ADL Articles

March 13, 2019 When the U.S. Supreme Court last summer ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple based on religious beliefs, its decision was a wake-up call – and underlined the need for further legislative action by elected officials and communities. While disappointing, the Court’s narrow decision reaffirmed the right of LGBTQ individuals to be free from discrimination, and left in place statewide nondiscrimination protections…

March 11, 2019 The first in a series of reports co-authored by the Network Contagion Research Institute and ADL’s Center on Extremism The toxicity on social media creates victims online and online ecosystems that breed real-life hatred.  Gab, a self-described “free speech” platform largely used by right wing extremists, has been the preferred platform for hatred and vitriol. Users include Robert Bowers, who posted on the site just before he massacred congregants …

March 06, 2019 Organizers of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) prevented some white supremacists from attending the event, which resulted in fewer extremist attendees than in years past. A number of extremists, however, were welcomed into the conference.  Peter Brimelow, a white supremacist who runs the racist, anti-immigrant site VDARE, was granted entry to CPAC.  Brimelow’s site publishes writing by  white supremacists such as Jared…

March 01, 2019 Legislation similar to North Carolina’s infamous anti-LGBTQ law – HB 2 –  recently passed the Business Subcommittee of the Tennessee House of Representatives.  Like HB 2, Tennessee House Bill 563 would immunize private employers and businesses from local laws that prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, or public accommodations. The legislation is stealth in nature because the terms sexual orientation or…

March 01, 2019 By Samuel Woolley | ADL Center for Technology and Society Belfer Fellow On October 27, 2018 Robert Bowers shot and killed eleven people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Bowers was at least partially radicalized online. He made regular use of the extremist-friendly social media platform Gab. After months of anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant posts on the site he even wrote that he was “going in” shortly before the massacre. The day before the…

February 27, 2019 Many American Jewish organizations generally refrain from commenting on Israeli electoral issues. The fact that so many felt they had no choice but to condemn the agreement to include Otzma Yehudit Party (Jewish Power) on a mainstream party list in advance of the April 9, 2019 national elections demonstrates the level of concern with which American Jews and pro-Israel groups view this development and its implications -- both in Israel and abroad -- for how Israel…

February 25, 2019 As the political crisis continues in Venezuela, the hardline regime of Nicolas Maduro, whose power is currently being challenged, is promoting hateful anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and allegations of Jewish or “Zionist” plots to take over the government. As declared interim President Juan Guaidó – whose bid to take over the government is supported by more than 50 countries – challenges Maduro’s power, the resulting political, social…

February 25, 2019 Mya and Deanna Cook, 15, were both excellent students, but they had been kicked off school sports teams, banished from prom, and sentenced to hours of detention for refusing to change their hair. When these twin sisters were punished by their Boston-area high school for wearing braided hair extensions, ADL helped them change their school’s controversial hair and makeup policies, which unfairly targeted students of color. ADL’s New England office received a…

February 21, 2019 The Democrat-Reporter newspaper of Linden, Alabama, made news of its own mid-February when its editor and publisher, Goodloe Sutton, penned an editorial calling for the Ku Klux Klan to “ride again” to target politicians who are considering raising taxes in Alabama.[1] In a subsequent interview with the Montgomery Advertiser, Sutton clarified that he supported lynching: “We’ll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of…

February 21, 2019 One would think that teaching the lessons of the Holocaust in schools would be a given in the United States. After all, it is an essential component in learning about world history, the rise of fascism, World War II, and genocide, all of which are already part of any respectable high school history curriculum. But recent incidents of students appropriating and abusing Holocaust imagery have served as a reminder and a wake-up call for the need to teach the universal…

February 20, 2019 It shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore that France has a serious anti-Semitism problem. Since 2000, there’s been attack after violent attack against the French Jewish community, with only the most shocking ones – from the horrific murder of a Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll last year to the deadly terrorist shooting at the Hyper Cacher kosher market – making headlines and raising perennial concerns about the safety and long-time viability of…

by: Jonathan Greenblatt February 19, 2019 Every year, when the FBI publishes data on hate crimes, the numbers show that more African Americans are targeted than any other group.  When surveys are taken of hate online, African Americans are often among the most common and prominent victims.  Whether the issue is voting rights, criminal justice or housing discrimination – whether the focus is explicit bias or implicit bias – the data doesn’t lie. We have a long way to…

February 18, 2019 Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam teamed up with a Holocaust denier and anti-Semitic ideologue to attack the Jewish religion and blame numerous ills of modern society on Jews, during the keynote event at the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours' Day conference in Chicago. Speaking before a crowd of several thousand at the United Center and an unknown number on a livestream, Farrakhan was preceded by Michael A. Hoffman II, who suggested that ancient…

February 15, 2019 Blackface has taken center stage in our public discourse. Again. Virginia is embroiled in a controversy based on admissions by Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring to wearing blackface in the past. The list of celebrities and other public figures who publicly condone blackface is growing and there are others entering the spotlight. Just a few months ago, NBC host Megyn Kelly set off her own controversy when she defended blackface as a Halloween costume…

February 13, 2019 Last year in Indiana, a Catholic priest was attacked while praying, a Jewish synagogue was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti, and an Unitarian church was targeted with racist and homophobic banners. In all three cases, the FBI assisted with the investigation because, unlike Indiana, federal law contains a comprehensive hate crime statute. Often misunderstood, hate crime statutes do not criminalize “hate speech.” Rather, these laws increase the punishment…

February 07, 2019 By David Andrew Weinberg The government of Qatar has a longstanding and problematic record with regard to promoting or enabling anti-Semitism. The state Grand Mosque has hosted numerous anti-Semitic hate preachers, including anti-Semitic sermons delivered in recent years by regular preachers in residence.  Qatar’s state book fair this past year provided a platform for numerous anti-Semitic titles.  Qatar’s Al Jazeera network, which the U.S. State…

February 06, 2019 When Dylann Roof murdered nine people in a racially motivated shooting spree at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, reactions from fellow white supremacists were all over the map. While some praised the shootings, others claimed the attack was fabricated by the government or Jews to cast a bad light on white supremacists.  Some criticized Roof, believing he would attract negative publicity and unwelcome law enforcement…

January 28, 2019 By Andrew Srulevitch, ADL Director of European Affairs For those obsessed with the ins and outs of European football, it has been a tough few months. Not necessarily because of anything the players have done on the pitch, but because of a series of ugly headlines and stories about racism from fans. And not just one or two isolated instances, but repeated reports of fans chanting anti-Semitic slurs from the stands, of peanuts thrown at black players, of fans and players…

by: Jonathan Greenblatt January 27, 2019 When the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in 2005 declaring January 27th International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it was deemed a milestone for an organization whose record on Jewish matters was less than stellar, to say the least. The resolution not only called for a day of remembrance, but also for education about the Holocaust by governments around the world to prevent future genocides. As we approach this year's commemoration,…