Long an ADL concern, the plight of the millions of Jews still trapped in the Soviet Union took priority in the 1980's. Initiating a powerful media campaign, ADL created and disseminated provocative pamphlets, posters and other materials decrying Soviet violations of human rights and urging the U.S.S.R. to allow Jews to emigrate. The League compiled and sent lists of 11,000 refuseniks to Congressional leaders.

Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents

Compelled to battle anti-Semitism on American shores as well, ADL began publishing its widely quoted annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents. Countering not just anti-Semitic acts but all hate crimes, ADL pioneered the development of the penalty-enhancement approach for bias-related crimes. Continuing its mission to unmask and condemn bigotry, the League exposed the anti-Semitism of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

A growing religious right movement prompted ADL to release reports warning that the traditional "wall of separation" between church and state was becoming "transparent." ADL filed amicus briefs in cases dealing with thorny issues such as Christmas observances in public schools, publicly sponsored sectarian displays and Federal aid to parochial schools.

As the leader in the field of human relations, ADL made dramatic inroads in diversity-awareness and anti-bias training in the mid-1980's. In 1985, ADL and WCVB-TV in Boston initiated the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE campaign to combat prejudice, promote democratic ideals and strengthen pluralism. Launching the award-winning A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE program nationally, ADL began providing anti-bias training for classrooms, college campuses, corporate settings and law enforcement professionals. The innovative program grew at an astonishing rate, expanding from city to city as well as internationally, reaching more than 300,000 elementary and secondary school teachers and 1 million students to date in public, private and parochial schools.

A revisionist publication.

Mounting disturbances in the West Bank and Gaza, as the intifada escalated, prompted a rise in anti-Israel sentiments on college campuses nationwide. ADL responded to anti-Semitic incidents on campuses and provided guidelines for students, faculty and administrators in confronting extremist speakers spreading anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages. When Holocaust deniers launched a campaign to flood campus newspapers with advertisements doubting the extermination of 6 million Jews, ADL countered with an effective advertising campaign exposing the revisionists and counseling student editors on the fine line between free speech and spreading messages of hate.

Next: 1990-2000