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			The '''Anti-Defamation League''' (or '''ADL''') is an American organization set up by ] whose stated aim is to fight ], ], bigotry and various forms of political extremism as well as ] through an array of programs and services. It also offers political support for the state of ]. With an annual budget of over $40 million, the ADL has 29 offices in the ] and 3 offices in other countries, with its national headquarters located in ]. The current director is ]. The national chair is ].
	{{Unreferenced}}
	]
	The '''Anti-Defamation League''' (or '''ADL''') is an organization founded by ] in the United States whose stated aim is "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the ] of the ]. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair ] against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." .

	With an annual budget of over $40 million, the ADL has 29 offices in the ] and 3 offices in other countries, with its headquarters located in ]. Since ], ] has been the national director in the United States. The national chair in the United States is ].

	==History==		==History==
	Founded in October, ] by ], the ADL's ] states, <blockquote>"The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the ]. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."</blockquote>

	Livingston established the ADL in direct response to the case of ], a Jewish factory manager living in the state of ] who had been arrested ~~and convicted in 1913 for the rape and~~ murder ~~of ]~~ (subsequent investigations proved that he was innocent of the crime) and then ~~kidnapped from prison and ]~~ by a mob in ~~1915~~.		Founded in October, ] by ], the ADL's charter stated "The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." Livingston established the ADL in direct response to the case of ], a Jewish factory manager living in the state of Georgia who had been arrested on murder charges (subsequent investigations proved that he was innocent of the crime) and then lynched by a mob earlier that year while awaiting trial.

			==Fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry, and racism==
	== Goals ==
	{{Anti-Semitism}}
	===Fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry, and racism===
	The stated purpose of the ADL is to fight "] and all forms of ] (in the United States) and abroad, combat international ], probe the roots of ], advocate before ], come to the aid of victims of bigotry, develop educational programs, and serve as a public resource for government, media, law enforcement, and the public, all towards the goal of countering and reducing hatred."

	~~Historically,~~ the ADL ~~has~~ ~~opposed~~ ~~groups~~ and ~~individuals~~ it ~~considered~~ to be ~~anti-Semitic~~ and~~/or~~ ], ~~including~~ the ], ], ], Father ] (leader of the ]), the ] movement, the ], and the ~~American~~ ] ~~movement~~.		The stated purpose of the ADL is to fight "anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and abroad, combat international terrorism, the roots of hatred, before ], to the aid of victims of bigotry, educational programs, and as a public resource for government, media, law enforcement, and the public, all towards the goal of countering and reducing hatred." Historically, the ADL has opposed anti-Semitism and racism from many groups and individuals, including the ], ], Father ], leader of the ], the ] movement, the ], the ] and the ].

			==Fighting anti-Zionism==
	The ADL publishes reports on a variety of countries regarding incidents of anti-Jewish attacks and propaganda. The neutrality of these reports is disputed by some groups, who deny that these incidents indicate anti-Semitism or in some cases that anti-Semitism even exists.

			By far the most controversial position that the ADL takes is in its opposition to anti-Zionism, which is frequently conflated with its opposition to anti-Semitism and its political lobbying efforts on behalf of the state of Israel. These three issues are of great interest to most Jews, and there is general agreement that these issues are closely related. However, these issues are not so similar as to be identical, and the positions taken by the ADL regarding anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and the state of Israel have been criticized as being too presumptive and too generic, and of stifling discussion about Israeli policies.
	The ADL holds that a modern and common form of anti-Semitism is the idea that according to Jews all criticism of the State of ] is anti-Semitism. This claim is then used to criticize Jewish groups as unreasonable. The Anti-Defamation League states:

			The ADL made the following statement on the subject:
	:"Criticism of particular Israeli actions or policies in and of itself does not constitute anti-Semitism. Certainly the sovereign State of Israel can be legitimately criticized just like any other country in the world. However, it is undeniable that there are those whose criticism of Israel or of "]" is used to mask anti-Semitism."

			: ''"Criticism of particular Israeli actions or policies in and of itself does not constitute anti-Semitism. Certainly the sovereign State of Israel can be legitimately criticized just like any other country in the world. However, it is undeniable that there are those whose criticism of Israel or of "Zionism" is used to mask anti-Semitism."''
	===Fighting anti-Zionism===
	The ADL supports the ] and has vociferously opposed resolutions like the ] (]) that had equated ], as well as attempts to revive that formulation at the 2001 U.N. ] in Durban, South Africa.

			], a longstanding critic of Israeli policy, wrote in his ] book '']'':
	=== Defending religious freedom ===
	One of the ADL's major issues is religious freedom for people of all faiths. In the context of public schools, the ADL has taken the position that because Creationism and Intelligent Design are religious beliefs, and the government is prohibited from endorsing the beliefs of any particular religion, they should not be taught in science classrooms: "The U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to believe the religious theories of creation (as well as other theories) but it does not permit them to be taught in public school science classes." Similarly, the ADL supports the legal precedent that it is unconstitutional for the government to post the 10 Commandments in courthouses, schools, and other public places: "True religious liberty means freedom from having the government impose the religion of the majority on all citizens."

			:''"The ADL has virtually abandoned its earlier role as a civil rights organization, becoming 'one of the main pillars' of Israeli propaganda in the U.S., as the Israeli press casually describes it, engaged in surveillance, blacklisting, compilation of ]-style files circulated to adherents for the purpose of defamation, angry public responses to criticism of Israeli actions, and so on....These efforts, buttressed by insinuations of anti-Semitism or direct accusations, are intended to deflect or undermine opposition to Israeli policies, including Israel's refusal, with U.S. support, to move towards a general political settlement."''
	===Defending other religions===
	As its goal is to defend not only Jews, but also "all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens," the ADL has periodically made statements against misrepresentations of other faiths. For example, when the anti-Mormon film "]" was produced, Rhonda M. Abrams, Central Pacific (San Francisco) Regional Director for the ADL wrote a critical review, including the following statement:

			Chomsky, though Jewish himself, has at times been accused of ], a charge which he fervently denies. A discussion of the controversy surrouding this issue may be found in the articles on ] and ].
	<blockquote>Had a similar movie been made with either Judaism or Catholicism as its target, it would be immediately denounced for the scurrilous piece that it is. I sincerely hope that people of all faiths will similarly repudiate "The Godmakers" as defamatory and untrue, and recognize it for what it truly represents—a challenge to the religious liberty of all. (, Director of Public Communications, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, May 25, 1984)</blockquote>

			==Allegations of a "Protection Racket"==
	=== Tracking extremists ===
	The ADL is well-known for its efforts to keep track of the activities of various extremist groups and movements. According to ADL Director Abe Foxman, "Our mission is to monitor and expose those who are anti-Jewish, racist, anti-democratic, and violence-prone, and we monitor them primarily by reading publications and attending public meetings. . . . Because extremist organizations are highly secretive, sometimes ADL can learn of their activities only by using undercover sources . . . function in a manner directly analogous to investigative journalists. Some have performed great service to the American people -- for example, by uncovering the existence of right-wing extremist paramilitary training camps -- with no recognition and at considerable personal risk." ("A League of His Own," letter to the editor, ''The Village Voice'' 38:20 (May 18, 1993))

			Newspaper reports have alleged that ADL operatives have posed as anti-Semites and racists in order to carry out anti-Semitic or racist attacks (either alone, or as ''agents provocateurs''), which were intended to frighten the Jewish community and aid in ADL fund-raising. One story which appeared in the national press was that of Mordechai Levy AKA Jimmy Rosenberg AKA James Guttman, who was the ADL's infiltrator into the Ku Klux Klan chapter in Trenton, New Jersey, who sought to provoke the group into bombing Trenton's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
	The ADL regularly releases reports on anti-Semitism and extremist activities on the far left and the far right. For instance, as part of its Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network (L.E.A.R.N.), the ADL has published information about in America and a guide to . An archive of "The Militia Watchdog" research on U.S. right-wing extremism from 1995 to 2000 is also available on the ADL website.

			A Feb. 13, 1970 article in the ''Los Angeles Times'' by investigative reporter Jack Nelson first revealed FBI and ADL joint patronage of the Roberts brothers in the June 30, 1968 murder of a Klanswoman named Cathy Ainsworth. At the time of the shootout in front of the Meridian, Mississippi home of ADL official Meyer Davidson, which resulted in the death of Ainsworth and the near death of her associate Thomas A. Tarrants III (who survived over 70 shotgun, rifle, and pistol wounds), Alton Wayne Roberts and six other Klansmen had already been convicted for federal civil rights violations in connection with their infamous murder of civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964. A police file report dated June 10, 1968 by Detective
	In the 1990s, some details of the ADL's monitoring activities became public and controversial, including the fact that the ADL had gathered information about some non-extremist groups. (See "The ADL files controversy" below.)
			Luke Scarborough, confirms the ''Los Angeles Times'' report of the Ainsworth setup, namely that there was a three-way deal between the ADL, FBI, and local police in the matter, for which the ADL had provided the money.

			Another sort of "protection racket" surfaced in the 1980s, when the ADL was accused of a "you-scratch-my-back, I'll-scratch-yours" relationship to certain Jewish-surnamed gangland figures: in return for financial contributions, the ADL would shield mobsters from scrutiny, claiming that said mobsters were being persecuted by Anti-Semites. Eyebrows were raised in 1985, when there appeared on the cover of the ADL's monthly ''Bulliten'' a photo of ] presenting the ADL's "Torch of Liberty" award to the ] ] at a gala affair in Las Vegas. It was accompanied by an article praising Dalitz as a great philanthropist who had donated generously to the ADL over the years.
	=== Holocaust awareness ===
	The ADL believes it is important to remember the ], in order to prevent such an event from ever coming to pass again. Along with sponsoring events and fighting Holocaust deniers and revisionists, the ADL has been active in urging action to stop modern-day "]" and ] in places such as ] and ], ].

			== Positions ==
	The ADL spoke out against an advertising campaign by ] (PETA) beginning in 2003 that equated meat-eating with the Holocaust. A press release from the ADL stated that "PETA's effort to seek 'approval' for their 'Holocaust on Your Plate' campaign is outrageous, offensive and takes ] to new heights. Rather than deepen our revulsion against what the Nazis did to the Jews, the project will undermine the struggle to understand the Holocaust and to find ways to make sure such catastrophes never happen again." On May 5, 2005, PETA issued an apology for comparing the treatment of farm animals to the victims of the Nazi concentration camps. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said she realized that the campaign had caused pain: "This was never our intention, and we are deeply sorry." (See also ])

			On ], ] the ADL awarded Italian prime minister ] the ADL's distinguished statesman award . This in spite of Berlusconi's downplaying of the atrocities committed by the Italian ]s. ("] never killed anyone. Mussolini used to send people on vacation in internal exile.") Berlusconi is also known for his staunch pro-Israel stance. The decision to honor Berlusconi has been widely criticised by liberal members of the American Jewish community. Similar concerns have been voiced about the ADL's increasingly friendly tone towards pro-Israel evangelical ]s like ].
	== Other positions ==
	The ADL honors individuals throughout the year for various reasons. On ], ] at its Tribute to Italy Dinner, the ADL awarded Italian prime minister ] the ADL's distinguished statesman award, an honor "conferred on world leaders who exhibit a commitment to furthering the achievement of regional and world peace, and who possess a special commitment to promoting human and civil rights." Berlusconi is also known for his staunch pro-Israel stance.

	The ADL has ~~also~~ spoken out against red-baiting and ].		The ADL has spoken out against red-baiting and ].

			The ADL took a role in opposing ] that ], which was later overturned.
	In 2006 the ADL condemned Senate Republicans in the United States for attempting to ban ] with the ] and praised its demise, calling it "discrimination". That same year the ADL also warned that the debate over ] was drawing ] and ] into the ranks of the ].

			The ADL has spoken out against ]. A recent press release from the ADL states that "PETA's effort to seek approval for their Holocaust on Your Plate campaign is outrageous, offensive and takes chutzpah to new heights. Rather than deepen our revulsion against what the Nazis did to the Jews, the project will undermine the struggle to understand the Holocaust and to find ways to make sure such catastrophes never happen again."
	=== Relations with Arabs and Muslims ===
	The ADL has not very often worked together with ]-American and American ] ] groups, owing to disagreement concerning the ]. However, the ADL has on numerous occasions reached out to elements within the Islamic community and works to improve interfaith dialogue. The ADL has publicly condemned slurs and attacks against ]. ADL publications on condemning bigotry towards Arabs, Muslims, Blacks and members of other minorities have often been used in synagogue adult education programs, and as part of Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim inter-faith dialogue.

			== Arab and Muslim relations ==
	The ADL is sometimes at odds with Arab and Muslim groups, particularly over issues involving Israel and anti-Semitism. For instance, the ADL regularly publishes updates to its web site reviewing and cataloging negative portrayals of Jews in Arab nations' media.

			The ADL has not often worked together with ]-American and ]-American ] groups, owing to disagreement concerning the ]. However, the ADL has on numerous occasions reached out to elements within the Islamic community and works to improve interfaith dialogue. The ADL has publicly condemned slurs and attacks against ]. ADL publications on condemning bigotry towards Arabs, Muslims, blacks and members of other minorities have often been used in synagogue adult education programs, and as part of Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim inter-faith dialogue.
	Arab and Muslim groups are often critical of the ADL as well. For example, in a minor flap in New Jersey in June, 2001 over a politician who spoke to a Muslim group, the group accused the ADL of "] ]" .

	Another example of tensions between American Muslims and the ADL came about when the ADL issued a ], ] news release about the ], Irvine (UCI) Muslim Students Union: after the student group had invited speakers to campus who "made public declarations of support for Hamas, advocated suicide bombings and called for the destruction of Israel," group members chose to wear green graduation stoles bearing the ''Shahada'', the Islamic declaration of faith. The ADL's press release noted that ]s connected to the Palestinian group ] wear green armbands and headbands inscribed with the ''Shahada'' as a symbol of their movement, and stated: "We are troubled that members of the Muslim Students Union have chosen to display symbolism that is closely identified with Palestinian terrorist groups and that can be especially offensive to Jewish students." Controversy arose over the ADL's statement that "The ''Shahada'' has come to represent, in radical Muslim circles, support for martyrdom and terrorist groups." A news release from the ] denied that the stoles were expressions of support for terrorism, called the ADL's comments "bigoted statements", and demanded an apology; the organization's communications director Sabiha Khan said: "The ADL's hate-filled Islamophobic rhetoric labels all Muslims as terrorists, because every Muslim believes in the declaration of faith as the essence of Islam." The ADL released a clarifying statement saying the ADL has nothing against the Muslim statement of faith and that, "It was never our intent to offend anyone and we apologize to those who took offense."

	There is a separate article on ].		There is a separate article on ].

			== Black relations ==
	=== Relations with African-Americans===
	Historically, some ] organizations in America and the ADL have worked closely together in the ]. However, since the ]s relations have been less smooth, owing to diverging opinions on a range of issues including ], ] and Israel.

			Historically, African-Americans and the ADL worked closely together in the civil rights struggle. Since the ] relations have been less smooth, owing to diverging opinions on a range of issues (including ], welfare, Israel and a range of other topics).
	The ADL has publicly criticized certain political, business, entertainment, activist and religious leaders and organizations in the black community:

			ADL speaks out against some voices in the Black-community, especially the ] group ]. However, the ADL also works to combat racism against all racial groups, including racism against blacks. In ] the ''National Center for Black-Jewish Relations'' of ] (a ] in ]) awarded the director of the ADL, Abraham H. Foxman, with the first Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. - Donald R. Mintz Freedom and Justice Award.
	*The ADL has engaged the ] which it considers anti-Semitic, in public discourse since the 1984 U.S. Presidential campaign.

			The ADL investigated the anti-] ] closely, before the ANC became the ruling party in ]. The ADL disliked the ANC's public support of the ]. ], ADL's national director, explained: "At the time we exposed the ANC, they were communist. They were violent, they were anti-Semitic, they were pro-PLO and they were anti-Israel." The ADL shared its findings with South African intelligence organisations. See the section on the ADL files, below.
	*In ] '']'' reported that then ADL national director, Nathan Perlmutter, described Rev. ], Sr. as anti-Semitic, after Jackson referred to New York City as "Hymietown" {{fact}}. However, the ADL later reconciled with Jackson and has worked with him on the issue of the Iranian Jewish community .

			== Asatru relations ==
	*During the 1990s ADL files scandal, it was revealed that the ] was among the hundreds of groups the organization kept information files on. In 1994, the ADL stated that they may ask corporations to stop funding the NAACP, when their leader at the time, ], developed a working relationship with ], whom the ADL considers to be anti-Semitic.{{fact}}

			ADL was for a time widely criticized by ]ers for their inclusion of several Pagan symbols that have been co-opted by nazis on their page on "Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos" . Following an organized e-mail protest they have added a text stating that the symbols are not necessarily racist, but must be seen in the context as well as the section "Pagan Symbols Co-opted by Extremists."
	*During the 2002 election cycle, the ADL, in a letter to '']'', harshly criticized long standing ] member ] of Georgia. According to an ], 2002 article in ''The New York Times'' ADL Director Abraham Foxman said, "it made sense that Jewish Americans would want to contribute to efforts to replace Ms. McKinney.

			== The ADL files ==
	*In March of 2005, ADL National Director, Abraham Foxman called ] mogul ]'s public campaign against anti-Semitism hypocritical, due to Simmons's long history of working with Louis Farrakhan.

			Since the ], the ADL has worked to amass what it calls its "famous storehouse of accurate, detailed, unassailable information on extremist individuals and organizations." Over a period of decades they created thousands of files, mostly containing newspaper, magazine and journal clippings, as well as many books, on groups that the ADL considered anti-Semitic or potentially anti-Semitic. One of its researchers was Roy Bullock, who often wrote letters to various groups and forwarded copies of their replies to the ADL, and he also maintained his own personal files on his computer.
	However, the ADL also works to combat racism against all racial groups, including racism against blacks. In ], the ''National Center for Black-Jewish Relations'' of ], a ] in ] awarded the director of the ADL, Abraham H. Foxman, with the first Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. - Donald R. Mintz Freedom and Justice Award.

			In the early ] U.S. Representative ] (Republican, Californian) filed a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against the ADL. He claimed that information gathered about him, and others, was an invasion of privacy.
	In 2004 the ADL became the lead partner in the ''Peace and Diversity Academy'', a new New York City public high school with predominantly black and Hispanic students.

			The ADL countered that like any researcher or journalist, they are entitled to research organizations and individuals. The ADL gained some support from Richard Cohen, legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. He stated that the ADL's mission to fight anti-Semitism and racism involves gathering information on such groups and publishing reports on these topics. Cohen states "They gather information however they can" and "they probably rely on their sources to draw the line" about what information legally can be given out. A major problem for the ADL is that Bullock admitted that some of the information he obtained, and then passed on to the ADL, came from former San Francisco police officer Tom Gerard; Bullock admitted that he was over-zealous, and that that the information gathered this way may have been illegal.
	In celebration of Black History Month, the ADL created and distributed lesson plans to middle and high school teachers about ], the first black woman elected to the US Congress, and an important civil rights leader.

			On ] ] the ADL offices in ] and ] were raided by police. It was discovered that the ADL had files on 12,000 Americans and more than 950 groups, the vast majority being newspaper clippings. Among those groups that were being tracked by the ADL were: ] (ANC), ] (ACLU), ], ], ], ], the organization of ], and the ].
	===The ADL files controversy===
	Since the ] the ADL has been gathering information and publishing reports on anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice, and on anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, racist, anti-democratic, violent, and extremist individuals and groups. As a result, the organization has amassed what it once called a "famous storehouse of accurate, detailed, unassailable information on extremist individuals and organizations." Over the decades the ADL has assembled thousands of files.

			This led to a lawsuit in which a number of Arab Muslim groups claimed that the ADL was spying on Americans. Hussein Ibish, director of communications for the ], claimed that the ADL was gathering data "systematically in a program whose clear intent was to undermine civil rights and Arab-American organizations." The ADL rebutted these charges, noting that no court had ever found the ADL guilty of the charges that were made against it.
	One of its sources was Roy Bullock, a person who collected information and provided it to the ADL as a secretly-paid independent contractor over 32 years. Bullock often wrote letters to various groups and forwarded copies of their replies to the ADL, clipped articles from newspapers and magazines, and maintained files on his computer. He also used less orthodox, and possibly illegal, methods such as combing through trash and tapping into the ]'s phone message system to find evidence of ]s. Some of the information he obtained and then passed on to the ADL came from confidential documents (including intelligence files on various Nazi groups and driver's license records and other personal information on nearly 1,400 people) that were given to him by San Francisco police officer Tom Gerard. (Richard C. Paddock, "," Los Angeles Times, April 13, 1993, A1)

			The lawsuit was settled out of court in ]. The ADL agreed to pay the court costs of the groups that sued them, and spent $25,000 to further Jewish-Muslim and Jewish-black relations.
	On ], ], police seized Bullock's computer and raided the ADL offices in ] and ]. A search of Bullock's computer revealed he had compiled files on 9,876 individuals and more than 950 groups across the political spectrum. Many of Bullock's files concerned groups that did not fit the mold of extremist groups, hate groups, and organizations hostile to Jews or Israel that the ADL would usually be interested in. Along with files on the Ku Klux Klan, White Aryan Resistance, and Islamic Jihad were data on the ], the ], the ] (ANC), the ] (ACLU), the ], the AIDS activist group ], ], the ] Soviet/Russian news agency, ], ] and the ]; there were also files on politicians including conspiracy theorist ], Democratic U.S. Rep. ], and former Republican U.S. Rep. ]. Bullock told investigators that many of those were his own private files, not information he was passing on to the ADL. An attorney for the ADL stated that "We knew nothing about the vast extent of the files. Those are not ADL's files. . . . That is all doing." (Meredith Jane Adams, "Anti-Defamation League may have broken records laws", Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1993) As for its own records, the ADL indicated that just because it had a file on a group did not indicate opposition to the group.

			See also: ], ], ], ], ]
	The San Francisco district attorney at the time accused the ADL of conducting a national "] network", but dropped all accusations a few months later. In the weeks following the raids, however, a private class-action lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court against the ADL. The plaintiffs' attorney, former Representative McCloskey, claimed that information the ADL gathered constituted an invasion of privacy. The ADL, while distancing itself from Bullock, countered that it is entitled like any researcher or journalist to research organizations and individuals. Richard Cohen, legal director of the ] in Montgomery, Alabama, stated that like journalists, the ADL's researchers "gather information however they can" and welcome disclosures from confidential sources, saying "they probably rely on their sources to draw the line" on how much can legally be divulged. Bullock admitted that he was overzealous, and that some of the ways he gathered information may have been illegal. (Meredith Jane Adams, "Anti-Defamation League may have broken records laws", Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1993)

			==External Links==
	The lawsuit was settled out of court in ]. The ADL agreed to pay $175,000 for the court costs of the groups that sued it, promised that it would not seek information from sources it knew could not legally disclose such information, consented to remove sensitive information like criminal records or Social Security numbers from its files, and spent $25,000 to further relations between the Jewish, Arab and black communities. When the case was settled, ], director of communications for the ] (ADC), claimed that the ADL had gathered data "systematically in a program whose clear intent was to undermine civil rights and Arab-American organizations," but ADL national director Abraham Foxman called the ADC's claims "absolutely untrue," saying that "if it were true, they would have won their case" and noting that no court found the ADL guilty of any wrongdoing. The ADL released a statement saying that the settlement "explicitly recognizes ADL's right to gather information in any lawful and constitutionally protected manner, which we have always done and will continue to do."

	==Criticism==
	Some critics allege the ADL willfully exaggerates the prevalence of anti-Semitism, especially among Muslims. The critics also claim that the ADL defines legitimate criticism so narrowly that even moderate analysis of Israel could be categorized as anti-Semitic. Criticism from the right also stems from criticism of Israel being attacked as anti-semitic and tracking of what the ADL considers extremist or racist groups which many on the right do not agree are racist or extreme and actually consider patriotic. For example the ADL lists opposition to income taxes as extremist with white supremacist elements.

	For example, linguist and activist ] wrote in his 1989 book '']'':

	:"The ADL has virtually abandoned its earlier role as a civil rights organization, becoming 'one of the main pillars' of Israeli ] in the U.S.… These efforts, buttressed by insinuations of anti-Semitism or direct accusations, are intended to deflect or undermine opposition to Israeli policies, including Israel's refusal, with U.S. support, to move towards a general political settlement."

	], a prominent left-wing rabbi, has criticized the ADL on similar grounds:

	:"The ADL lost most of it credibility in my eyes as a civil rights organization when it began to identify criticisms of Israel with anti-Semitism, still more when it failed to defend me when I was receiving threats to my life from right-wing Jewish groups because of my critique of Israeli policy toward Palestinians (it said that these were not threats that came from my being Jewish, so therefore they were not within their area of concern)."

	The ADL has also drawn fire from some Orthodox Jewish leaders who charge it is more interested in promoting a dogmatic form of secularism than in promoting religious tolerance and in the process promoting anti-Christian bigotry and hatred.
	Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Lapin has charged:
	: "The most deeply held values of the ADL are a hatred of Judaism and Christianity—and a secularization of society."

	=== Role in Cancellation of Speech by Tony Judt at Polish Consulate ===
	The ADL, in addition to the ], was criticized by a number of individuals for allegedly pressuring the Polish Consul General in New York to cancel a scheduled appearance by American academic ] at a non-profit organization that rents space from the consulate. In an interview with the ], the national director of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, claimed that the group "had nothing to do with the cancellation" This was contradicted, however, by the Polish Consul General Krzysztof Kasprzyk who claimed in an interview with the ] that calls by the ADL and the American Jewish Committee, made just an hour before the scheduled event, were "exercising a delicate pressure". In reference to the role of the ADL and American Jewish Committee in organizing the cancellations, Judt told the Washington Post: "This is serious and frightening, and only in America -- not in Israel -- is this a problem. These are Jewish organizations that believe they should keep people who disagree with them on the Middle East away from anyone who might listen." Judt's criticism was echoed by ], who said in an interview with the Washington Post: "There is an often organized and often spontaneous attempt to marginalize anyone in the Jewish world who offers a critique of Israeli policy. It's equated with anti-Semitism and Israel denial."

	=== Denver defamation suit ===
	The ADL's attempts to highlight anti-Semitism have not been without controversy. According to an ] ] article in '']'', a federal judge "lambasted the organization for labeling a nasty neighborhood feud as an anti-Semitic event" and upheld most of William and Dorothy Quigley's $10 million ] for ]. In ], Candace and Mitchell Aronson, Jewish next door neighbors of the Quigleys, contacted the Denver ADL office, claiming to have overheard cordless phone conversations of the Quigleys talking about putting pictures of oven doors on the Aronsons' home (a reference to the Holocaust), burning the Aronson children and wishing the Aronsons had been killed in a suicide bombing. The Quigleys and the Aronsons had been engaged in an escalating series of petty disputes prior to this incident. The ADL advised the Aronsons to tape the Quigleys (a tactic which had recently been made illegal). The ADL also labelled the Quigleys as violent anti-Semites in a press conference which led to felony federal charges being filed against them.

	The Quigleys successfully sued the ADL for falsely portraying them as anti-Semites.

	] Edward Nottingham wrote "it is not unreasonable to infer that public charges of anti-Semitism leveled by the ADL will be taken seriously and assumed by many to be true without question. In that respect, the ADL is in a unique position of being able to cause substantial harm to individuals when it lends its backing to allegations of anti-Semitism." The judge concluded that the ADL supported the Aronsons' accusations without investigating the case, or weighing of the consequences.

	It was the first time the ADL has lost a court case.

	=== Criticism of reporting on pagan symbols ===
	The ADL publishes lists of symbols used by anti-Semitic groups. Included in these publications are several ] symbols that were used by the Nazis and neo-Nazi groups, but are also today used by non-racist pagan religions.

	Members of the ] religion ] protested that these symbols were ''wrongly'' used by hate groups, and should not be described as symbols of racism. Following an organized e-mail protest by Ásatrúar, the ADL clarified that these symbols are not necessarily racist. It has since amended its publications to categorize these symbols as "pagan symbols co-opted by extremists."

	==See also==
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]

	==External links==
	*		*
			* - segment on the ADL
	* from '']''
	* ~~from '']''~~		*
	* from the ADL's website.
	* - SF Weekly's article on the ADL and its 'HateFilter'.		* - SF Weekly's article on the ADL and its 'HateFilter'.

			Criticism
	===ADL position statements===
			*
			*

			ADL position statements:
	*		*
	*		*
Line 149:		Line 93:
	*		*
	*		*
	*		*

	===Criticism===
	* Village Voice, 1993
	* by Dr. Alfred M. Lilienthal, 1993
	* by ], 1999
	*, by the plaintiffs in the ADL spying case. 2002
	* by ], 2002
	* (from Nation of Islam)
	* (from Council on American-Islamic Relations)
	* - segment on the ADL by Chomsky
	* - from the website of Norman G. Finkelstein


			News articles:
			*
			*
			*
			* Nat Hentoff
			* - ] ] article
			*

			]
	]		]
	]
	]
	]
	]

	]
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Revision as of 15:00, 13 October 2006

The Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) is an American organization set up by B'nai B'rith whose stated aim is to fight anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry and various forms of political extremism as well as anti-Zionism through an array of programs and services. It also offers political support for the state of Israel. With an annual budget of over $40 million, the ADL has 29 offices in the USA and 3 offices in other countries, with its national headquarters located in New York City. The current director is Abraham Foxman. The national chair is Howard Berkowitz.

History

Founded in October, 1913 by Sigmund Livingston, the ADL's charter stated "The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." Livingston established the ADL in direct response to the case of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager living in the state of Georgia who had been arrested on murder charges (subsequent investigations proved that he was innocent of the crime) and then lynched by a mob earlier that year while awaiting trial.

Fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry, and racism

The stated purpose of the ADL is to fight "anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and abroad, combat international terrorism, the roots of hatred, before Congress, to the aid of victims of bigotry, educational programs, and as a public resource for government, media, law enforcement, and the public, all towards the goal of countering and reducing hatred." Historically, the ADL has opposed anti-Semitism and racism from many groups and individuals, including the Ku Klux Klan, Henry Ford, Father Charles Coughlin, leader of the Christian Front, the Christian Identity movement, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the German-American Bund and the Nation of Islam.

Fighting anti-Zionism

By far the most controversial position that the ADL takes is in its opposition to anti-Zionism, which is frequently conflated with its opposition to anti-Semitism and its political lobbying efforts on behalf of the state of Israel. These three issues are of great interest to most Jews, and there is general agreement that these issues are closely related. However, these issues are not so similar as to be identical, and the positions taken by the ADL regarding anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and the state of Israel have been criticized as being too presumptive and too generic, and of stifling discussion about Israeli policies.

The ADL made the following statement on the subject:

"Criticism of particular Israeli actions or policies in and of itself does not constitute anti-Semitism. Certainly the sovereign State of Israel can be legitimately criticized just like any other country in the world. However, it is undeniable that there are those whose criticism of Israel or of "Zionism" is used to mask anti-Semitism."

Noam Chomsky, a longstanding critic of Israeli policy, wrote in his 1989 book Necessary Illusions:

"The ADL has virtually abandoned its earlier role as a civil rights organization, becoming 'one of the main pillars' of Israeli propaganda in the U.S., as the Israeli press casually describes it, engaged in surveillance, blacklisting, compilation of FBI-style files circulated to adherents for the purpose of defamation, angry public responses to criticism of Israeli actions, and so on....These efforts, buttressed by insinuations of anti-Semitism or direct accusations, are intended to deflect or undermine opposition to Israeli policies, including Israel's refusal, with U.S. support, to move towards a general political settlement."

Chomsky, though Jewish himself, has at times been accused of anti-Semitism, a charge which he fervently denies. A discussion of the controversy surrouding this issue may be found in the articles on anti-Semitism and Noam Chomsky.

Allegations of a "Protection Racket"

Newspaper reports have alleged that ADL operatives have posed as anti-Semites and racists in order to carry out anti-Semitic or racist attacks (either alone, or as agents provocateurs), which were intended to frighten the Jewish community and aid in ADL fund-raising. One story which appeared in the national press was that of Mordechai Levy AKA Jimmy Rosenberg AKA James Guttman, who was the ADL's infiltrator into the Ku Klux Klan chapter in Trenton, New Jersey, who sought to provoke the group into bombing Trenton's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

A Feb. 13, 1970 article in the Los Angeles Times by investigative reporter Jack Nelson first revealed FBI and ADL joint patronage of the Roberts brothers in the June 30, 1968 murder of a Klanswoman named Cathy Ainsworth. At the time of the shootout in front of the Meridian, Mississippi home of ADL official Meyer Davidson, which resulted in the death of Ainsworth and the near death of her associate Thomas A. Tarrants III (who survived over 70 shotgun, rifle, and pistol wounds), Alton Wayne Roberts and six other Klansmen had already been convicted for federal civil rights violations in connection with their infamous murder of civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964. A police file report dated June 10, 1968 by Detective Luke Scarborough, confirms the Los Angeles Times report of the Ainsworth setup, namely that there was a three-way deal between the ADL, FBI, and local police in the matter, for which the ADL had provided the money.

Another sort of "protection racket" surfaced in the 1980s, when the ADL was accused of a "you-scratch-my-back, I'll-scratch-yours" relationship to certain Jewish-surnamed gangland figures: in return for financial contributions, the ADL would shield mobsters from scrutiny, claiming that said mobsters were being persecuted by Anti-Semites. Eyebrows were raised in 1985, when there appeared on the cover of the ADL's monthly Bulliten a photo of Joan Rivers presenting the ADL's "Torch of Liberty" award to the Purple Gang's Moe Dalitz at a gala affair in Las Vegas. It was accompanied by an article praising Dalitz as a great philanthropist who had donated generously to the ADL over the years.

Positions

On September 23, 2003 the ADL awarded Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi the ADL's distinguished statesman award . This in spite of Berlusconi's downplaying of the atrocities committed by the Italian Fascists. ("Mussolini never killed anyone. Mussolini used to send people on vacation in internal exile.") Berlusconi is also known for his staunch pro-Israel stance. The decision to honor Berlusconi has been widely criticised by liberal members of the American Jewish community. Similar concerns have been voiced about the ADL's increasingly friendly tone towards pro-Israel evangelical Christians like Pat Robertson.

The ADL has spoken out against red-baiting and McCarthyism.

The ADL took a role in opposing United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 that Zionism was racist, which was later overturned.

The ADL has spoken out against People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A recent press release from the ADL states that "PETA's effort to seek approval for their Holocaust on Your Plate campaign is outrageous, offensive and takes chutzpah to new heights. Rather than deepen our revulsion against what the Nazis did to the Jews, the project will undermine the struggle to understand the Holocaust and to find ways to make sure such catastrophes never happen again."

Arab and Muslim relations

The ADL has not often worked together with Arab-American and Muslim-American civil rights groups, owing to disagreement concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the ADL has on numerous occasions reached out to elements within the Islamic community and works to improve interfaith dialogue. The ADL has publicly condemned slurs and attacks against Islam. ADL publications on condemning bigotry towards Arabs, Muslims, blacks and members of other minorities have often been used in synagogue adult education programs, and as part of Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim inter-faith dialogue.

There is a separate article on Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs.

Black relations

Historically, African-Americans and the ADL worked closely together in the civil rights struggle. Since the 1970s relations have been less smooth, owing to diverging opinions on a range of issues (including affirmative action, welfare, Israel and a range of other topics).

ADL speaks out against some voices in the Black-community, especially the black supremacist group Nation of Islam. However, the ADL also works to combat racism against all racial groups, including racism against blacks. In 1997 the National Center for Black-Jewish Relations of Dillard University (a historically black university in New Orleans) awarded the director of the ADL, Abraham H. Foxman, with the first Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. - Donald R. Mintz Freedom and Justice Award.

The ADL investigated the anti-apartheid African National Congress closely, before the ANC became the ruling party in South Africa. The ADL disliked the ANC's public support of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Abe Foxman, ADL's national director, explained: "At the time we exposed the ANC, they were communist. They were violent, they were anti-Semitic, they were pro-PLO and they were anti-Israel." The ADL shared its findings with South African intelligence organisations. See the section on the ADL files, below.

Asatru relations

ADL was for a time widely criticized by asatruers for their inclusion of several Pagan symbols that have been co-opted by nazis on their page on "Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos" . Following an organized e-mail protest they have added a text stating that the symbols are not necessarily racist, but must be seen in the context as well as the section "Pagan Symbols Co-opted by Extremists."

The ADL files

Since the 1930s, the ADL has worked to amass what it calls its "famous storehouse of accurate, detailed, unassailable information on extremist individuals and organizations." Over a period of decades they created thousands of files, mostly containing newspaper, magazine and journal clippings, as well as many books, on groups that the ADL considered anti-Semitic or potentially anti-Semitic. One of its researchers was Roy Bullock, who often wrote letters to various groups and forwarded copies of their replies to the ADL, and he also maintained his own personal files on his computer.

In the early 1990s U.S. Representative Pete McCloskey (Republican, Californian) filed a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against the ADL. He claimed that information gathered about him, and others, was an invasion of privacy.

The ADL countered that like any researcher or journalist, they are entitled to research organizations and individuals. The ADL gained some support from Richard Cohen, legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. He stated that the ADL's mission to fight anti-Semitism and racism involves gathering information on such groups and publishing reports on these topics. Cohen states "They gather information however they can" and "they probably rely on their sources to draw the line" about what information legally can be given out. A major problem for the ADL is that Bullock admitted that some of the information he obtained, and then passed on to the ADL, came from former San Francisco police officer Tom Gerard; Bullock admitted that he was over-zealous, and that that the information gathered this way may have been illegal.

On April 8 1993 the ADL offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles were raided by police. It was discovered that the ADL had files on 12,000 Americans and more than 950 groups, the vast majority being newspaper clippings. Among those groups that were being tracked by the ADL were: African National Congress (ANC), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), United Auto Workers, ACT-UP, Mother Jones magazine, Greenpeace, the organization of Lyndon LaRouche, and the National Lawyers Guild.

This led to a lawsuit in which a number of Arab Muslim groups claimed that the ADL was spying on Americans. Hussein Ibish, director of communications for the ADC, claimed that the ADL was gathering data "systematically in a program whose clear intent was to undermine civil rights and Arab-American organizations." The ADL rebutted these charges, noting that no court had ever found the ADL guilty of the charges that were made against it.

The lawsuit was settled out of court in 1998. The ADL agreed to pay the court costs of the groups that sued them, and spent $25,000 to further Jewish-Muslim and Jewish-black relations.

External Links

Anti-Defamation League website
Necessary Illusions - segment on the ADL
History of the ADL
Spy vs Spite - SF Weekly's article on the ADL and its 'HateFilter'.

Criticism

ADL position statements:

News articles:

Categories: