti-Israel protests, JLens unpacks the demands and consequences of divestment campaigns.

JLens ran three successful proxy season campaigns with ADL that aimed to combat anti-Israel shareholder proposals and support efforts to protect kids online.

Riots across the United Kingdom involving far-right elements broke out after the murder of three young girls at a dance class in the Southport knife attack was falsely attributed to a recently arrived Muslim migrant. It is predictable but still problematic to see Israel scapegoated as the cause of the riots raging across the United Kingdom involving far-right elements. This is happening across social media. The claims have no basis and contribute to the increasing anxiety among the Jews in the…

Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed on July 31, 2024 in Tehran, led the so-called politburo of Hamas, a US-designated Islamist terror organization dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas’ founding covenant issued in 1988, which echoes the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion charging Jews with an international conspiracy to gain control of the world, is…

IntroductionAs university encampments and other forms of student protests against Israel capture attention across the United States, protest organizers have made it clear that, on the majority of campuses, their goals go far beyond urging their universities to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war or to denounce Israeli government policies.     The ADL Center on Extremism analyzed statements published by the organizers of more than 130 university encampments nationwide…