New York, NY, February 18, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is bringing its range of expertise to the table at today’s White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. The meeting consists of a gathering of experts and leaders from across the world convened by President Obama to develop an action plan to address the phenomenon of violent domestic and international extremism.
ADL will join community leaders from the United States and abroad to share its perspectives and expertise on the growth of violent extremism and innovative approaches to combat today’s extremist threats.
Oren Segal, Director of ADL’s Center on Extremism, was selected to be on an international panel to provide insight into the nature of violent extremist movements in the U.S., as well as how Americans of all religions, races, and backgrounds are being reached and recruited by international terrorist organizations online. Mr. Segal will also discuss the various partners ADL collaborates with to combat these threats, including close partnerships with law enforcement, the tech industry and various community groups.
“An all hands on deck holistic approach is required to confront the sophisticated recruitment efforts employed by ISIS and other terror groups,” Mr. Segal said in advance of today’s panel. “We must make every effort to grasp how such terror networks utilize social media platforms in order to find creative and authentic approaches to help mitigate the threat.”
The Summit will also showcase the piloting in three cities of collaborative networks of government and non-governmental stakeholders. ADL is a partner in the Boston area pilot program, which developed a framework for prevention and intervention strategies in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Under the leadership of Carmen Ortiz, United States Attorney for Massachusetts, the collaborative has been meeting since the fall of 2014, and will present its findings at the Summit.
“Anti-Semitism remains at the core of extremist ideology making the Jewish community here and abroad an ongoing target,” said Robert Trestan, ADL New England Regional Director, who is among those representing the League at the Summit. “The Framework developed by the Boston collaborative takes a multi-disciplinary and community wide approach to addressing the threat posed by violent extremists.”
In advance of the White House Summit, ADL issued an online report titled “Homegrown Islamic Extremism in 2014: The Rise of ISIS & Sustained Online Recruitment,” which includes the League’s research and detailed analysis on homegrown violent extremism motivated by radical interpretations of Islam in 2014 and the influence of ISIS and its use of social media for recruitment purposes.