This has been a year of great contrasts for those things that matter to ADL. The nomination of Joseph Lieberman as Democratic vice-presidential candidate and the way the American people received him were very heartening. It was a confirmation of how far America has come in its attitudes toward Jews.

On the other hand, the campaign saw a proliferation of religious appeals by all the candidates. At times, the campaign seemed to be a competition for who is the most religious individual and how much religion would influence the government of the nation. In our belief that both government and religion benefit from keeping the two separate in our society, ADL spoke out whenever comments on religion went over the edge.

It was also a year that state hate crimes legislation, the model for which was developed by ADL, reached another milestone when New York joined 42 other states in passing strong legislation. But the struggle for federal legislation, which is vital to close gaps and provide a national impetus to work against this social evil, was stalled in Congress and now faces an uphill struggle.

In the area of education, ADL continued to expand its efforts both here and abroad to strengthen learning against bias, most particularly through ADL's partnership with Barnes & Noble in our "Close the Book on Hate" campaign. New challenges appeared, however, as voucher programs ­ the use of federal money provided to parents to pay for parochial education ­ became a more prominent part of the national dialogue. ADL clearly put forth its position that vouchers are bad both because they violate church-state separation and because they would significantly weaken the public school system, the vital institution in uniting a pluralistic society.

A year of contrast was also manifested in the interfaith arena. In an historic visit to Israel, Pope John Paul II culminated years of reaching out to the Jewish people on the subject of anti-Semitism, the State of Israel, and the legitimacy of Judaism in the eyes of the Church. ADL's Jerusalem Office worked overtime to educate the people of Israel, as well as the world media, as to the significance and meaning of the changes in the Church.

At the same time, a number of issues continued to divide the Church and the Jewish community. ADL spoke out, through Interfaith Affairs, about the failure of the Vatican to come to grips with the conduct of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust; the Church's effort to beatify Pius IX, who was involved in the seizing and forcible conversion of a Jewish child in the 19th Century; and a new Church document which raised questions about the legitimacy of Judaism, among other non-Catholic religions.

Finally, regarding the conflict in the Middle East, there were visual images of Israel which were seen by many as distorting the nature of the situation. In particular, the TV shots of Israelis apparently shooting at young Palestinians too often failed to take into account that Palestinians with weapons were frequently shooting at Israelis from behind the children. Others wondered why Palestinian leaders were placing children in danger ­ and why the media were not asking the same questions.

On the other hand, ADL found that many in the media understood what this latest conflict was about. In a survey of major newspaper editorials in this country, ADL revealed that the majority understood Israel's position; as The Washington Post noted, Israel had made a generous offer to the Palestinians for peace and a Palestinian state, only to be met with Palestinian rejection and violence. We noted polls of the American people showed a 4-1 level of greater sympathy with the Israelis than with the Palestinians.

These contrasting developments throughout the year have reinforced ADL in its mission. The progress that has been made was satisfying in telling us that our work to make America a better society is paying dividends. The unique combination of ADL's short-term activity to expose and combat hatred, together with our long-term programs to change the hearts and minds of people, young and old, is finding a resonance in our country and beyond. Yet the issues that still bedevil us are reminders there is much work to be done.

We will continue to stand up for Jewish security whenever it is threatened, to expose and condemn extremists promoting hatred, and work to enlighten peoples and societies on the virtues of diversity and the need to reject bigotry. 

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