by: Kenneth Jacobson June 08, 2017 This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel
As we remember the Six-Day War fifty years ago this week, there has already been much conversation about how to view that war decades later.
Yossi Klein-Halevi made a significant contribution to that discussion when he identified what he called the “May” Israelis and the “June” Israelis. The “May” Israelis are those whose memories focus on the days leading up to…
1088 Results
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt June 07, 2017 Today, ISIS executed simultaneous terrorist attacks against the Iranian parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini – the spiritual and political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. As of this writing, 12 people were killed and dozens more injured in the first major ISIS attack in Iran. This horrible attack targeting Iran is a worrying development, first because it puts another country under the threat of the terror group, but also because it…
May 26, 2017 The horrific attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday, May 22, which claimed the lives of 22 people, is a stark reminder of the ongoing global terrorist threat. As evidenced by attacks in Paris, Brussels and Manchester, anti-terror efforts in Europe face considerable challenges.
While American terrorism analysts will undoubtedly learn valuable lessons from the ongoing Manchester investigation, it is important to note that the threat landscapes in Europe and the United States…
May 18, 2017 News reports this week indicate that Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, Jr., may be named an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Homeland Security.
Clarke, known for highly critical and controversial comments on subjects ranging from Barack Obama to Black Lives Matter (he has, for example, referred to Black Lives Matter as “black slime”), was a vocal supporter of Trump during the presidential election.
The appointment of Clarke to a senior…
May 17, 2017
An anti-government extremist and his son are two suspects in the fatal shooting of a western Montana sheriff’s deputy on May 16. In an eerie parallel, 17 years earlier, the same extremist and another of his sons were involved in a similar—though not deadly—incident along the California-Nevada border.
For reasons that are yet unclear, Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Mason Moore was pursuing or had stopped a vehicle with two occupants when…
by: Kenneth Jacobson May 17, 2017 This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel
With the announcement of Donald Trump's first visit to Israel next week, it is useful to consider what would constitute a successful trip.
President Trump has been talking, in his inimitable way, about restarting peace negotiations and even solving this decades-old conflict that has confounded so many others.
In this respect, he is exhibiting similarities to other Presidents who looking out for…
May 16, 2017 Last week, the Kentucky Court of Appeals issued a convoluted decision upholding a lower court decision in a case involving LGBT Pride Festival t-shirts. The Court’s ruling overturned a local human rights commission’s determination that a business violated a county anti-discrimination ordinance when it refused to take an order from an LGBT rights organization for the t-shirts.
The Lexington, KY-based Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (“GLSO…
May 15, 2017
During the first two weeks of May, both ISIS and Al-Qaeda (AQ) called on their followers abroad -- and in the US specifically -- to carry out lone wolf attacks. In one of the propaganda videos, Hamza bin Laden, the son of AQ founder Osama bin Laden, urged extremists to attack “Jewish interests everywhere.” As an increasing number of potential terrorists draw inspiration from both organizations (detailed in ADL’s 2016 report), the confluence of these calls to…
May 12, 2017
White supremacists pose together in Pikeville, Kentucky.
Updated: May 15, 2017 Over the weekend of May 13, white supremacists groups united publicly for the fourth time in four weeks. This time several dozen white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the city council’s decision to remove Confederate monuments from local parks. Speakers for the event included Richard Spencer, Nathan Damigo, Mike “Enoch” Peinovich, and Sam…
May 12, 2017
The Florida Legislature recently enacted a back door school prayer bill – Senate Bill 436, the so-called "Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberties Act," which the Governor is expected to sign. It is intended to do an end run around U.S. Supreme Court decisions barring school-sponsored prayer in K-12 public schools. Senate Bill 436 (“SB 436”) is unnecessary, raises serious constitutional issues, and creates a legal quagmire for Florida…
May 10, 2017 More than 500 ADL leaders and Jewish activists from across the country gathered for ADL’s annual Shana Amy Glass National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., where government officials, policy experts, journalists, opinion makers and other public figures addressed the participants on some of the most critical issues on the League’s agenda.
ADL CEO's Opening Remarks: Action to Impact
To kick off the Summit, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt gave a rousing…
May 05, 2017 White supremacists are gearing up for what they are calling the “Battle of New Orleans,” on May 7th. They plan to confront left-wing and anti-fascist (antifa) groups that have been calling for the removal of more Confederate monuments in New Orleans after the mayor of the city removed the Liberty Place monument on April 24th.
Even in the South, Confederate monuments and flags have become more controversial and a growing body of opinion is uncomfortable…
May 01, 2017 By Susan Heller Pinto
Associate Director of International Affairs and Director of Middle Eastern Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League
This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel
I feel like I have spent the better part of 2017 in meetings discussing and planning for portentous anniversaries in the history of Zionism and Israel. This year, after all, marks the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress (August 1897); the centennial year of the Balfour…
May 01, 2017 Updated: 9/5/18 Has the simple thumb-and-forefinger “OK” hand gesture become a common white supremacist hand sign? Not quite, but it has become a popular gesture used by people across several segments of the right and far right—including some actual white supremacists—who generally use it to trigger reactions, or what they would describe as “trolling the libs.” This is thanks to a 2017 hoax campaign started by members of the…
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt April 28, 2017 ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt's remarks after receiving the Active Citizenship and Public Service Award from Tufts University
Accepting an Honor and Exercising My Responsibility as a Tufts Alumnus
Thank you. I want to thank the Awards Committee, President Monaco and my dear friend Dean Alan Solomont for helping to make this honor possible. It’s wonderful to be here on campus at Tufts. I’m so proud to be a Jumbo, and…
April 19, 2017 Police in Fresno, California, arrested a suspected gunman on April 18 after he allegedly killed three people in a shooting spree in downtown Fresno (and may be responsible for a fourth, earlier murder as well).
The victims of the gunman, Kori Ali Muhammad, were all white and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said that Muhammad had given “very detailed” information to them following his arrest that led police to believe his acts had been a hate crime. Dyer…
April 14, 2017 UPDATE: Auburn University has cancelled Richard Spencer’s speech due to safety concerns.
The creation of a white supremacist group at Auburn University and the upcoming speech there by white supremacist Richard Spencer on April 18 are prompting concern at the school and in the surrounding community.
Though it is not clear if the two events are directly related, they do have common themes. The group created at the school—the Auburn White…
April 10, 2017 An online campaign of anti-Semitism has been directed at Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor over the past week. It comes in the context of Trump’s removal of chief strategist Stephen Bannon from the National Security Council and reports about a feud between Bannon and Kushner as well as airstrikes in Syria in response to the chemical attack last week.
This campaign of anti-Semitism has been driven by white supremacists and anti-Semites…
April 04, 2017 The past two years have been challenging for certain groups of people, especially those targeted during the 2016 presidential election campaign with taunts, verbal attacks, name-calling and threats. Now that the election is over, those threats have resulted in proposed policy, legislation and executive orders affecting those very same people. This has left many—especially immigrants and Muslim people—feeling fearful, on edge, marginalized and worried about their…
March 30, 2017 Dozens of people showed up at the Indiana State House in Indianapolis on March 25, 2017, to support President Trump and his administration at a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) rally, one of a number of such events held around the country that weekend. Waving Trump signs and American flags, many participants were everyday Americans excited about their president.
But about a dozen of the ralliers—a significant portion of the whole—were a little…