May 1, 2022
Thank you for that kind introduction. I am so glad to welcome you – leaders from coast to coast committed to the fight against antisemitism and hate.
I don’t need to tell you how important and pressing this work is. All of you know this from the work you do in your communities. You know when a synagogue or cemetery is desecrated. You know the families who have to comfort their children after a slur is hurled their way – online or in real life. You all know…
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DOWNLOAD THE PDF REPORTAntisemitism has been a problem on college and university campuses for decades. But while the climate for Jewish students had been improving for many years, we are seeing an alarming new uptick in the number of reported antisemitic incidents across the country. Swastikas, Nazi symbols and other antisemitic graffiti have been reported on numerous campuses, and antisemitic tropes hurled at Jewish students have made headlines. Most notably, white supremacists…
In the aftermath of the terrible attack in New Orleans, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Secure Community Network, ADL, Community Security Initiative-NY, and the Community Security Service have all been in close coordination. As of this time, we are not aware of any specific threat to the Jewish community from this particular incident. All Jewish Federation community security programs are on alert, especially with regard to any large public gatherings that may be occurring…
New York, NY, December 18, 2024 … JGO: The Jewish Graduate Organization, the leading organization on college and university campuses in America servicing Jewish graduate students, and ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today announced a new partnership to combat antisemitism and support Jewish graduate students on campus. Through the partnership, ADL will provide JGO with resources, specialized training for staff and interns, educational opportunities, enhanced antisemitism reporting…
New York, NY, October 1, 2024 …ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today appointed veteran federal law enforcement executive Steve Gonzalez as its new vice president of global safety and security. A longtime leader at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gonzalez most recently served as assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New York Criminal Division. “We are pleased to welcome Steve Gonzalez into our top security leadership position at ADL,” said Jonathan…
September 20, 2024 – As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels in the United States, ADL (Anti-Defamation League), OneTable, and Passages Israel are working to build bridges between the Jewish and Christian communities through shared experiences and dialogue. Their joint initiative, “A Light in the City,” aims to foster friendship and understanding by hosting Shabbat dinners in four key cities. The pilot program, to take place in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York…
At issue in this case is a wedding photographer who seeks a religious exemption to Louisville's anti-discrimination ordinance for the purpose of denying wedding-related services to same-sex couples. ADL joined 14 other faith-based organizations in a brief led by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The brief argues that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment does not require granting the photographer a religious exemption to this neutral, generally…
New York, NY, February 28, 2023… ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today joined an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case Groff v. DeJoy, supporting people of faith seeking religious accommodations in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Title VII requires employers to allow religious accommodations for employees unless doing so would constitute an “undue hardship” for the business. However, in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, the Supreme…
In Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977), the Supreme Court held that an employer is required to allow a religious accommodation for an employee under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless doing so would constitute an “undue hardship” for the business. However, the Court defined an “undue hardship” as anything that imposes “more than a de minimis cost” for the employer — a very low standard that has made it difficult over the years…
In this case against the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), a Sikh USMC Captain and three Sikh Marine recruits filed suit to be able to serve with their articles of faith. This included a request for the recruits to attend Marine recruit training while maintaining their turbans and beards, which was prohibited in their initial limited religious accommodations. ADL, the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, and Interfaith Alliance filed a motion to participate as amicus curiae in support of the…
Synagogues representing 27 states chosen for first Kulanu: Synagogues in ActionNew York, NY, October 3, 2022 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today announced the first cohort of 113 synagogues participating in its inaugural Kulanu: Synagogues in Action Against Antisemitism program. Representing 27 states and all of the major strains of organized Judaism, the synagogues will have exclusive access to experts and webinars over the next eight months as they work to address antisemitism in…
At issue in this case is the right of the Thai Meditation Association of Alabama (TMAA) to offer meditation services on property it owns in Mobile, Alabama. TMAA has faced repeated obstacles in its effort to build its facility even though the property is located in a zoning district that encourages religious uses. The brief — filed in coalition with the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, the ACLU, Muslim Advocates, the Orthodox Union, the Sikh American Legal Defense and…
May 01, 2022
Thank you for that kind introduction. I am so glad to welcome you – leaders from coast to coast committed to the fight against antisemitism and hate.
I don’t need to tell you how important and pressing this work is. All of you know this from the work you do in your communities. You know when a synagogue or cemetery is desecrated. You know the families who have to comfort their children after a slur is hurled their way – online or in real life. You all…
Use the short evocative videos and films in this lesson plan to engage young people in conversations about identity, diversity, bias and social justice.
This case involves a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the coach had done for eight years prior. The lower courts repeatedly…
New York, NY, February 4, 2022 … Michael Sheetz, a seasoned trial lawyer and commercial litigator in Boston who also served as lead counsel for many civil rights groups in important litigation helping to enhance diversity in public schools, has been appointed President of the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Foundation.
A partner in the Boston office of Cooley LLP and a longtime ADL volunteer both at the local
and national levels, Sheetz will lead the board that oversees the…
ADL urges Congress to increase nonprofit security funding to $360 million for FY 2022 New York, NY, January 16, 2022 … In the aftermath of a hostage crisis at a Texas synagogue that fortunately ended with all hostages being freed safely, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) called on Congress to double funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides non-profit organizations, including Jewish schools and houses of worship, with…
New York, NY, January 15, 2022 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) tonight praised Texas law enforcement and the FBI for their work in bringing to an end the tense hostage situation at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and National Director, issued the following statement:
We are deeply grateful to Texas law enforcement and the FBI for their work in ending the tense hostage situation in Colleyville and for the safe return…
At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to seek a religious exemption from a New York State anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ+ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not required by the Free Exercise Clause. Furthermore, New York’s public accommodations law does not coerce participation in religious activity. Finally,…
At issue in this case is a free exercise challenge to a Maine secondary school tuition assistance program. To provide for high school education in over half of the State’s school districts that do not have public secondary schools, Maine pays for students to attend public or private schools which provide secular education, including religiously affiliated schools that do not indoctrinate religion. The lawsuit was brought by parents seeking to send their children to religious schools. ADL…