New York, NY, June 24, 2010 … A group of students representing U.S. colleges and universities experienced Israel firsthand during an eight-day trip designed to give campus leaders a fuller picture of the land and its people. The students, selected by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to participate in its annual ADL Campus Leaders Mission to Israel, traveled inIsraelon June 7-17, where they met with representatives of the culturally, politically and religiously diverse population and…

New York, NY, June 24, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called a resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE), which urges an investigation into the flotilla incident yet declares Israel's actions illegal, "inexplicable."  Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement: It is inexplicable that the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe would call for an investigation of the flotilla incident while at the same…

New York, NY, June 22, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today applauded the New York State Senate for passing broad anti-bullying and anti-harassment legislation that will protect children in the state's public schools. ADL's New York Region is a leading member of a coalition that has been working in support of The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) for nearly a decade. The coalition includes the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education…

Phoenix, AZ, June 22, 2010 … Calling Arizona's restrictive new law on immigration, "ill-conceived and misguided," the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for Arizona in an effort to stop the legislation from going into effect. Miriam Weisman, ADL Arizona Regional Chair, and Bill Straus, ADL Arizona Regional Director, issued the following statement: Rather than making Arizona more secure, we believe this law will have the opposite effect…

New York, NY, June 21, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, a case in which ADL had asked the nation's highest court to uphold laws prohibiting the supply of material support or providing resources to foreign terrorist organizations. ADL's brief, which brought the League's substantive expertise on terrorist organizations to the attention of the Court, was cited by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr…

New York, NY, June 18, 2010 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed Governor David A. Paterson's effort to ensure civil rights protections for all New York students. In a proposal transmitted to the state legislature, the governor is seeking to clarify that New York State discrimination protections do in fact apply to public schools and school districts. Due to ambiguity in the language of the current statute known as the New York Human Rights Law, there is a legal question as to…

Cleveland, OH, June 17, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) applauded federal law enforcement officials for their investigation leading to the arrests earlier this month of two Toledo residents charged with conspiring to provide material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Hor I. Akl, and his wife, Amera A. Akl, both 37 and dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, are accused of attempting to arrange a transfer of $500,000 to Hezbollah in…

New York, NY, June 17, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today applauded Italy for its plan to establish a new state police office to monitor, analyze and counteract hate crimes. The initiative comes in response to recent acts of religious and racial discrimination in Italy. "We strongly support Italy's effort to improve the safety of its citizens and its willingness to recognize the seriousness of hate crimes," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "This important…

New York, NY, June 17, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed the European Union's decision today to enact serious sanctions against Iran, which target Iran's oil and gas sectors and tighten financial and trade prohibitions. Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement: Serious sanctions must target Iran's oil exports. Oil revenues are the economic basis for the regime's survival, the one thing the regime values higher than nuclear weapons. …

New York, NY, June 17, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the Treasury Department's announcement of new sanctions on Iran, including the first set of actions in response to the president's call for vigorous enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929. Treasury has designated the Post Bank of Iran and two additional affiliates of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as among those isolated from the U.S. financial and commercial systems due…

June 16, 2010, Atlanta, GA ... The Anti-Defamation League today commended the Savannah police and Federal authorities for investigating whether the assault of a 26-year-old gay man by two U.S. Marines meets the criteria for prosecution under the new Matthew Shepard James Byrd, Jr. Federal Hate Crimes Act.  The victim, Kieran Daly, says he was struck in the back of the head in a confrontation with Keil Joseph Cronauer and Christopher Charles Stanzel, who are…

New York, NY, June 16, 2010 … Acerbic and hate-filled statements by President Hugo Chavez and other Venezuelan government leaders are once again contributing to a climate of rising anti-Semitism in Venezuela, where extreme criticism of Israel "continues to be used as a political tool." According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), recent statements from Chavez and others in the government fit into a pattern of extreme anti-Israel rhetoric from Venezuela's current leaders. In the…

Nueva York, NY, 16 de junio de 2010...Severas y odiosas afirmaciones del Presidente Hugo Chávez y otros líderes del gobierno venezolano contribuyen una vez más a un clima de creciente antisemitismo en Venezuela, donde las críticas extremas contra Israel "siguen siendo utilizadas como herramienta política". Según la Liga Antidifamación (ADL, por sus siglas en inglés), las recientes afirmaciones de Chávez y otros miembros del…

Costa Mesa, CA, June 14, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today applauded the University of California, Irvine's decision to sanction the Muslim Students Union (MSU) for their organized attempt to silence Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. The university's investigation into the matter uncovered evidence that members of the MSU organized a calculated demonstration at Ambassador Oren's speech in violation of university policy against disorderly conduct, obstructing university…

San Francisco, CA, June 14, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown's use of Nazi imagery, when he compared political opponent Meg Whitman's campaign methods to those of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, deeply offensive and inappropriate.  According to the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Brown told a Bay Area radio station that, "It's like Goebbels. Goebbels invented this kind of propaganda. He took control of the whole…

New York, NY, June 14, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has overwhelmingly reaffirmed its commitment to the fight for equal educational opportunity and at the same time rejected a proposal to change its long-standing opposition to school vouchers. In a resolution adopted today, the League's National Executive Committee expressed concern over the current state of nation's public education system, observing that, for many reasons, "the current system . . . is failing to educate the…

New York, NY, June 14, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the government of Israel’s establishment of a panel to investigate the May 31 Gaza flotilla incident, saying it should "silence the biased rush to judgment against Israel." The Israel Defense Forces is also conducting its own internal investigation into the operation, to examine "the outcomes and lessons learned from the operation." Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL…

New York, NY, June 14, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed appreciation to the United States Mission in Geneva for its condemnation of a Syrian diplomat's statement alluding to the ancient blood libel against Jews. The League voiced outrage, however, that the president of the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) has yet to denounce the hateful remark, which is now part of the body's official record. In a June 8 speech before the HRC, Syrian representative Rania Al Rifaiy,…

New York, NY, June 9, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the adoption by the United Nations Security Council of Resolution 1929 on Iran, which it said must serve as "a springboard" for additional national sanctions. Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement: The resolution provides an international basis and a springboard for strong national sanctions to be coordinated among like-minded…

New York, NY, June 8, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on the U.S. Department of State to designate two of the principal organizers and funders of the "Free Gaza" flotilla as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Long before Insani Yardim Vakfi (Humanitarian Relief Fund, or IHH in Turkish) and The Union of Good (UG) raised their profiles as the main supporters of the Gaza-bound flotilla, both organizations had emerged as significant players in fundraising for the…