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Native American Heritage Month

Tools and Strategies
Native American Heritage Month Hero
November is Native American Heritage Month, which was first declared by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. The month provides an opportunity to commemorate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories and acknowledge the important contributions of Native American/Indigenous people. It is also an important time to educate the general public, as well as young people in schools, about the bias, discrimination and unique challenges faced by Native American/Indigenous people…
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Letter to the New York Times Regarding Editorial on Silencing Hate Speech

Media Watch
The following letter was submitted to The New York Times in response to "If We Silence Hate Speech, Will We Silence Resistance?" (Aug. 9) To the Editor: The first flaw in Erik Nielson’s argument is his failure to define hate speech, which clearly means different things to different people.   Speech that harasses, threatens or incites violence  - whether it emanates from the left or the right – contributes nothing to the marketplace of ideas, and…
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Letter to the New York Times Regarding Alex Jones' Removal From Social Media Platforms

Media Watch
The following letter was submitted to The New York Times in response to "Free Speech Experts Argue Against Infowars Founder" (Aug. 8) To the Editor: The debate over whether Alex Jones should have been removed from Facebook, Apple and other platforms seems almost quaint and academic when one looks closely at his long history of spreading outright lies and appeals to bigotry. After the violent alt-right protest in Charlottesville, Va., a year ago, Mr. Jones announced that he…
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Letter to the Wall Street Journal Regarding Criticism of ADL's Stance on Judge Kavanaugh

Media Watch
The following letter was submitted to The Wall Street Journal in response to "Is Brett Kavanaugh Bad for the Jews?" (July 24, 2018) Liel Leibovitz unsurprisingly chooses to paint the Anti-Defamation League and its CEO Jonathan Greenblatt as partisan (“Is Brett Kavanaugh Bad for the Jews?,” op-ed, July 24). Mr. Liebovitz draws selectively from our record of speaking out on issues that are directly connected to our mandate of fighting anti-Semitism and securing justice…
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What is Everyday Bias? (In English and en español)

Tools and Strategies
Pleasant Muslim Woman Being Talked About
Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Topic SummaryIt seems like we are seeing more and more news and social media stories about people experiencing bias as they go about their daily lives—riding the subway, shopping in a store, dining in a restaurant and hanging out with friends. Indeed, the surge of such stories makes it seem like racism, sexism, antisemitism and other forms of bias and discrimination are becoming more pervasive…
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Scientist Drawings and Gender Stereotypes

Tools and Strategies
Children Observing Saturn and the Cassini-Huygens Mission
Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Topic SummaryIn 1983, a social scientist named David Chambers published a research study on children’s drawings. The study gathered information from the late 1960s and 1970s in which teachers asked 5,000 children (in three different countries) to “draw a scientist.” One pattern appeared strongly: almost all of the scientist drawings depicted men. Through the study, Chambers was able to…
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Letter to The New York Times Regarding Hamas and Gaza

Media Watch
The following letter was submitted to The New York Times in response to "Israel Courts Catastrophe in Gaza Protests" (April 2, 2018) Letters to the Editor The New York Times To the Editor: Re "Israel Courts Catastrophe in Gaza Protests" (Editorial, April 2, 2018): There are legitimate issues to be raised concerning Israel's policy vis-a-vis Hamas and Gaza, including the issue of access of the population to the outside world and the extent of the use of force…
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David Barr and the Early Days of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Interview

Tools and Strategies
Unheard Voices: Stories of LGBT History For Educators ADL, GLSEN and StoryCorps collaborated to create Unheard Voices, an oral history and curriculum project that will help educators to integrate LGBT history, people and issues into their instructional programs. David Barr has worked as an AIDs activist for over 25 years. At Storycorps, David talked about how the disease changed the gay community in New York City during the early 1980s, and what it was like to fight a disease that…
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Why Simulation Activities Should Not Be Used

Tools and Strategies
Multi-Ethnic Students Having a Discussion in a Classroom
For Educators Educators sometimes aim to use simulations or role plays when teaching about historical atrocities in order to engage students more deeply, build empathy and teach the topic in an interactive way. We frequently hear news stories about a classroom lesson that set out to try to help build empathy for the victims of the Holocaust by having students role play situations of either being “persecuted” or “privileged.” We also hear about teachers who have…
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Letter to the NY Times Regarding Homegrown Terrorism

Media Watch
The following letter was submitted to The New York Times in response to "White House Tries to Link Immigration and Terrorism" (Jan. 17) Letters to the Editor New York Times To the Editor: Re “White House Tries to Link Immigration and Terrorism” (news article, Jan. 17): The Trump administration’s report trying to link foreign-born immigrants to terrorism muddies the waters by giving an incomplete picture of the sources of extremist violence in…
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FEMA vs. First Amendment

Media Watch
The following letter, penned by National Chair Marvin Nathan, appeared in the Houston Chronicle in response to FEMA's recent policy reversal to permit disaster funding for houses of worship. FEMA vs. First Amendment Regarding "FEMA's new policy on disaster aid to chruches a sound decision" (Page A3, Thursday), contrary to Erica Grieder's assertion, FEMA's recent policy reversal to permit disaster funding for houses of worship is not constitutionally "sound." The U.S…
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Letter to NY Times Regarding President Trump's Remarks on Legal Immigration

Media Watch
The following letter, penned by Brittan Heller, director of the ADL's Center for Technology and Society, and Susan Benesch, executive director of the Dangerous Speech Project, appeared in The New York Times in response to President Trump's speech to the F.B.I. National Academy. To the Editor: Re “Deceit and Confusion in Talk on Law and Order” (Fact Check, Dec. 16): Addressing elite F.B.I. National Academy graduates last week, President Trump…
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Why We Need Diverse Books

Tools and Strategies
Preschoolers - Mayor's Book Club
For parents, families and young people Topic SummaryIn recent years, there has been a lot of attention paid to the diversity of children’s books, shining a light on the lack of diversity and amplifying the need for more children’s and young adult literature that reflects our multicultural society. In 2014, an organization named We Need Diverse Books formed, following a regularly trending hashtag with the same name (#WeNeedDiverseBooks) that helped bring attention to the issue. We…
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Zionism Is Nothing Like White Supremacy

Media Watch
ADL responded to an op-ed by a Jewish Voice for Peace staffer, who asserted that alt-right leader Richard Spencer was right in his remarks that Zionism is akin to white supremacy. Days after the horrific showcase of American far-right extremism in Charlottesville, America’s leading extremist, white supremacist leader Richard Spencer, appeared on an Israeli television newscast and compared his hate-filled ideology to Jewish nationalism, declaring it “white Zionism.” …
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What Is… Anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic, Anti-Zionist?

Tools and Strategies
What is anti-Semitism? Anti-Semitism is a form of prejudice or discrimination directed toward Jews as individuals or as a group. Anti-Semitism is based on age-old stereotypes and myths that target Jews as a people, their religious practices and beliefs, or the Jewish State of Israel.  Words or actions related to Israel are anti-Semitic when they blame all Jews for the actions of the state, single out Israel in denying the country’s right to exist as a Jewish state and an…
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Dos and Don’ts in Responding to Antisemitism on Campus

Tools and Strategies
In the 1930s, the dean of Yale University’s medical school — who was Jewish himself — reportedly advised his admissions team, “Never admit more than five Jews, take only two Italian Catholics, and take no blacks at all.”  The American college campus has come a long way in the past century. Colleges are more diverse, and there are greater efforts to create inclusive environments whereby all students feel comfortable on campus. But that does not mean you…
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Frequently Asked Questions About Free Speech on Campus

Tools and Strategies
What is the source of our free speech rights? Free speech rights emanate from the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[1] and from state constitutions. The U.S. Constitution limits the government’s ability to regulate speech based on content and it applies to all public colleges and universities. It serves as a floor, not a ceiling. State constitutions may grant more robust free speech rights than the U.S. Constitution, but never fewer. Is there a distinction between private and…
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ADL Response to Dennis Prager

Media Watch
Letters to the Editor National Review To the Editor: Re “Remember the Hysteria about Trump-Induced Anti-Semitism” (June 13): Our concerns about anti-Semitism in America are real and based on fact. Dennis Prager, in making his claim of hysteria, ignores the data and chooses to mischaracterize our statements. We made clear, reflecting ADL’s most recent poll of the American people, that the American public at-large was not becoming more anti-Semitic. We also…
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Education Podcasts

Tools and Strategies
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers As part of our ongoing efforts to provide current, relevant and quality educational resources in various formats, ADL offers a free podcast series that you can listen to at your convenience. Each podcast offers a rich and inspiring conversation with a specialist in the field or children's book author. The podcasts assist educators in building inclusive and respectful classrooms and provide timely and important information on curricula…
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