by: Oren Segal March 25, 2016 It’s tough being born as a teenager. Yesterday, Microsoft launched its new artificial intelligence (AI) computer bot - named Tay and envisioned as a teenage girl – and she had a very rough first day. She was immediately besieged by excited techies, the curious and the haters. In a few hours, she was drawn into tens of thousands of exchanges. In the process, racists, anti-Semites, misogynists and other haters manipulated her into repeating…
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“They Needed To Be Said” New York, NY, March 24, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today commended Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul D. Ryan (R-WI), for his leadership call for civility and for raising the level of political discourse.
In his remarks yesterday to a group of House interns, Speaker Ryan stressed the significance of debating civilly without questioning one’s motives. “We don’t shut down on people, and we don’t shut…
New York, NY, March 24, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the conviction of Radovan Karadzic, former Bosnian Serb political leader, on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Among other charges, Karadzic was held responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where 8,000 Bosnian Muslims – including men and boys-- were murdered and their bodies dumped in…
New York, NY, March 23, 2016 … In the aftermath of the coordinated terrorist attacks earlier this week in Brussels, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a new report documenting the significant increase of U.S. terrorist activity inspired by foreign terrorist organizations.
The report, The ISIS Impact on the Domestic Islamic Extremist Threat, which details activity between 2009 and 2015, analyzes the landscape of domestic Islamic extremism before and after the rise of the…
New York, NY, March 22, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned the terror attacks in Brussels, Belgium, for which the terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility. The Islamic State claimed that its “fighters” launched the coordinated attacks on the airport and a subway station, killing at least 30 people and wounding 230 more. Marvin D. Nathan, ADL National Chair, and Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:
We condemn these…
Questions Choice of Two Anti-Muslim Bigots for His National Security Team New York, NY, March 22, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned Texas Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz for calling for new powers for law enforcement to patrol “Muslim neighborhoods” and for including two anti-Muslim bigots on a list of members of a national security coalition he would assemble to provide guidance for him if he were elected. ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt…
by: Mark Pitcavage March 21, 2016 Federal prosecutors in Portland, Oregon, obtained a 19-count grand jury indictment in mid-March against Winston Shrout, a Hillsboro, Oregon, resident and one of the most prominent sovereign citizen gurus in the United States, a man whose videos and seminars have attracted thousands of people to the anti-government extremist movement.
Shrout was charged with 13 counts of using fictitious financial instruments in connection with an alleged debt elimination…
by: Oren Segal March 18, 2016 This week marks the 30th anniversary of a significant event in ADL history – the decision by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to posthumously pardon Leo Frank. Frank was the Jewish manager of an Atlanta pencil factory who was falsely accused and wrongly convicted in August 1913 of the rape and murder of Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old girl who worked in the factory.
Anti-Semitism was rampant in the early 1900’s and Leo Frank&rsquo…
by: David Robbins March 11, 2016 Jinnie Spiegler
Director of Curriculum, Anti-Defamation League
This blog originally appeared on Edutopia
Marriage equality, refugees seeking safety in Europe, the Confederate flag, police shootings of black and Latino men, the presidential election, Caitlyn Jenner, ISIS, and immigration are just a few of the news stories that inhabited the headlines this year on our phones, laptops, and newspapers. Unlike 20 years ago when…
by: Shaya Lerner Despite the international community’s reengagement with a more “open” and “moderate” Iran, some things in Iranian society haven’t changed, including the prevalence of Holocaust mockery and denial. While President Rouhani hasn’t touted the issue like his predecessor Ahmadinejad had, recent announcements indicate that the questioning of the Holocaust is very much alive and well within Iranian society. In December, the Tehran…
Three Tech Companies Latest to Endorse ADL Best Practices for Countering Hate Speech Online New York, NY, March 10, 2016 … Three growing social media platforms used by more than 150 million people worldwide are the latest to join forces with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in encouraging greater efforts to curb online hate speech and harassment.
The social media companies ASK.fm, Whisper, and the learning platform Quizlet have each endorsed ADL’s Best Practices for Responding…
New York, NY, March 9, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed horror over a suspected anti-Semitic murder of a Jewish merchant in Uruguay, and called for the suspect to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. According to reports, 54 year-old David Fremd, a Jewish merchant who was active in the Paysandú Jewish community, was stabbed various times in the back when he was about to cross the street in Paysandú, a city in Uruguay’s interior. He…
New York, NY, March 9, 2016 … Following a day of violent attacks in Jaffa, Jerusalem and Petach Tikvah which left an American tourist dead and 13 Israelis wounded, including a pregnant woman, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership to step up and condemn this wanton violence. Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:
It is unacceptable that for over five months, the people of Israel have had to go about…
by: David Robbins March 08, 2016 By Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO of the Anti-Defamation League
This blog originally appeared on Medium
Political movements often depend on spoken or unspoken hatreds to perpetuate themselves.
Often, however, they can use ambiguity to mask these motives and appeal to a broader audience.
However, sometimes, when haters show their true colors, onlookers and fellow travelers can see through ambiguities to the unsavory aims of the causes…
by: Oren Segal March 07, 2016 On March 12, the Anti-Defamation League will play a key role at the first South by Southwest (SXSW) Online Harassment Summit. In a series of panels at this day-long event, the Summit will focus attention on various manifestations of hate online, including everything from cyberbullying to the sale of offensive merchandise to hate speech on social media to online extremist recruitment and propaganda. The overarching goal will be to identify the most…
by: Mark Pitcavage March 04, 2016 Updated March 22, 2016, to reflect additional charges and defendants.
In early March, federal prosecutors in Las Vegas announced charges against 14 anti-government extremists from a variety of states in connection with a 2014 armed standoff between the federal government and supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy at Bundy’s ranch. Prosecutors added additional defendants later in the month. As of March 22, 19 people have been indicted…
by: Shaya Lerner March 02, 2016 As the media focuses on all that is allegedly “new “ in Iran, with new elected representatives and new business opportunities, young children in the Islamic Republic are being trained in decades-old Iranian propaganda, violence and hate, with the goal of “conquering Tel Aviv”.
As part of last month’s Fajr Decade celebrations (the anniversary of Islamic Revolution), Iranian officials in the city of Lamard organized the …
by: Shaya Lerner March 02, 2016 Recent controversies in Egypt illustrate the prevalence of anti-Israel sentiment in a country which has had a peace agreement with Israel since 1979.
The latest incident involved a dinner invitation by Egyptian Parliamentarian Tawfiq Okasha to Israeli Ambassador Haim Koren. Okasha, a TV personality who has a history of making anti-Semitic remarks on his show, was subsequently ousted from Egypt’s Parliament after being accused of engaging in normalization…
by: Oren Segal March 02, 2016 The Loyal White Knights (LWK) had every intention of holding a “White Lives Do Matter” protest on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at Pearson Park in Anaheim, California. But before the event could kick off, a bloody brawl erupted between Klan supporters and counter-protesters.
Klansmen, barely able to exit their cars, were suddenly swarmed by counter-protesters who wrestled Bill Hagan, the California LWK’s Grand Dragon, to the ground. Other Klan…
New York, NY, March 1, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today praised Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) for their message to political leaders to “reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry” and thanked them for using their roles to communicate this unequivocal rejection of hate.
Earlier today, Speaker Ryan stated that there can be “no evasion and no games” when it comes to denouncing racism and…