Joins Echo, Swastika, and Blood Drop Cross New York, NY, September 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today identified “Pepe the Frog,” a cartoon character used by haters on social media to suggest racist, anti-Semitic or other bigoted notions, as a hate symbol.  It has been added it to ADL’s online “Hate on Display” database. Also referred to as the “sad frog meme,” Pepe the Frog did not originally have anti-Semitic connotations…

Highlights Rising Anti-Semitism and Issues of Cyberhate New York, NY, September 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) raised concerns about the growing threat of anti-Semitism within the 57 participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and proposed a number of policy recommendations on cyber security and hate crimes. At the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) on September 26 in Warsaw, Poland, ADL presented…

New York, NY, September 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today mourned the passing of Israel’s longest serving and most prominent leader and statesman, former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Marvin D. Nathan, ADL National Chair, and Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement: Literally present at the creation of the Jewish state, Shimon Peres was the diplomatic, political and social innovation face of Israel over a seven decade…

ADL: Anti-Semitic Statements by Iranian Leaders at the U.N. Are Nothing New New York, NY, September 22, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on world leaders at the U.N. to strongly condemn the anti-Semitism in Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly. In commenting on American compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, President Rouhani accused “Zionist pressure groups” for “having” Congress pass…

San Francisco, CA, September 20, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed deep concern that a University of California at Berkeley reinstated course “Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis” presents students with blatantly biased views towards Zionism and Israel as fact. As the title implies, the class thesis and much of its syllabus is built on the foundation of the denial of the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel and the attempt to negate the right of…

New York, NY, September 13, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today commended Instagram for its announcement on safety, civility, and the establishment of a new keyword moderation tool. In a blog post on September 12, the photo-sharing platform owned by Facebook articulated its concern over the evolution and volume of troubling content and the need to “promote a culture where everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment.” “We are deeply…

New York, NY, September 13, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today hailed the announcement of a military aid agreement between Israel and the United States, calling it “a resounding and tangible” demonstration of the enduring U.S.-Israel relationship. The new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provides Israel with the largest defense aid package in American history - $38 billion over the next decade. The existing aid agreement expires in 2018.  The agreement…

New York, NY, September 1, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is deeply disturbed to learn that the past president of the UCLA Graduate Students Association has decided to leave the university due to what he describes as a “hostile and unsafe campus climate” created in part by outspoken anti-Israel activists. Milan Chatterjee, a third-year law student at UCLA, on August 24 informed the school chancellor of his decision to leave the university and finish his UCLA law…

New York, NY, August 18, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today praised Twitter for its “critical” move after the social media platform announced that it has suspended more than 200,000 accounts that have violated policies related to the promotion of terrorism. In a blog posted today, the company announced that since the middle of 2015, 360,000 accounts have been removed. In February, ADL praised Twitter for its efforts to combat violent extremism and the formation of…

New York, NY, August 17, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said it was repulsed by anti-Semitic imagery that appeared on the cover Las Verdades de Miguel, a popular Venezuelan weekly journal. A recent edition of the journal published on August 12 features an image of a Jew in religious garb with a Star of David made up of U.S. dollars with the headline, “The Rabbis of CADIVI,” the Venezuelan government body which administers legal currency exchange in Venezuela…

Jerusalem, July 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today strongly condemned passage in the Knesset of the “mikvah law,” which bars the ritual immersion of converts by non-Orthodox rabbis in public mikvahs (ritual baths), saying that it is using a state-funded facilities to discriminate.  Immersion in the mikvah is the final step in the process of converting to Judaism.  The law, initiated by MK Moshe Gafni, strives to override the Israeli Supreme Court…

New York, NY, July 26, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned the terror attack at a church during Mass in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen. Two assailants murdered an 86-year-old priest and took several hostages before being killed by French police. The French government has said that the attackers pledged allegiance to ISIS, and that the terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack. According to ADL’s Center on Extremism, this incident is the fifth…

New York, NY, July 17, 2016 … Experts from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will be participating in the upcoming First Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism in Latin America where they will be offering their expertise on a number of critical issues, including combating the rising tide of anti-Semitism and best practices in tackling cyberhate. The forum, which begins today in Buenos Aires, Argentina, will address anti-Semitism in Latin America with discussions focusing on education,…

New York, NY, July 15, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed shock and outrage at a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which targeted revelers at Bastille Day celebrations. The driver of the truck used in the attack was identified as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old French Tunisian. At least 84 people were killed when a truck was driven into a crowd of revelers. “This attack was the ninth attack by terrorists since Charlie Hebdo. Their aim is to weaken…

New York, NY, July 15, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed today’s statement by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, who condemned attempts to deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem. At UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, currently meeting in Istanbul, a draft resolution on the Old City of Jerusalem is being negotiated. A similar resolution in April by UNESCO’s Executive Board condemned Israel for alleged “Jewish fake graves” on the Temple…

New York, NY, July 14, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today strongly condemned the decision by Israel’s Supreme Rabbinical court to reject the authority of prominent New York Orthodox Rabbi Haskel Lookstein by invalidating his conversion of an American woman to Judaism. ADL called the court’s decision a “slap in the face” to American Jewry, including those who have chosen to join the Jewish people, and said it highlights just how extreme the Israeli…

Dallas, TX, July 8, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) strongly condemned the murders of Dallas law enforcement officers during an otherwise peaceful protest last night against the shooting deaths of two African-American men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.  In an apparently well-planned and coordinated attack, which President Barack Obama described as “vicious, calculated and despicable,” five officers were killed and seven were injured, along with two…

New York, NY, July 5, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today joined a friend-of-the court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court defending a Missouri constitutional provision that provides broader separation of church and state than the U.S. Constitution. In the case titled, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Parker, the State denied direct grants to houses of worship under this provision. “The petitioner is seeking an unprecedented ruling from the Court that…

New York, NY, July 5, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has joined with the Hispanic National Bar Association and LatinoJustice PRLDEF on an amicus brief in Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado, a case involving allegations of racial bias on the part of a juror. The brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the use of specific evidence of racial bias in jury deliberations in order to prove a violation of the constitutional right to a trial by an impartial jury. “When…

A Courageous Voice Against Anti-Semitism and Genocide New York, NY, July 2, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) mourns the passing of author, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, a courageous crusader against forces of hatred and intolerance and a voice of conscience who repeatedly reminded the world of the moral imperative to prevent mass genocide from happening again. Marvin D. Nathan, ADL National Chair, and Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following…