by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | September 23, 2016 JTA Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ statement before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday revived old hatreds more than it broke new ground. It was little more than a rote diatribe against Israel and a call for international pressure to coerce the Jewish state in place of the hard give and take that happens at the negotiating table. It shed light on why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has endured so long through…

by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | September 13, 2016 Foreign Policy If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s purpose was to criticize the Palestinian leadership, there are many issues he could have raised in his latest short video posted on Sept. 9. He could have spoken about their celebration of terrorists, or he could have raised their demonization of Israel through anti-Semitic conspiracy theories or their repeated rejection of any Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. He could…

by: Marilyn Mayo | September 08, 2016 The Forward It’s not often that I get an opportunity to come face-to-face with one of the extremists whose activities, in my work as a research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League, I am charged with following and exposing. But on Wednesday night it happened that one of the most ardent spokespeople for anti-Semitic 9/11 conspiracy theories was appearing in New York City, my hometown. It was tempting to ignore that Christopher Bollyn was speaking…

September 02, 2016 Rumor: Forever 21 is selling "Swastika rings." Status: FALSE  What happened? A rumor spread on Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites and making the rounds via e-mail suggests the clothing retailer Forever 21 was selling "swatika rings." The social media posts included a photograph showing the purported swastika rings for sale on the shelf in the store. ADL and independent internet hoax sites such as Snopes have verified that the image of the swastika…

August 12, 2016 Introduction and Overview of the Guide Anti-Semitism and The Merchant of Venice: A Discussion Guide for Educators (Grades 10-12) is a tool for teachers presenting The Merchant of Venice to their students. This guide is not intended as an exhaustive study of the play. Rather, it is a supplement intended to guide an exploration of the problematic issue of anti-Semitism as part of the broader discussion of the play. The initial sections of this guide provide important…

July 28, 2016 1.     David Duke has been active in the white supremacist movement for over 40 years.  In 1974, he founded the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Recognizing that he could gain more attention by recasting his racism in more palatable terms, Duke shed his Klan robes and in 1981 founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP). Though its ideology mirrored the Klan, he presented the group as “primarily a white rights lobby…

by: Kenneth Jacobson | July 27, 2016 The Times of Israel Upon hearing the initial report that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was asking the Arab League to sue Great Britain for its Balfour Declaration of 1917, I thought this must be a satire of the sort put out by The Onion. I was wrong as it turned out. Apparently, Abbas is serious. So let’s treat his initiative seriously. The Balfour Declaration, a statement by the then Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, Lord Balfour,…

July 14, 2016 Most police enter the profession with the best reasons: They want to protect people who can’t protect themselves, give back to their communities and secure justice. To help law enforcement professionals stay true to their core values, ADL and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) created a powerful program, Law Enforcement and Society (LEAS), in 1999. LEAS spurs law enforcement professionals today to reflect on their mission. The program traces the changing role of…

by: Rabbi David Sandmel | June 05, 2016 The Times of Israel The General Conference of United Methodist Church recently concluded its quadrennial gathering, which this year was held in Portland, Oregon. I and many others in the Jewish community, not to mention many Christians as well, were pleased with the outcome of a number of votes on resolutions concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Inter alia, the Church rejected resolutions calling for divestment or for investment screens…

May 27, 2016 In April, ADL sent a letter to G4S recognizing its public statement that its decision to sell its business in Israel was unrelated to pressures from BDS campaigns.  In the public statement, G4S said it “reiterates that it does not support the anti-Israel boycott by BDS or any other group.”  This letter was sent following consultation with sources, including in Israel, who indicated that BDS has not been a motivating factor in G4S’s decision. Our…

April 15, 2016 APRIL 17, 2016, Washington, D.C. Thank you for that kind introduction, and thank you all for welcoming me here today. In many ways, I am an unlikely person to be head of ADL…or to be head of a Jewish organization. See, I’ve spent most of my career in business or in government – creating companies, building brands, innovating business models, driving economic value and achieving social benefit, … all this took place far away from the organized…

June 10, 2016 What’s it like to be a Jew in Norway? Frankly, it’s complicated. With a population of less than 2,000 Jews, Norway is a place where “Jew” is a curse used frequently against Jewish schoolchildren. Yet it’s also a society where Jewish life proceeds freely, and the Norwegian government works to end anti-Semitism. “We’re not finished with anti-Semitism in Norway,” says Rabbi Joav Melchior, rabbi of the Jewish Community of Oslo. …

by: Robert Trestan | March 24, 2016 The Times of Israel There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Janet Mock’s decision to cancel her “Redefining Realness” talk at Brown University this week. Ms. Mock, a transgender best-selling author, canceled her talk following pressure from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to reject the invitation due to Brown Hillel’s involvement. SJP cannot have it both ways — advocating to muzzle a speaker…

by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | March 16, 2016 New York Daily News On many occasions in recent years, the Anti-Defamation League I lead has spoken out as politicians, celebrities and other public figures tried making a point about a controversial subject by invoking the Holocaust. The analogy has shown up inappropriately in countless discussions of public policy because it is the most available historical event illustrating right versus wrong. Abortion? It was said to be an “ongoing…

September 27, 2010 Jewish Voice for Peace is the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States. Despite the neutral tone of its name, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) counts among its objectives an end to U.S. aid for Israel (because of Israel's "repressive policies") and the success of boycott and divestment campaigns against Israel. In the past few years, JVP has become a leader in the American anti-Israel movement and has assumed a particularly visible role in…

by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | February 28, 2016 CNN.com Donald Trump claimed he is not familiar with David Duke. It is hard to believe, but we will choose to take him at his word and use this opportunity to explain in detail to him -- and indeed all candidates -- who David Duke really is. It seems that Trump did have a change of heart after a public outcry over his comments about not knowing who Duke was. Trump later tweeted his disavowal of Duke. Still, we believe Trump and the…

February 22, 2016 It’s only November, but 2016 has already passed a grim milestone: not since 2001 have there been this many murders related to domestic Islamic extremism in a single year. This is due almost entirely to Omar Mateen’s June shooting rampage at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which left 49 people dead and a city – and nation – reeling. 2016 has also seen a particularly high number of plots – carried out or thwarted – motivated by Islamic…

by: Ken Jacobson | February 15, 2016 The Forward Israel and its supporters are being held hostage by the notion that Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, is all that we have on the Palestinian side and that any successor would be far worse. The right’s response to this is either that there isn’t a hair’s breadth of difference between Abbas and Fatah on the one hand and Hamas on the other, or that Israel is better off having Hamas in power because then…