March 12, 2021
THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard was fined $50,000, suspended from the team's facilities and banned from team activities after he uttered an antisemitic slur while playing video games. Israeli society is increasingly divided, with 81 percent of Israelis stating that they believe that their society is increasingly divided, a 12 percent increase since 2017, according to a new ADL. survey. A panel of South Carolina lawmakers stripped explicit protections for members of the LGBTQ community out of a hate crimes bill which was advanced by members of the House Thursday, drawing the ire of civil rights groups.
Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate and the latest info about ADL from around the country.
1) Miami Heat's Meyers Leonard Fined $50,000, Suspended for Using Antisemitic Slur
“Leonard said the slur, followed by a sexist vulgarity, after calling another player a ‘coward’ because of how they tried to kill his character in the game. The video was recorded Monday but did not receive widespread attention until Tuesday, after the clip of Leonard uttering the slur was posted to social media. By the afternoon, it was the top trending topic on Twitter in the United States.” The New York Times: FULL STORY
2) Israeli Society Increasingly Divided, View of Haredim Worsens
“Most haredi (ultra-Orthodox) respondents (54%) stated that haredim are the most discriminated against group in Israel. The survey also found that nearly half of the respondents in Israel had changed their views for the worse toward the haredi sector, in part due to perceptions of haredi society's response to coronavirus regulations. Only about 31% of respondents saw haredim as an "integral part" of Israeli society, a decline of 12% since 2019, before the pandemic began.” The Jerusalem Post: READ MORE
3) Protections for South Carolina’s LGBTQ Community Stripped Out of House Hate Crimes Bill
“If the bill passes, the only protected characteristics named in the bill would be actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, national origin and physical or mental disability. The original version of the bill also made sexual orientation, gender, age and ancestry protected classes. ‘Gender identity’ was never included as a protected class in the bill, despite pleas from LGBTQ advocates and allies.” The State, SC: LEARN MORE
KEY ADL SOCIAL STATEMENTS
- Anti-Asian #hate crimes rose 150% in major cities in 2020. In NYC, they rose an appalling 933%. That is unacceptable. Thanks to @arunNYC for shedding light on the issue, why it’s happening and what is being done to #StopAAPIHate…
- A 20 year-old Singaporean, serving in the country's armed forces, allegedly radicalized and in support of Hamas, was arrested for his plot to stab and kill Jews leaving Synagogue…
- For more than 20 years, @ADL’s Center on Extremism has identified extremists serving in the U.S. armed forces. Allowing even a small number of these hateful actors to go unchecked can cause great harm within the military -- and beyond…
IN THE COMMUNITY
- Doxing and swatting do tremendous harm; Legislature must take action (Omaha World-Herald – Tanya Gersh op-ed)
- Stickers linked to white supremacists’ group found in Peabody (WHDH-TV, MA – Robert Trestan interviewed)
- The story behind the picture of 3 Percenters flag at St. Louis County officer's house (NBC St. Louis – Karen Aroesty interviewed)
ADL IN THE NEWS
- What is Sabmyk? QAnon Followers Targeted By New Messianic Mythology (Newsweek)
- Biden civil rights nominee, under fire from the right, gets some Jewish backing (JTA)
- Remembering Vernon Jordan, civil rights hero (Forward – Jonathan Greenblatt op-ed)