(Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Intermountain Jews News of Colorado on June 10, 2011.  It is reprinted here with permission.)
                                         

IN 1941, a group of Denver Jewish leaders — led by Col. Melvin Schlesinger and including such notables as Lou Isaacson, A.B. Hirschfeld, Max Goldberg and Emmett Heitler — started a regional office of the Anti-Defamation League in Denver.

Some say it was the first regional office ever organized outside of Chicago, where ADL was founded in 1913, and New York, where ADL is headquartered.

ADL will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a platinum gala, June 14, at Mile High Station, 5:30 p.m. to 8. p.m.

Colorado was a difficult place for Jews and other minorities in 1941. Only a few years before, the Ku Klux Klan was a powerhouse in local politics. Hitler had invaded Poland, occupied most of Europe and threatened England.

American isolationists blamed Jews for trying to involve the country in the European war, and radio preachers broadcast virulent anti-Semitism.

Discrimination was widespread in housing, public accommodations, employment, and education.

ADL's mission then was the same as it is today: "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all."

According to Mountain States Regional Director Scott Levin, "ADL has recognized since its inception that the fight against hatred and bigotry cannot succeed unless we address all of its manifestations — not just anti-Semitism."

For 70 years, ADL has pursued its mission under the leadership of regional directors — J. Harold Saks, Lou Sidman, Mickey Freed and Haskell Lazere in the 1940's and 1950's; Sheldon Steinhauser, 1957 to 1985; Saul Rosenthal, 1985 to 2001; and Bruce DeBoskey, 2002 to 2010.

Levin began his tenure as regional director at the end of last year.

Reflecting on the support he and the other directors have received, Levin stated, "All of us have been assisted by a host of able board and staff members. Today, we aspire to follow the examples of those who have worked for so long to eradicate hate and build a culture of respect."

STUART Pack, chair of the Mountain States Region of ADL, notes, "A review of the past 70 years demonstrates that ADL's efforts have improved our community."

In the 1940s and 1950s, ADL's efforts helped to pass Colorado's first laws banning discrimination in employment and housing.

In the 1960s, ADL was an active participant in the civil rights movement, working for voting rights and equal treatment for all.

Issues in the 1970s ranged from the local to the international, as ADL confronted neo-Nazi groups, challenged the use of racial and ethnic identification by Denver schools and the state personnel board, and advocated for Soviet Jews and Israel in the face of boycotts, discrimination and terrorist activity.

Many of ADL's current signature activities were born in the 1980s, including the first Governor's Holocaust remembrance program, the Catholic-Jewish dialogue and the award-winning A World of Difference Institute, which works in schools, workplaces and communities.

ADL also continued to expose the growth of extremist groups, and worked hard for the adoption of Colorado's first hate crimes law.

ADL's agenda in the 1990s included increased efforts to reach young people with a message of inclusion and acceptance. An example is the Robert B. Sturm Youth Leadership Mission, with its trips for high school students from diverse backgrounds to Washington, DC, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

ADL also began to train law enforcement officers on hate crimes and worked with the Colorado Attorney General to provide a curriculum on anti-bias policing.

Since 2000, ADL has continued its work in a contemporary setting.

ADL established a satellite office in Boulder.

In response to allegations of religious coercion and harassment at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, ADL has worked with the Academy to develop a curriculum on religious respect.

ADL launched a Holocaust education program, "Echoes and Reflections," in conjunction with Yad Vashem and the USC Shoah Foundation Institute.

ADL's No Place for Hate initiative began in 2008. Pack noted the success of this initiative, "We are pleased that No Place for Hate will reach over 41,000 students during the upcoming school year."

ADL's anti-bias education efforts have also added a focus on cyberbullying.

ADL has advocated since 2000 for the expansion of Colorado's hate crimes laws and anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation.

It continues to speak out against hateful rhetoric in the debate on immigration policy.

ADL's law enforcement training has grown to train hundreds of law enforcement officers each year, and it continues to be a respected resource for law enforcement.

ADL also combats new forms of anti-Semitism, including the use of classic stereotypes about Jews in anti-Israel messages.

Regional Director Levin provided examples of how ADL responds to incidents of concern.

"When the Colorado High School Activities Assn. refused to change its playoff schedule to allow the Denver Jewish Day School (then Herzl-RMHA) basketball team to compete without violating Shabbat, ADL took action," Levin says.

"When insurance companies raised rates or denied coverage to people who travel to Israel, ADL went to the state legislature and achieved the passage of a new law prohibiting such discrimination.

"As it has for all of its 70 years in Colorado, ADL will continue to forge important alliances with community groups, monitor extremism and speak out against all forms of hatred and bigotry," Levin says of ADL's future plans.

He also notes that other persistent issues in its core mission will continue to be addressed: "ADL will continue to stand up for religious liberty and the separation of church and state, as well as efforts to achieve a lasting and secure peace in the Middle East."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.