ADL Articles

by: Jesse Tannetta March 04, 2021 Good questions are essential to sound pedagogy and solid teaching. As teachers, we spend countless hours creating questions for exams and structured discussions. We even construct questions spontaneously during dialogue with students, hoping to generate critical thinking and deeper cognition. At Echoes & Reflections, our pedagogy guides us to encourage inquiry-based learning; the best way to do this is to inspire students to create their own questions and…

March 03, 2021 In early March 2021, the FBI arrested white supremacist accelerationist Paul N. Miller on three federal weapon charges. The FBI arrested Miller at his home in Fort Lauderdale following a federal indictment of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in 2018. Two additional weapons charges followed, after the FBI searched Miller’s apartment and found ammunition and a short-barreled rifle. In June 2021, Miller pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm,…

February 26, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 NBC has removed an episode from the series “Nurses” off its digital platforms and future airings following backlash over an offensive storyline that invoked antisemitic stereotypes against Hassidic Jews. ADL’s CEO is among the critics blasting a joke on last weekend's "Saturday Night Live" as antisemitic. Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops are expected to stay in Washington for at least another three weeks amid concerns over…

February 26, 2021 Young Pharaoh, whose real name is Marshall Daniels, is an antisemitic conspiracy theorist who promotes racist theories about the superiority of Black people. He has also touted QAnon conspiracy theories, including Pizzagate and Frazzledrip (which accuses high profile Democrats of cutting a child’s face off and wearing it like a mask in a Satanic ritual) and uses popular QAnon hashtags. In 2021, he was invited and then disinvited from speaking at the annual CPAC…

February 26, 2021 As of February 25, 2021, more than 30 virtual events celebrating Black History Month have been disrupted by racist Zoombombing attacks. Zoombombing first gained attention nearly a year ago, during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as extremists and anonymous online trolls took advantage of the new reliance on virtual conferencing technology by disrupting a wide range of events, often targeting marginalized communities. In this most recent spate of virtual…

February 25, 2021 The idea of dedicating a month to Women’s History came about in 1981 when Congress requested the President proclaim a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1986, the National Women’s History Project played a significant role in expanding the observance to the entire month of March. Women’s History Month recognizes and honors the historical and present-day achievements, milestones and experiences of women. Over time, other countries…

February 22, 2021 On February 5, 2021, the FBI arrested Christian Michael Mackey, an alleged member of neo-Nazi  group Iron Youth, on charges of an unlawful sale of a firearm. Mackey allegedly attempted to sell his gun to someone identified to him as a known felon, but Mackey seemed primarily concerned that the buyer was “based”— which in this case means that he subscribes to white supremacist beliefs. According to the affidavit, Mackey allegedly incited others in an…

February 22, 2021 What if the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol, attacked police officers and threatened legislators’ lives had received robust civics and anti-bias education in high school? Would it have made a difference?     Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol  On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Congress met in the U.S. Capitol to count electoral votes and certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election. This is a…

February 19, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Authorities in Poland, Russia, Hungary and some lawmakers in Britain’s Labour Party used antisemitism for political means, according to a new ADL report. ADL has positively identified 212 of the estimated 800 individuals who are believed to have breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, revealing a wide array of domestic extremists were among those who unleashed their fury on legislators and Capitol police, leading to five deaths and scores of…

February 17, 2021 It’s been more than a month since a horde of extremists forced their way into the U.S. Capitol, protesting the outcome of a national election and intent on disrupting a time-honored democratic process. At least five people died during the violent attack, including one Capitol Police officer. ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) has identified 212 of the roughly 800 individuals who are believed to have breached the building on January 6. The emerging snapshot…

February 12, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Google's YouTube is still recommending extremist and white supremacist videos to viewers already susceptible to racial hatred, a new report from ADL found. Iranian schools are teaching antisemitism, hatred and conspiratorial material in their textbooks, according to a comprehensive analysis by ADL. Police in Spokane, WA are looking for the person who painted swastikas on the Temple Beth Shalom building and a Holocaust memorial. Read on for more…

February 05, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 In the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, ADL launched PROTECT -- a “whole of society” offensive, comprising federal and state governments and the tech sector, to combat domestic terrorism. A senior State Department official announced that the Biden administration “embraces and champions” an internationally recognized definition of antisemitism. Despite urging from ADL, civil rights activists and…

Anyone who has ever read to or with a child—parent, family member, teacher or friend—knows books leave lasting impressions. Beyond the educational benefits, books have the power to instill empathy, affirm, teach, transport and inspire action. Books matter. EmpathyIn exposing children to other people’s stories and the motivations and feelings behind those narratives, children begin to connect with others on an emotional level, which is the foundation for bridging differences…

February 02, 2021 During the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a violent mob of extremist Trump supporters—reinforced by a broad coalition of right-wing extremists—attacked police, who appeared to be caught unprepared for a violent encounter with a crowd that has been loudly and consistently supportive of law enforcement. The siege left roughly 140 officers injured, including U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose injuries were fatal. One of the insurgents,…

February 01, 2021 Users across social media platforms evoked antisemitism during and in the wake of the GameStop incident that took place at the end of January 2021. (photo source: Twitter) During the final week of January 2021, beleaguered retailer GameStop’s stock was driven to astronomical new highs when posters on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit launched a buying frenzy -- ostensibly aimed at soaking the Wall Street hedge funds that had shorted the stock for profit. As the…

January 29, 2021 Caption: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Photo credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images In the weeks before and after the inauguration of President Biden, public officials nationwide have come under attack, with politicians and their families receiving death threats and violently worded texts. Offices have been vandalized, and private residences have been targeted by harassment online and by phone.  This seething anger…

January 29, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Three months after pledging to ban all content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust,” Facebook still has yet to fully respond to the problem, according to a new report from ADL, which gave Facebook a “D” for its efforts. A newly elected member of Congress who identifies with the QAnon cult and has called deadly school shootings in Connecticut and Florida “false-flag” operations by gun-control supporters joined the…

January 22, 2021 Photo Credit: Ted S. Warren/AP Photo Less than one week after President Biden’s inauguration, followers of QAnon—the sprawling, largely incoherent conspiracy theory that has infected not only American discourse but corners of the Republican Party—are struggling to hold onto the conspiracy theory in a post-Trump world. QAnon is tightly tethered to the existence of a Trump presidency, as it cast the former president as the ultimate hero who would use…

January 22, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Amid unprecedented security concerns, due in large part to the Capitol Hill riot two weeks earlier, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris became the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office of Vice President. President Biden issued an executive order ending Trump’s travel ban on noncitizens from 13 countries. Prosecutors filed the first significant conspiracy charge in the U.S. Capitol…