By Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director Today is 10/7. This date has become an eternal shorthand for devastating loss and a deep well of resolve. It is also a sharp line drawn in our collective memory. On October 6 -- the day before the horrific massacre by Hamas -- Israel, its friends and allies, and Jewish people across the world had no idea that we were about to be shaken and tested beyond our comprehension. And then there was October 8, the day after our world was turned…
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Let’s say that a university decides to acquiesce to the demands of anti-Israel protestors and divest its endowment from companies with business ties to Israel. It’s a plausible scenario, despite the many political, economic, and legal reasons to reject the idea: its unfair singling-out and demonization of Israel; the likelihood of reduced endowment returns and lower donations from alumni; state measures discouraging boycotts of Israel; and potential legal risk from…
Campus activism surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict often presents a skewed narrative, painting Israel as the sole aggressor and magnifying its flaws beyond those of any other nation. While all countries have their shortcomings and deserve scrutiny, Israel stands out as a unique target of widespread university divestment campaigns, suggesting a disproportionate focus on its actions and policies. Through their rhetoric and demands, anti-Israel divestment campaigns can feed into the…
There are many reasons why it’s a bad idea for university endowments to divest from Israel. Divestment serves to delegitimize Israel and puts the onus for solving the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli conflict on only one side. It could also likely lead to economic ramifications, such as reduced alumni giving and lower returns, as well as open up the potential for heavier taxation of endowment income. Beyond all of these arguments, universities that decide to divest…
As encampment protests riled college campuses throughout the Spring 2024 semester, some universities agreed to formally consider protestors’ demands that their endowments divest from companies with business interests in Israel. It is the latest iteration of the years-long Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that seeks to isolate Israel economically. Brown University reached an agreement for student protestors to take down their encampment and refrain from…
As students start returning to campuses with expected continuation of anti-Israel protests, JLens unpacks the demands and consequences of divestment campaigns.
JLens ran three successful proxy season campaigns with ADL that aimed to combat anti-Israel shareholder proposals and support efforts to protect kids online.
In the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre, many expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians displayed anti-Israel sentiment and support for Hamas. This includes demonstrations in the Arab World, anti-Israel rallies in the United States, as well as statements by some faculty and student groups on US campuses.
Furthermore, a survey conducted by ADL’s Center for Technology and Society found that most Americans have been exposed to hateful online misinformation and…
April 14, 2022 Since March 22, 2022, there have been four major terrorist attacks across Israel– Be’er Sheva, Hadera, Bnai Brak and Tel-Aviv – which resulted in 14 deaths and many wounded. The attacks, which were carried out by both Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Arab citizens of Israel, targeted both Israeli civilians and law enforcement officials. These incidents coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is generally a time of heightened tensions in…
May 20, 2021 In response to the recent conflict in Israel and Gaza, as well as the tensions in Jerusalem that led up to the violence, there have been some prominent voices, including among NGOs and activists, who have engaged in problematic rhetoric about Israel.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always engendered strong passions and differences of opinion. In a crisis, such differences are of course heightened. And while exchanges of views - even harsh disagreements - are…
September 17, 2020 Since Israel’s founding in 1948, only two countries have moved to establish ties with the Jewish State – Egypt in 1978 and Jordan in 1994. Last week saw two additional countries – the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain – sign normalization agreements with Israel, an indication that hostile regional attitudes towards Israel are shifting. And indeed, there are reports that additional Arab countries may …
March 09, 2020 2019 was a significant year for ADL’s international engagement, furthering our work fighting global antisemitism and hate, combatting delegitimization of Israel, and promoting a secure Jewish and democratic Israel at peace with her neighbors. ADL’s international action included the release of groundbreaking research and reports, high-level appearances by ADL experts, and advocacy and programs furthering our global priorities.
Topping the list of…
January 29, 2019 Michelle Alexander is a scholar and writer of considerable repute on issues of racial equity and social justice in the United States. Her works have contributed significantly to public understanding of these issues. But her recent New York Times column on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one-sided and contains significant factual inaccuracies.
Her column, “Time to Break the Silence on Palestine,” attempts to imagine how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would…
December 24, 2018 Sports tournaments and other international competitions have long been harnessed by some countries in the Middle East as part of their continued efforts to isolate and delegitimize Israel and prevent engagement with Israelis. This typically includes the host country barring entry to Israeli athletes; refusing to allow them to compete under the Israeli flag or play their country’s national anthem at medal ceremonies; and refusing to shake their hands or even compete…
December 11, 2017 President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was widely condemned by Arab governments. Arabic-language media followed suit, and some outlets even used the historic declaration to propagate anti-Semitic cartoons relating to Jews, Jerusalem, and/or U.S.-Israel relations. In some instances, these cartoons suggest that Israel controls or dominates U.S. foreign policy, for example depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as a puppet operated by Israeli…
November 30, 2017 November 24 witnessed the deadliest terror attack in Egypt’s history when gunmen detonated explosives at a Sufi mosque in the Sinai Peninsula and then sprayed the worshippers with bullets, killing more than 300 people and wounding more than 100. While no organization claimed responsibility for the attack, it is thought to have been carried out by local militants affiliated with the Islamic State.
Sufism, a branch of Islam, is a minority regarded by the Islamic…
November 07, 2017 November 2, 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a letter signed in 1917 by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressing his country's support for the establishment of a national Jewish home in Palestine. While the UK and Israel celebrated the anniversary of this Declaration, which has become a symbol of international recognition of the Jewish right to self-determination, Palestinians and others have used the occasion to protest, and demand an…