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Portugal: A New Safe Haven for Jews?

Article

The view from the bima at Synagogue Kadoorie Mekor Haim in Portugal.

March 13, 2019 Could anti-Semitism, which drove Jews out en masse 500 years ago, drive Jews back to Portugal? By Andrew Srulevitch, Director of European Affairs With all of the bad anti-Semitism news coming out of Europe these last few weeks, it’s time for some good news. About a month ago in Porto, Portugal, I listened to Rabbi Abraham Levy of the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue of London recount the story of Torah ornaments that had traveled from Barbados,…

March 13, 2019

Now is the Time to Pass the Equality Act

Article

March 13, 2019 When the U.S. Supreme Court last summer ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple based on religious beliefs, its decision was a wake-up call – and underlined the need for further legislative action by elected officials and communities. While disappointing, the Court’s narrow decision reaffirmed the right of LGBTQ individuals to be free from discrimination, and left in place statewide nondiscrimination protections…

March 13, 2019

When a School’s Policies are Biased, ADL Steps In

Article

February 25, 2019 Mya and Deanna Cook, 15, were both excellent students, but they had been kicked off school sports teams, banished from prom, and sentenced to hours of detention for refusing to change their hair. When these twin sisters were punished by their Boston-area high school for wearing braided hair extensions, ADL helped them change their school’s controversial hair and makeup policies, which unfairly targeted students of color. ADL’s New England office received a…

February 25, 2019

Attack on a Louisiana Synagogue: You Can’t Become Complacent About Anti-Semitism—and Here’s Why

Article

December 20, 2018 Imagine the terrified, demoralizing feeling of going to your place of worship, and seeing hateful graffiti spread across its walls—graffiti that directly targets and assaults not only your faith, but who you are as a person. That’s exactly what happened in Mandeville, Louisiana on September 5, 2018, at Northshore Jewish Congregation (NJC). Imagine being Rebecca Slifkin, who worked at NJC, whose concerned neighbors came by to tell her about being shocked and…

December 20, 2018

On Rosh Hashanah 5779

Article

September 07, 2018 By: Marvin D. Nathan, National Chair Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO & National Director On Rosh Hashanah, we take time to pause to reflect on the year that has passed, and what we hope for in the year ahead. We celebrate the New Year as an opportunity to press the “reset” button, with hopes that the coming year will bring a brighter future for our people, and for the world we share together with everyone. We’ve…

September 07, 2018

What is Everyday Bias? (In English and en español)

Tools and Strategies

Pleasant Muslim Woman Being Talked About

Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Topic SummaryIt seems like we are seeing more and more news and social media stories about people experiencing bias as they go about their daily lives—riding the subway, shopping in a store, dining in a restaurant and hanging out with friends. Indeed, the surge of such stories makes it seem like racism, sexism, antisemitism and other forms of bias and discrimination are becoming more pervasive…

June 05, 2018

Anti-Semitic Robocalls Supporting Patrick Little Proliferate in California

Article

Patrick Little: "The Holocaust is a lie."

May 18, 2018 By Oren Segal | Director of the Center on Extremism Supporters of Patrick Little’s campaign for Dianne Feinstein’s U.S. Senate seat have taken up a disturbing new tactic: virulently anti-Semitic robocalls. Little, an unabashed anti-Semite and racist who attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, is polling at around 18%, well behind Feinstein in California’s party-blind June 5th…

May 18, 2018

It's Not OK for Businesses to Discriminate in the Name of Religion

Article

ADL gay wedding cake, masterpiece cake shop scotus, SCOTUS gay wedding

December 01, 2017 By David Barkey, Religious Freedom Counsel & Southeastern Area Counsel The U.S. Supreme Court soon will hear oral arguments in a case called Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Cakeshop’s owner is asking the Court do something unprecedented – allow him based on religious objections to refuse service to customers for who they are. ADL recently joined an amicus brief to the Court filed by a coalition of civil rights and religious…

December 01, 2017

Kentucky Appeals Court Issues Convoluted Decision in Pride Festival T-Shirt Case

Article

T-shirt design for the 2012 Lexington Pride Festival

May 16, 2017 Last week, the Kentucky Court of Appeals issued a convoluted decision upholding a lower court decision in a case involving LGBT Pride Festival t-shirts. The Court’s ruling overturned a local human rights commission’s determination that a business violated a county anti-discrimination ordinance when it refused to take an order from an LGBT rights organization for the t-shirts. The Lexington, KY-based Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (“GLSO…

May 16, 2017

6th Wave of Bomb Threats Targeting the Jewish Community

News

January 01, 1970 Since January, 167 bomb threats have targeted Jewish institutions across the country, including Jewish Community Centers, schools, synagogues and ADL offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Atlanta and Boston. To date, one man has been arrested in connection with eight of these threats. (Note: Use the slider at the bottom of the interactive map to view the progression of incidents, and click on the institution types in the legend to toggle. Map is being…

March 07, 2017

Westboro Baptist Church

Profile

For Law Enforcement This document is an archived copy of an older ADL report and may not reflect the most current facts or developments related to its subject matter. Introduction The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a small virulently homophobic, anti-Semitic hate group that regularly stages protests around the country, often several times a week. The group pickets institutions and individuals they think suppor t homosexuality or otherwise subvert what they believe is…

February 08, 2017

Interview with Ami Polonsky, Children's Book Author

Podcast

For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers In this podcast, Ami Polonsky talks about why she wrote the book, how parents and teachers can discuss gender and transgender identity with young people and the importance of being an ally. Ami Polonsky is a children’s book author and teacher. Published in 2014, Gracefully Grayson, a middle grade book, is her debut. Formerly a Chicago Public Schools teacher, Ami spent nine years out of the classroom to…

January 31, 2017

What the Women’s March Teaches Us about Intersectionality

Article

January 24, 2017 On Saturday, January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, 500,000 people gathered in Washington, DC for the Women’s March–to express their unity for women’s issues and to speak out against the demonizing and hateful rhetoric that pervaded the past election cycle. An additional 400,000 marched in New York City , 250,000 in Chicago and according to Women’s March organizers, there were 673 “sister marches&rdquo…

January 24, 2017

Pokemon GO, A Popular Game with Some Troubling Consequences

Article

by: Jinnie Array July 13, 2016 The Pokémon GO app is a hybrid virtual and real world game. The game’s objective is to use a smartphone to find, see and capture/collect virtual Pokémon characters. Many players find the game highly engaging, entertaining and even addictive. Pokémon characters are apparently randomly distributed on the game’s map, but can also be collected at “Pokestops,” locations in the real world based on points…

July 13, 2016

Protecting All People

News

July 14, 2016 Most police enter the profession with the best reasons: They want to protect people who can’t protect themselves, give back to their communities and secure justice. To help law enforcement professionals stay true to their core values, ADL and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) created a powerful program, Law Enforcement and Society (LEAS), in 1999. LEAS spurs law enforcement professionals today to reflect on their mission. The program traces the changing role of…

July 14, 2016

A BDS Win at Brown University

News

by: Robert Trestan | March 24, 2016 The Times of Israel There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Janet Mock’s decision to cancel her “Redefining Realness” talk at Brown University this week. Ms. Mock, a transgender best-selling author, canceled her talk following pressure from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to reject the invitation due to Brown Hillel’s involvement. SJP cannot have it both ways — advocating to muzzle a speaker…

March 24, 2016

Turning Current Events Instruction Into Social Justice Teaching

Article

by: David Robbins March 11, 2016 Jinnie Spiegler Director of Curriculum, Anti-Defamation League This blog originally appeared on Edutopia Marriage equality, refugees seeking safety in Europe, the Confederate flag, police shootings of black and Latino men, the presidential election, Caitlyn Jenner, ISIS, and immigration are just a few of the news stories that inhabited the headlines this year on our phones, laptops, and newspapers. Unlike 20 years ago when…

March 11, 2016

‘That’s So Gay’: Language That Hurts, and How to Stop It

Article

January 21, 2014 The phrase "that’s so gay" has persisted as a way for students to describe things they do not like, find annoying or generally want to put down, while it is promising that fewer students are hearing homophobic slurs than in previous years. The phrase is used so commonly that many students no longer recognize it as homophobic because it is “what everyone says.” When educators and other adults intervene, common student responses include “I was just…

January 21, 2014

Resolution on Criminal Justice Reform

Backgrounder

WHEREAS, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, holding approximately 2.3 million people in prisons and jails on any given day; and WHEREAS, the number of people incarcerated has increased almost eight times since 1980, largely as a result of the “War on Drugs” and “tough on crime” policies created in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; and WHEREAS, even after release from prison, collateral consequences make it extremely difficult for…

March 01, 2017

ADL and the LGBT Community: A Commitment to Equal Rights

Backgrounder

For Educators | For Law Enforcement | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers The Anti-Defamation League has a longstanding commitment to protecting civil rights, and has been a key partner in advancing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights. At the federal, state, and local levels, ADL has advocated in support of anti-discrimination statutes, for strong and inclusive hate crime and bullying prevention laws, and for marriage equality. In addition, as one of the nation’s…

September 01, 2016