by: Kenneth Jacobson May 17, 2017 This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel
With the announcement of Donald Trump's first visit to Israel next week, it is useful to consider what would constitute a successful trip.
President Trump has been talking, in his inimitable way, about restarting peace negotiations and even solving this decades-old conflict that has confounded so many others.
In this respect, he is exhibiting similarities to other Presidents who looking out for…
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Following the end of the Six Day War there was great debate within Israel about what to do with the territories gained during the war, which included East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.
Some in Israel advocated an immediate withdrawal from the territories. Others supported a withdrawal only in exchange for peace with the surrounding Arab countries. And some, euphoric over the reunification of Jerusalem and control over Judaism’s…
Israel preemptively attacked Egypt on June 5, 1967. After a month of increasing regional tensions escalated by Egypt (spurred on by the Soviets) and failed diplomatic efforts to calm the situation, Israel’s leaders believed they had no choice but to strike first. Within hours, Jordan and Syrian forces attacked Israelis forces.
In May 1967, events in the region led Israel to expect that an Arab attack was imminent. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had ordered a withdrawal of the…
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt
Haaretz While there was anticipation in some quarters that Hamas’s announcement of a new charter would signal a change, it turns out it was much ado about nothing. Hamas remains a deeply anti-Semitic organization committed to the path of terror and to the denial of Israel’s right to exist. Its new charter does little to advance peace but does much to sustain conflict.
Ahead of the rumored changes, reports circulated that offered hope in…
ADL responds to an article in The New York Times titled "Hamas Tempers Extreme Stances in Bid for Power” which appeared on May 2, 2017. Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
To the Editor:
The story of a new Hamas statement of principles, with all the fuss and anticipation, is much ado about nothing. On the core of Hamas’s attitudes and policies toward Israel, nothing has changed.
For Hamas, there is only one legitimate authority in the Holy Land. Israel,…
May 01, 2017 By Susan Heller Pinto
Associate Director of International Affairs and Director of Middle Eastern Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League
This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel
I feel like I have spent the better part of 2017 in meetings discussing and planning for portentous anniversaries in the history of Zionism and Israel. This year, after all, marks the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress (August 1897); the centennial year of the Balfour…
ADL letter to the public editor concerning convicted Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti. Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
To the Public Editor:
We appreciate your comments about the Times failure with regard to the article by Marwan Barghouti. Unfortunately, it did not go far enough nor did the newspaper's clarification.
Yes, Mr. Barghouti was not merely a Palestinian parliamentarian. He was convicted of murder by an Israeli court.
Also important…
This letter was written in response to an article that appeared in The Nation regarding zionism and feminism. Letters to the Editor
The Nation
To the Editor:
My parents came to Israel from Morocco, a country where Jews and Muslims lived together in harmony for centuries. They instilled in me and my siblings a loving humanism that demands we treat people of different race, gender, and religion with equal respect. As an Israeli woman, I inhabit multiple identities…
December 21, 2016 Editor’s Note:A Muslim academic and a Jewish interfaith rabbi recently sat down together for a discussion about the spate of hate crimes that have taken place in the aftermath of the 2016 election campaign and what can happen with Jews and Muslims work together to combat hate speech.
The following conversation between Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, Director of the Holocaust and Genocide Institute at Manhattan College, and Rabbi David Sandmel, Director of Interreligious…
December 01, 2016 There has been a lot of debate lately about whether media outlets should use the term “alt right.” Some argue that the term whitewashes or normalizes a grouping that is, at its core, racist and anti-Semitic. The problem is not so much with the term “alt right” but in how people define or not define it. It is crucial that whenever the term “alt right” is used, it be defined clearly and put in the proper context.
The…
New York, NY, November 30, 2016 … As xenophobic and hate-filled rhetoric dominates political discourse in Europe and the United States, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Human Rights First (HRF) today released a report analyzing hate crime data in the Organization for Society and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region.
The report documents the failure of OSCE participating States to uphold their commitments to record and prevent hate crimes. …
New York, NY, October 13, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned yet another in a series of resolutions passed today by the UNESCO Executive Board, which, it said, “essentially expunges the 3,000 years of Jewish connection to Jerusalem.”
Similar resolutions have been adopted by UNESCO political bodies in the past. The resolution passed today continued to refer to the Temple Mount/Holy Sanctuary solely by its Islamic name, Haram al Sharif, and referred to…
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | September 23, 2016 JTA Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ statement before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday revived old hatreds more than it broke new ground. It was little more than a rote diatribe against Israel and a call for international pressure to coerce the Jewish state in place of the hard give and take that happens at the negotiating table. It shed light on why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has endured so long through…
September 23, 2016 Benjamin Netanyahu
Office of the Prime Minister
Jerusalem, Israel
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
We are writing to congratulate you on your stirring and effective address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Your call to President Mahmoud Abbas to meet you in person and to address the Knesset, your condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack in Duma and your words of empathy for the Dawabsha family, along with your expression of hope for peace,…
by: Jonathan A. Greenblatt | September 13, 2016 Foreign Policy If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s purpose was to criticize the Palestinian leadership, there are many issues he could have raised in his latest short video posted on Sept. 9. He could have spoken about their celebration of terrorists, or he could have raised their demonization of Israel through anti-Semitic conspiracy theories or their repeated rejection of any Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. He could…
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…
Expresses Disappointment for Church’s Endorsement of Report Calling for Alternatives to Two State Solution New York, NY, June 27, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed disappointment at a number of problematic Israel-focused motions endorsed last week by the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, including a report calling on the church to explore alternatives to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an overture advocating the church study…
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…
May 27, 2016 In April, ADL sent a letter to G4S recognizing its public statement that its decision to sell its business in Israel was unrelated to pressures from BDS campaigns. In the public statement, G4S said it “reiterates that it does not support the anti-Israel boycott by BDS or any other group.”
This letter was sent following consultation with sources, including in Israel, who indicated that BDS has not been a motivating factor in G4S’s decision. Our…