Letters to the Editor
The Wall Street Journal
Now more than ever we need strong hate crime laws to ensure that the punishment for targeting individuals or institutions for violence or vandalism for no other reason than their religious affiliation, skin color or other personal characteristic is appropriate.
Contrary to Myron Magnet’s claims, hate-crime laws punish conduct and not thought (“‘Hate Crime’ Is Only a Step Away From Thoughtcrime,” op-ed, Jan. 2…
358 Results
Back
January 06, 2020 Jonathan A. Greenblatt Remarks (as delivered)
To the Solidary March Against Anti-Semitism
New York, NY | January 5, 2020
My name is Jonathan Greenblatt and I am the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.
I am so moved to look out at this crowd and see so many people: elected officials and children… rabbis and ministers… Jews and non-Jews… all here to make it very clear that New York will not tolerate anti-Semitism... that New York is no place for…
December 30, 2019 A Hanukkah party on December 28, 2019 in Monsey, New York, was shattered when a man entered a local rabbi’s home armed with a large knife and began stabbing people. The attack left five injured, one critically.
The following day, police in Ramapo, New York, charged Grafton Thomas of Greenwood Lake, New York, with five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Thomas pleaded not guilty at his December 29 arraignment.
On Monday, December 30,…
December 13, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3
Two gunmen motivated by anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs attacked a Kosher supermarket in Jersey City on Tuesday, killing four people. President Trump signed an executive order that would ensure incidents of anti-Semitism be treated under federal as vigorously as other forms of discrimination. West Virginia fired three state employees and suspended more than 30 others after a photo surfaced showing a recent graduating class of correctional…
December 05, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Online retail giant Amazon removed from its marketplace holiday ornaments, bottle openers and other products that displayed images from the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz. In related news, the International Skating Union (ISU) apologized after nominating a Russian skater, who donned Auschwitz-themed attire, for costume of the year. And in Montreal, McGill University’s student government was condemned after forcing one of its members to…
Remarks by Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani and Recipient of ADL's Courage Against Hate Award November 21, 2019
Thank you, Jonathan.
Thank you Jacqueline, for those incredible words.
One of the fun things about being a parent in America is Halloween.
This year, we told our son that he could be anything he wanted to be. A ghost. A pirate. A soccer player.
He chose to be Captain America.
But he didn't stop wearing the costume when Halloween ended.
He still carries…
November 15, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Newly released data from the FBI shows that hate crime murders in 2018 reached an all-time high. Following a sharp increase in anti-Semitic attacks directed at the Orthodox community, ADL announced a doubling of funding for its flagship education program, No Place for Hate, in schools throughout the borough. And officials at George Washington University are investigating after an anti-Semitic video posted on Snapchat was circulated amongst the…
All Americans have a stake in effective response to violent bigotry. Hate crimes merit a priority response because of their special impact on the victim and the victim's community. Failure to address this unique type of crime could cause an isolated incident to explode into widespread community tension. The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. These crimes may effectively intimidate other members of the victim's community,…
September 13, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
ADL is monitoring a spate of anti-Semitic vandalism and graffiti across the country over the past two weeks, including at a synagogue in Los Angeles, a high school in the Bay Area and a residence hall at the University of Nevada, Reno. Several Israeli students in Warsaw were allegedly assaulted by a group of men from Qatar, shouting “Free Palestine” and “Free Gaza.” And in conjunction with the Aspen Institute, ADL announced a…
August 29, 2019 By David Andrew Weinberg | ADL's Washington Director for International Affairs
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi told a visiting delegation earlier this year that he hopes to see a resurgence of Jewish life in Egypt. He reportedly even informed the group that if more Jews return, the government would pay to build more synagogues and other communal institutions. However, this positive message is being undermined by the continued broadcasting of a hateful,…
August 28, 2019 Background
Witness for Peace (WFP) is an anti-Semitic organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that primarily espouses anti-Israel content and anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish racism, power and influence and dual loyalties. WFP is affiliated with another anti-Semitic group, Deir Yassin Remembered. WFP’s leader and founder, Henry Herskovitz, is a Holocaust denier.
WFP was founded in 2003 by Herskovitz, a former Beth Israel (Ann Arbor) congregant, to protest the…
Update:
Just days after Unite the Right’s 2nd anniversary, white supremacist and Charlottesville attendee James Patrick Reardon Jr., of New Middletown, Ohio, was arrested for allegedly making threats to the Youngstown, Ohio, Jewish community center. Reardon was charged with telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing for allegedly posting an Instagram video of a man shooting a semi-automatic rifle with sirens and screams in the background. The video was captioned, &ldquo…
On Saturday morning, August 3, 2019, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and at the adjacent Cielo Vista Mall. The death toll is believed to be at least 20, and several dozen people are reportedly injured.
The alleged shooter, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. The FBI has reportedly opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the shooting, while Texas authorities are investigating the…
The following letter was submitted to The Wall Street Journal in response to "Hate Crime Hoaxes Are More Common Than You Think" (June 26, 2019). This appeared in the Journal's print editions on July 11, 2019. To the Editor:
Jason Riley’s suggestion that false hate crimes are being amplified by civil-rights organizations and others who “have a vested interest in exaggerating racial tensions” is deeply offensive and flat-out wrong (“Hate Crime Hoaxes…
June 14, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Organizers of the “DC Dyke March” attempted to implement a ban on Jewish Pride flags, claiming they too closely resemble the flag of Israel. In Detroit, a small group of neo-Nazis carrying weapons disrupted an LGBTQ Pride march by spewing homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic slurs at participants and pretending to defile an Israeli flag. A gay man in Atlanta was shot and killed in what police are classifying as a hate crime.
Read on for…
June 11, 2019 On Sunday, May 19th, Deir Yassin Remembered (DYR) led a protest outside a “Breakfast for Israel” fundraiser for Magen David Adom, the Israeli version of the Red Cross, at Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, New Jersey.
About a dozen protestors from DYR – an organization whose leaders have called for the elimination of Israel, described Zionism as a “cancer” and claimed that Israel is a hub for pedophilia and organ trafficking – were joined…
June 07, 2019 ADL volunteer leaders from across the country came together to lobby and advocate around countering hate. They learned from and were inspired by subject matter experts, Members of Congress, civil rights activists, journalists and authors during the keynote plenary speeches and panels.
Everyone sitting in the Independence Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. on June 2nd received a sobering reminder of the power of partnership when it comes to healing after…
The following letter was submitted to The New York Times in response to "Anti-Zionists Deserve Free Speech" (April 16). To the Editor:
Re “Anti-Zionists Deserve Free Speech” (column, April 16):
Michelle Goldberg would have a legitimate point to make if she had limited her argument to the decision to bar the entry of Omar Barghouti to the United States.
As despicable as his views are — as the founder of the boycott, divestment and sanctions…
The following letter was submitted to Al Jazeera in response to "Why Muslims Must be at the Forefront of Fighting Anti-Semitism” (March 17) Letters to the Editor
Al Jazeera
To the Editor:
Professor Hamid Dabashi employs all the sleights of hands by those on the political left who engage in anti-Semitic tropes against Jews (“Why Muslims Must be at the Forefront of Fighting Anti-Semitism,” March 17).
He tries to separate out Zionism from Judaism, when…
March 13, 2019 In a letter to the Governor of Indiana, ADL and a broad coalition of national civil rights advocacy organizations expressed deep concern with Senate Bill 12, which if enacted, would create a weak, vague and unacceptable state bias crime law. March 7, 2019
The Honorable Eric J. Holcomb
Office of the Governor
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Dear Governor Holcomb:
We, the undersigned organizations, are part of a broad-based coalition of…