November 25, 2019 In his remarkable address at ADL’s Never is Now Summit last week, the comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen called out major social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, for failing to stop the spread of anti-Semitism and hate on their platforms. “All this hate and violence is being facilitated by a handful of internet companies that amount to the greatest propaganda machine in history,” Baron Cohen said in his remarks,…

November 21, 2019 ADL’s latest ADL Global 100 Index poll of anti-Semitic attitudes in 18 countries sheds light on some of the prejudices present in Latin America. The poll was fielded between April and June 2019 in Eastern and Western Europe, Canada, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil. European and other countries with significant Jewish populations were selected for the 2019 survey. Using an 11-question index that has served as a benchmark for previous ADL polling around the world since…

November 15, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Newly released data from the FBI shows that hate crime murders in 2018 reached an all-time high. Following a sharp increase in anti-Semitic attacks directed at the Orthodox community, ADL announced a doubling of funding for its flagship education program, No Place for Hate, in schools throughout the borough. And officials at George Washington University are investigating after an anti-Semitic video posted on Snapchat was circulated amongst the…

November 08, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 An avowed white supremacist in Colorado was arrested after federal investigators uncovered a plot to bomb an historic synagogue. Campus officials at East Tennessee University are opening an investigation after signs saying “It’s okay to be white”— a popular white supremacist slogan — appeared around campus. A man in Milwaukee is facing felony hate-crime charges for allegedly throwing acid on a Latino man because of his…

November 06, 2019 “Pills” feature prominently in the online chat rooms and forums dedicated to right-wing extremism. These are not actual pharmaceuticals; instead, each “pill” sends a message about a person’s level of dedication to an extremist ideology or cause. Are they just beginning to learn about an ideology, or have they progressed further to embrace a nihilistic, potentially violent mindset? While online posts about “pills” can help outside…

November 05, 2019 Update: February 26, 2021: A federal court sentenced Richard Holzer to 19.5 years in prison.  Update: October 15, 2020:  The Justice Department announced that Richard Holzer, 28, pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and explosives charges for plotting to blow up the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado. According to a DOJ press release, Holzer faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the hate crime charge…

November is National Adoption Awareness Month—an annual reminder that it is important for all of us to raise our awareness about adoption and adoptees. There are approximately 5 million adoptees living in the United States today. Ensuring that your classroom and school are inclusive and respectful of adoptees and their unique experiences is crucial. Words Matter: Positive Adoption Language (PAL) and Inclusivity Educators know that words matter. You understand the harm that is…

October 18, 2019 White supremacists continue to pose a serious threat to Jews in the United States – as they do to African Americans, Muslim Americans, Latinx Americans, immigrants, LGBTQ Americans and other communities. In the year since the deadly rampage at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, at least 12 white supremacists have been arrested for their alleged roles in terrorist plots, attacks or threats against the Jewish community specifically. Many of the offenders were…

October 10, 2019 On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of Jewish calendar, the synagogue in Halle, Germany was attacked.  A terrorist with a shotgun tried unsuccessfully to enter the synagogue, where approximately 80 congregants were worshiping.  After his failed attempt at the synagogue, he began shooting at nearby individuals, killing two people and wounding two others, none of whom were affiliated with the synagogue. According to news reports, Stephan Balliet, a 27-year-old German…

September 27, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 The “okay” hand sign, the Dylann Roof ‘bowlcut’, and 34 other extremist symbols have been added to ADL’s hate symbols database. The Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new strategy that places a priority on domestic terrorism, including the threat posed by the far-right. And the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahatir Mohamad, who has a history of making deeply offensive and anti-Semitic statements, was invited to…

September 19, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 ADL sent two of its most senior leaders to Capitol Hill this week to testify in front of Congress about the global threat of white supremacy and the proliferation of hate online. Police in Arapahoe County, Colorado are investigating a Snapchat image picturing three high school students with a caption using explicitly violent, anti-Semitic language. And after an outcry from ADL, the Women’s March voted to remove a board member with a long…

September 15, 2019 Many have labeled today's young people apathetic and obsessed with their phones — a group not interested in news or improving their communities. Another common assumption is that college students and young adults don't vote and aren’t civically engaged. However, a recent survey dispels these misconceptions. The myth of youth apathy Common Sense Media reveals in a 2019 survey that teens are interested in news. In fact, 78% of thirteen to seventeen year-olds…

September 13, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 ADL is monitoring a spate of anti-Semitic vandalism and graffiti across the country over the past two weeks, including at a synagogue in Los Angeles, a high school in the Bay Area and a residence hall at the University of Nevada, Reno. Several Israeli students in Warsaw were allegedly assaulted by a group of men from Qatar, shouting “Free Palestine” and “Free Gaza.” And in conjunction with the Aspen Institute, ADL announced a…

September 12, 2019 What do I need to know about Israel’s election? On September 17, 2019, Israel will hold an election for the 22nd Knesset. The victor of the elections in Israel is determined by the party’s ability to form a coalition government (representing at least 61 seats in the Knesset), therefore making the balance of power between the right and left blocs a key issue. According to the Israeli political system, it is not the party which wins the largest number of…

September 09, 2019 New anti-Semitic trolling efforts have emerged on several online platforms in recent weeks, with users weaponizing lists of Jews by variously posting their images, personal information such as names, places of employment, and schools they attend, as well as links to the targets’ social media accounts. Lists of Jews in any form on white supremacist platforms is alarming, especially given the ongoing threats of anti-Semitic violence and targeting of synagogues and…

August 29, 2019 By David Andrew Weinberg | ADL's Washington Director for International Affairs Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi told a visiting delegation earlier this year that he hopes to see a resurgence of Jewish life in Egypt.  He reportedly even informed the group that if more Jews return, the government would pay to build more synagogues and other communal institutions.  However, this positive message is being undermined by the continued broadcasting of a hateful,…

August 28, 2019 Background Witness for Peace (WFP) is an anti-Semitic organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that primarily espouses anti-Israel content and anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish racism, power and influence and dual loyalties. WFP is affiliated with another anti-Semitic group, Deir Yassin Remembered. WFP’s leader and founder, Henry Herskovitz, is a Holocaust denier. WFP was founded in 2003 by Herskovitz, a former Beth Israel (Ann Arbor) congregant, to protest the…

August 23, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 President Trump accused Jews who vote for Democrats of having “great disloyalty” – invoking a centuries old anti-Semitic trope. An avowed white nationalist was arrested for threatening to attack a Jewish community center in Youngstown, OH. And in California, members of a high school water polo team were seen on video giving the Nazi salute and singing a Nazi song. Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate, and…

August 16, 2019 Update: On January 14, 2020, Conor Climo entered a plea agreement to weapons charges for possession of an unregistered firearm with the court. He faces a sentence from 2 years to 30 months.  Conor Climo appeared in court on February 10, 2020, to plead guilty to the charges. On August 8, 2019, the FBI arrested Conor Climo, a Las Vegas-based security guard, on weapons charges for possession of an unregistered firearm. According to analysis by ADL’s Center on…