About ADL
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.
About ADL’s Work with Law Enforcement
As the world’s leading anti-hate organization, ADL works closely with law enforcement to assist them in protecting communities from antisemitism, extremism and hate. This work is rooted in ADL’s mission “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.”
ADL provides agencies and officers with resources and professional development opportunities to help them prevent and respond to hate crimes and antisemitic incidents, identify emerging threats, disrupt extremist violence and protect the people and communities they serve.
ADL believes law enforcement has a fundamental obligation to preserve civil rights and liberties in a democracy and is instrumental to efforts to protect people and communities from hate crimes and extremism. With that in mind, ADL provides trainings and educational opportunities for law enforcement related to:
- Responding to extremist and terrorist threats
- Combatting hate crimes
- Understanding the role of law enforcement as guardians of the Constitution and individual rights
Attendees are not trained on physical tactics in any of our trainings or programs for law enforcement.
About ADL’s Leadership Seminar in Israel for American Law Enforcement
From 1987-2019, ADL brought small groups of senior American law enforcement leaders to Israel for a week-long seminar designed to increase their understanding of extremist and terrorist violence, mass casualty attacks and community resilience.
International exchanges between US law enforcement and their counterparts in many countries around the globe are common and facilitate sharing of best practices and strategies to combat threats to public safety, including drug trafficking, violent extremism, and counter-terrorism.
The seminar in Israel consisted of briefings, presentations and site visits, which allowed participants to meet with their counterparts in the Israel National Police (INP), and gain insights into the lessons they have learned in preventing and responding to terror attacks and strengthening community resilience in the face of terrorist attacks. They learned about the INP’s efforts to serve Israeli minority communities. Participants also met with Palestinian law enforcement leaders, and over the course of their visit heard a variety of perspectives on contemporary issues related to security, extremism and terrorism.
This seminar was educational in nature and the itinerary included a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s renowned Holocaust Museum and research center, as well as visits to Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy sites.
The seminar provided participants with insights into how Israeli law enforcement responds to terrorism, including best practices in information sharing, building societal resilience and quickly returning affected communities to a normal state of operations after these incidents. In addition, through meeting with Palestinian law enforcement leaders, participants learned about the importance of cooperation in such complex settings and specific local challenges. The seminar enabled the U.S. law enforcement leaders to better consider the prevention, preparation and response to terrorist threats, active shooters, and mass casualty attacks in their own communities.
See firsthand accounts from past U.S. law enforcement participants in ADL’s Leadership Seminar in Israel:
Responding to Allegations that ADL’s Israel Seminar for Law Enforcement is Responsible for Racist Policing Practices and Police Brutality in the U.S.
There has been racism in the U.S. for centuries, and it has existed within our law enforcement and criminal justice systems. These problems were not imported to the U.S.
Blaming Israel for these grave and serious issues only serves as a distraction from legitimate problems that we as a nation need to confront.
This charge has been propagated by ideological critics of Israel who seek to inject alleged Israeli – and at times American Jewish – complicity into issues of American societal injustice. Those who make this spurious argument have focused more on tarring Israel than promoting real solutions to confronting and transforming American inequities and abuses.
More Responses to Allegations Regarding Israel Trips for U.S. Law Enforcement
- Blaming Israel for U.S. police brutality doesn’t make sense
- My trip to Israel did not involve protest-suppression training at all
- More than 1,000 senior US police officers have visited Israel. Here’s what they learn from Israel’s police force – and why it’s controversial
- I Am the Architect of the U.S.-Israel Police Exchange. Don’t Believe the Lies
- GILEE: Enhancing public safety through law enforcement executive development (Video)