by: David Robbins May 11, 2016
Ed Blumenthal is fighting anti-Semitism and hate with everything he’s got—including his legs.
His late father, Ernie Blumenthal, escaped from Nazi Vienna in 1938, but luckily found a home in Philadelphia. His grandfather barely escaped some time later.
To honor the memory of his father, who died recently from pancreatic cancer, and to raise awareness of that illness and of anti-Semitism and hate, Ed rode his bike from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, a…
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May 03, 2016 With 22% of students ages 12 – 18 years old currently reporting having been a target of bullying, concerns about bullying in schools have motivated hundreds of books to be written and a wide variety of programs to be designed and implemented with the goal of turning the tide of bullying. Many of these books and programs aim to change the behavior of “bullies.” And herein lies one of the problems that makes it so challenging to change the dynamic of bullying.
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A Guide for Counselors and Camp Administrators For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Summer camp is a wonderful time in children’s lives when they get to spend time outdoors, meet new people, have novel experiences and gain insight into themselves. There are about 12,000 day and resident camps in the U.S. and each year more than 11 million children and adults attend camp. According to an American Camp Association (ACA) report, parents cite the following reasons as the…
Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current Events For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | 10 and upTopic Summary
Election years usually present rich opportunities for parents and educators to talk with young people about civics, the electoral process, how government works and politics. This presidential election year, however, has left many feeling hesitant about how to raise the topic and specifically, how to approach the…
by: Jewel Nesmith April 26, 2016
Fears of extremism, radicalization and mass violence in our schools have unfortunately become all too common for educators and school administrators across the United States. At the same time, information that allows educators to understand the threat and leaves them equipped to address it without perpetuating biases and stereotypes is scarce. In order to fill this gap, the Anti-Defamation League and START (the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism…
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | For Students Here are some simple things you can do to be an ally to targets of name-calling and bullying. And remember—always think about your safety first when deciding the best way to respond. 1. Support targets, whether you know them or not.Show compassion and encouragement to those who are the targets of bullying behavior by asking if they’re okay, going with them to get help and letting them know you are there for them…
April 15, 2016 APRIL 17, 2016, Washington, D.C.
Thank you for that kind introduction, and thank you all for welcoming me here today.
In many ways, I am an unlikely person to be head of ADL…or to be head of a Jewish organization. See, I’ve spent most of my career in business or in government – creating companies, building brands, innovating business models, driving economic value and achieving social benefit, … all this took place far away from the organized…
by: Oren Segal April 11, 2016
It’s April 12, 2016 — Equal Pay Day, the symbolic date that women need to work until to catch up with what men had earned by last Dec. 31. The fact is that women who work full time, are paid an average of 79 cents for every dollar paid to men — and on average, African American and Latina women are paid even less. It’s not a day to celebrate, but it is a teachable moment to focus on the needless, costly, and discriminatory gender wage…
June 10, 2016 What’s it like to be a Jew in Norway? Frankly, it’s complicated.
With a population of less than 2,000 Jews, Norway is a place where “Jew” is a curse used frequently against Jewish schoolchildren. Yet it’s also a society where Jewish life proceeds freely, and the Norwegian government works to end anti-Semitism.
“We’re not finished with anti-Semitism in Norway,” says Rabbi Joav Melchior, rabbi of the Jewish Community of Oslo. …
Campaigns and elections are ripe with opportunity to discuss government, the electoral process, civics and history as well as the myriad of specific issues that are important to the public during any particular year, whether it’s a local or presidential election. The following ideas for teaching about the election focus on social justice issues. They provide suggested strategies and activities teachers can undertake with students in order to help them analyze issues of bias,…
“They Needed To Be Said” New York, NY, March 24, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today commended Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul D. Ryan (R-WI), for his leadership call for civility and for raising the level of political discourse.
In his remarks yesterday to a group of House interns, Speaker Ryan stressed the significance of debating civilly without questioning one’s motives. “We don’t shut down on people, and we don’t shut…
March 15, 2016
The political discourse has reached a point where we have to ask ourselves: What should we tell our children?
Young people watch and emulate what adults say and do. For that reason, many adults—parents, neighbors, teachers, caregivers and yes, even politicians—are role models to children. These values—using accurate and appropriate language, standing up for one’s beliefs, checking ourselves when it comes to bias and…
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…
by: Jinnie Array March 01, 2016
It is the most basic need any student has during the school day: using the restroom safely and comfortably when you need to. It is the first sign of independence before young children enter preschool and it follows them throughout their whole schooling.
And yet, that almost became more difficult for transgender students to do in South Dakota. The state’s legislature recently passed a bill that would require public school students to use…
by: Lorraine Array January 06, 2016
Last week, over 700 Jewish teens from across the United States and Canada gathered in Baltimore, MD as part of United Synagogue Youth’s International Convention. The Anti-Defamation League participated in the convention as a program partner to educate and empower the students to respond to anti-Semitism. At a time when global anti-Semitism is on the rise, college campuses are rife with anti-Israel bias and Jewish youth regularly hear…
December 07, 2015 The Killing of Laquan McDonald
In October 2014, Laquan McDonald was shot and skilled by police officer Jason Van Dyke. Thirteen months later, the recorded incident was released to the public. The day before its release, Van Dyke was arrested for first-degree murder.
The disturbing video shows seventeen-year-old McDonald being shot for fifteen seconds—the majority for which he was down on the ground. At the time of the shooting, a spokesperson for Chicago…
Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current Events
For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | 12 and up Talking with Children about Gun Violence
The issue of gun violence and mass shootings is in the news frequently. Young people are usually aware of what is happening and will want to talk about it. However, it is a sensitive, scary, and potentially painful topic. Before raising the matter with young people, consider your child’s personality. To what extent will the…
November 01, 2015 For many years, a consensus existed in the organized American Jewish community that we should support the democratically-elected government of Israel, whether Labor or Likud, on a non-partisan basis, particularly on matters of Israeli security. The logic was twofold: Moral – Israelis put their lives on the line every day in a dangerous neighborhood and we, sitting in the comfort of America, should respect Israel’s democratic process regarding the safety and…
October 28, 2015 We live in an increasingly pluralistic, multicultural and connected world. In order to prepare students to live, learn and eventually work successfully in society, we need to prepare them. Diversity in the United States is rapidly increasing, especially among young people entering our school system. 2014 was the first school year when more children of color were enrolled in U.S. public schools than white children. However, the diversity of our teaching force is…
Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current Events For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | 11 and upTopic Summary
According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, 24% of teenagers (ages 13–17) are online “almost constantly.” The intense way in which young people are connected is enabled largely by the use of smartphones. Nearly 75% of teens have access to a smartphone and 30% have a basic phone. These phones and other mobile devices have become a primary driver…