What do we mean by vision? It can include what is seen on the surface . . . but also what is not immediately visible.

At the time of ADL's founding eight and a half decades ago, anti-Semitism could be clearly seen ­ it was blatant and institutionalized. The existence of many American Jews was at best uncomfortable, at worst precarious. Jokes and cartoons denigrated Jews, there was widespread discrimination in employment, housing and higher education, there were verbal attacks from prominent public figures and physical assaults from street gangs ­ all were facts of life.

But the League had a vision of a different America. Over the years, we have worked tirelessly ­ with others and alone ­ to bring that vision into focus.

Today, ADL can look out on a landscape of vast improvement in the lives of Jews and other minorities in America. But we also see that much remains to be done. Bigotry is a virus, and like many viruses, it has not been eradicated, but has only taken new shapes and forms. Sometimes it wears the mask of respectability, of scholarship. Sometimes it exploits wounds and grievances, whether ancient or recent. Sometimes it strikes the romantic pose of rebellion while plotting oppression and violence by one group against others.

But we also see people, in every segment of society, who say no to hatred and help others to do the same. Educators who teach students to respect, not resent, differences. Student leaders who build bridges between different groups on campuses. Holocaust survivors who recount their experiences to a new generation. Celebrities who lend their names and voices to our cause. Business executives who persuade colleagues to support our projects. Families who help children understand, from an early age, that hatred is as destructive to the hater as to the target of hate.

It is these and other good people who form the solid foundation of our work. Because for ADL, vision refers not only to how we see, but also how we are seen ­ and for all our well-publicized, well-documented efforts to create a better world, much of our best and most important work is often invisible.

In the pages that follow, you will see us more clearly.