by: Kenneth Jacobson | July 27, 2016 The Times of Israel Upon hearing the initial report that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was asking the Arab League to sue Great Britain for its Balfour Declaration of 1917, I thought this must be a satire of the sort put out by The Onion. I was wrong as it turned out. Apparently, Abbas is serious. So let’s treat his initiative seriously.
The Balfour Declaration, a statement by the then Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, Lord Balfour,…
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July 14, 2016
It has been a rough summer as the topic of guns, violence, police and bias scream across the news headlines and our smart phones.
Still reeling from the June 12 massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, a few short weeks later we watched on video the back-to-back shooting deaths by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, MN. Just a day later, as cities across the country engaged in protests over these…
by: Jonathan Greenblatt July 07, 2016 This blog originally appeared in Medium.
As we approach the first anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) it is an appropriate time to reassess the merits of the deal. ADL was among the nuclear deal’s critics.
Beyond the nuclear restraints it would impose on Iran, our concern is that it would normalize an expansionist, militant regime whose unrepentant and fundamentalist ideology was not tamed by the deal.
Unlike…
by: Shaya Lerner Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, which takes place on the last Friday of Ramadan, was initiated in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, as a show of solidarity with the Palestinians and to assert the Islamic claim over Jerusalem. While events are held around the world, in Iran, it is often marked by a hateful demonstration of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment, manifest in government organized rallies and other activities. Before this…
by: Jinnie Array June 14, 2016
The unspeakable tragedy that took place at the Pulse Club in Orlando, FL in the early morning of June 12 brings with it a wide range of emotions for people across the country and world. Those feelings include anger, sorrow, loss, hopelessness, horror, fear, rage and also—a sense of powerlessness. It is easy to feel powerless when you think there is nothing you can do: nothing you can do about the hate, the gun violence, the terrorism and the extremist…
by: Oren Segal May 19, 2016
The 15th issue of Inspire, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)’s English language magazine, released on May 14, provides readers with instructions for murdering “the intelligentsia, economic and influential personalities of America.” Such attacks, claims the magazine, are “easy options that do not require huge efforts or man power, but the result is parallel to the big operations or…
by: Shaya Lerner Iran’s newest “Holocaust contest” exhibition opened on May 14 in a gallery in Tehran. According to Iranian news reports, the contest received over 864 submissions from participants around the world. Of those, 150 cartoons from 50 countries were accepted, with representation of cartoonists from Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Peru, Syria, Turkey and Yemen, among others. Contest organizer Masoud Shojai Tabatabaei insisted the event was not to…
by: Shaya Lerner On May 14, 2016, the second international Holocaust Cartoon Contest exhibition will open in Iran, with the first place winner – reportedly to be announced in June – receiving a large cash prize. According to reports in the Iranian press, the May 14th date was chosen to coincide with Nakba Day (catastrophe day), the term used by Palestinian to refer to the events surrounding Israel’s independence in 1948. The contest reportedly received over 800…
June 10, 2016 What’s it like to be a Jew in Norway? Frankly, it’s complicated.
With a population of less than 2,000 Jews, Norway is a place where “Jew” is a curse used frequently against Jewish schoolchildren. Yet it’s also a society where Jewish life proceeds freely, and the Norwegian government works to end anti-Semitism.
“We’re not finished with anti-Semitism in Norway,” says Rabbi Joav Melchior, rabbi of the Jewish Community of Oslo. …
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | March 16, 2016 New York Daily News On many occasions in recent years, the Anti-Defamation League I lead has spoken out as politicians, celebrities and other public figures tried making a point about a controversial subject by invoking the Holocaust. The analogy has shown up inappropriately in countless discussions of public policy because it is the most available historical event illustrating right versus wrong.
Abortion? It was said to be an “ongoing…
by: Shaya Lerner Despite the international community’s reengagement with a more “open” and “moderate” Iran, some things in Iranian society haven’t changed, including the prevalence of Holocaust mockery and denial. While President Rouhani hasn’t touted the issue like his predecessor Ahmadinejad had, recent announcements indicate that the questioning of the Holocaust is very much alive and well within Iranian society. In December, the Tehran…
by: Oren Segal February 18, 2016
Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan was provided with an opportunity to promote his typical anti-Semitic conspiracy theories last week in Iran.
Farrakhan was a “special guest” at multiple high-level events and met with current and former Iranian government officials including Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati. Farrakhan was also reportedly the guest of honor at a ceremony unveiling a new…
by: Oren Segal January 22, 2016
Over the past month, escalating tension in the Middle East between Iran and the Arab Gulf States helped fuel a resurgence of anti-Semitic statements and conspiracy theories about a supposed link between Israel and Jews to Iran.
Angered by Iran’s increasing influence in the region, prominent Arab figures including politicians, religious leaders and journalists have accused Jews and Israel of secretly supporting Iran and Shi’a Muslims in their war…
Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current Events
For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | 12 and up Talking with Children about Gun ViolenceThe issue of gun violence and mass shootings is in the news frequently. Young people are usually aware of what is happening and will want to talk about it. However, it is a sensitive, scary, and potentially painful topic. Before raising the matter with young people, consider your child’s personality. To what extent will the conversation…
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | October 27, 2015 PBS - Religion & Ethics Newsweekly The promulgation, on October 28, 1965, of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Church’s Relations with Non-Christian Religions, may be the most important moment is post-Holocaust Jewish-Christian relations and interfaith relations writ large.
In its fourth chapter, Nostra Aetate effectively overturned centuries of what the noted French Jewish historian…
ADL Launches "50 States Against Hate," New Campaign for Tougher Hate Crimes Laws All Across the Country Atlanta, GA, August 17, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today announced the formation of a new campaign to improve legal response to hate crimes across the United States. 50 States Against Hate: An Initiative for Stronger Hate Crime Laws will work toward the passage of hate crime laws in the five states which do not have them – Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina…
December 31, 2015 Argentina
October 18, 2015 - Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos – A Jewish cemetery was desecrated with a swastika.
August 25, 2015 - Buenos Aires – “Jew and mobster” were spray painted on a subway station in reference to Mauricio Macri, head of the government of the City of Buenos Aires and a presidential candidate.
August 1, 2015 – Sauce Viejo, Santa Fe – Graffiti reading &ldquo…
June 22, 2015
As we grieve, protest and further investigate the horrific murder of nine African American parishioners at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, many people are asking: What should we tell the children?
Parents, family members and others are sometimes uneasy about discussing issues of violence and injustice with children because they want to protect them from terrible and scary topics. However, it is important that children have a language for…
by: Naomi Mazin April 01, 2015
This week, the world lost a true hero. Dr. Leon Bass, who turned his personal and life-altering experiences with racism and anti-Semitism into opportunities to educate, inspire action in others and bear, in word, deed and character, the mandate of “Never Again,” died on Saturday, March 28th at the age of 90. ADL joins the world in mourning his loss.
As a young man, Leon Bass grew up in a country divided by racial prejudice. He often shared…
Crime in the Name of Hate For Law Enforcement Read the full comprehensive report, The Aryan Circle: Crime in the Name of Hate (PDF).
The Aryan Circle is a large, growing and dangerous white supremacist prison gang based primarily in Texas, though it has a presence in a number of other states. It is active both in prisons and on the streets. It is an extreme and violent group, with a long track record of murder, including the deaths of two police officers in Bastrop, Louisiana, in…