ADL



[link removed]
View in browser


‌



May 2020


‌



Top 3 ADL Actions Around the Globe


1


‌



Multiple Antisemitic Incidents in Iran and Hateful Statements from the Regime

Following reports from Iran that the tombs of Esther and Mordechai were set ablaze, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt issued a
[link removed]
statement calling on Iranian authorities to “bring the perpetrators of this #antisemitic act to justice & commit to protecting the holy sites of all religious minorities in Iran.” Later that week, additional reports surfaced of fires at a Hindu Temple in Bandar Abbas and at an Assyrian Christian cemetery in Eslamshahr. The ADL Task Force on Middle Eastern Minorities wrote to leading UN and international leaders urging them to speak out on these apparent attacks on the minority communities' holy sites. And SVP for International Affairs Sharon Nazarian and European Affairs Director Andrew Srulevitch spoke with Edouard Firmin Matoko, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for External
Relations about the arson attacks in Iran.



ADL also drew international attention to messaging posted by Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei that called for a “final solution” for Israel. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt
[link removed]
wrote : “Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the #1 state sponsor of antisemitism + terror, is calling for the “final solution" to destroy the Jewish state. He uses a Nazi slogan associated with genocide and envisions terrorist groups storming the Temple Mount. Let that sink in. Disgusting.”



SVP for International Affairs Sharon Nazarian also wrote to UN and international officials, including Miguel Moratinos, the U.N. High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Adama Dieng, the Special Adviser of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, labeling Khamenei's use of the term "purposeful, with the intent of threatening Israel by evoking the greatest act of annihilation and genocide against the Jews in history" and calling for action in response to this call for genocide.


‌



2


Jewish Agency Chair Speaks to ADL for Special Yom Ha’atzmaut Program

In honor of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, ADL hosted a special Zoom conversation between Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt for ADL leadership. The two discussed a number of important issues of the day, including Israel at 72, the impact of COVID-19 on Israel and Jewish communities around the world, and what steps can be taken to address the challenges that exist in the relationship between the Diaspora community and Israel.


‌



3


‌



ADL Publishes
[link removed]
Blog on Antisemitism in Spanish language media and Anti-Israel Related to COVID-19

A new blog from ADL documents numerous COVID-19 related examples of antisemitism and anti-Israel extremism throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In recent weeks, there has been a proliferation of social and traditional media posts blaming Israel and Jews for creating and spreading the virus, as well as comparing the State of Israel to COVID-19.



The report highlights examples of articles, tweets and cartoons promoting the falsehood that Israel and Jews are responsible for spreading the virus, an age-old antisemitic conspiracy about Jews infecting others to gain control and power, as well as comparisons between the COVID-19 virus and Israel’s actions towards the Palestinians, with Israel being referred to as a virus.


‌



AROUND THE WORLD


Israel & Broader Middle East

ADL
[link removed]
condemned Quds Day speeches by Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah, who called for all Jews to flee Israel, and Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, who called Israel a “cancerous tumor” and likened Zionism to a virus.



ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt
[link removed]
criticized “demonizing language” in a NY Times article and tweet that appeared to question Israel’s legitimate security needs.



ADL published a
[link removed]
blog on extremist anti-Israel rhetoric related to COVID-19, stating that there is “a small but significant segment of the criticism leveled at Israel in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has veered into extremism and antisemitism, especially accusations that Israel or Zionists schemed to create and spread the coronavirus or are taking advantage of the pandemic for personal gain.”



ADL
[link removed]
expressed condolences to the parents of IDF soldier Amit Ben Yigal who was killed in a Palestinian terror attack in the West Bank.



ADL Israel
[link removed]
welcomed an Israeli court’s conviction of Amiram Ben Uliel for murder of three members of the Dawabsheh family in the West Bank Palestinian village of Duma.


ADL Israel
[link removed]
criticized comments by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion who said that Reform Jews who wished to pray should not do so at the Western Wall, and called on the mayor to apologize.



ADL
[link removed]
welcomed House and Senate bipartisan sign-on letters we had endorsed to Secretary of State Pompeo that called for continued U.S. action to oppose unfair and discriminatory action against Israel by the International Criminal Court.


ADL sent congratulatory letters to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Alternate PM and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on forming a new Israeli government, and wished them success in leading Israel during this challenging period.



ADL
[link removed]
welcomed the upcoming appointment of Gilad Erdan as the Israel Ambassador to the U.S. and UN.

Europe


SVP of International Relations Sharon Nazarian and European Affairs Director Andrew Srulevitch held consultations with multiple European Jewish communities, including France and Finland, to hear about current challenges to and activities of the communities and to offer ADL support and cooperation.


ADL
[link removed]
welcomed an investigation into a letter from a Ukrainian police official in the city of Kolomiya that asked for the names and addresses of all Jewish community members. Earlier, ADL had
[link removed]
expressed outrage at the letter’s publication, saying it “hearkens back to the darkest times in European history.” The police official was subsequently
[link removed]
fired from his position.


ADL
[link removed]
welcomed the decision to try the two accused murders of French Holocaust survivor Mirelle Knoll, who was killed in an antisemitic attack.


ADL
[link removed]
applauded the European Parliament for calling out anti-Israel incitement and hate in Palestinian textbooks.


ADL
[link removed]
commended the German government for banning all Hezbollah activities in Germany and urged other EU countries to take similar action.


ADL
[link removed]
welcomed an announcement by the government of Valencia, Spain that they would not hire BDS activists to teach a course on antisemitism.


ADL
[link removed]
congratulated Greece and Israel on 30 years of diplomatic recognition and an ever-stronger bilateral relationship.

Latin America

SVP for International Affairs Sharon Nazarian and Director of Latin American Affairs Liat Altman, led a webinar on antisemitism during COVID-19 for the Advisory Council of the Argentinean DAIA, the Jewish umbrella group in charge of fighting antisemitism and discrimination. Participants consisted of smaller and larger Jewish communities all over Argentina including Cordoba, Rosario, Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Patagonia, among others. Liat also presented on a webinar for the Association of Argentine Jewish Lawyers.



SVP for International Affairs Sharon Nazarian and Director of Latin American Affairs Liat Altman held consultations with the Jewish communities of Guatemala, Ecuador, Chile to hear about current challenges to and activities of their communities and to offer ADL support and cooperation.



ADL
[link removed]
welcomed the removal of an antisemitic Facebook user who targeted Brazilian Congress President Davi Alcolumbre, the first Jew to hold that position.



ADL
[link removed]
condemned Brazil's Education Minister for repeatedly using Holocaust analogies to criticize the country’s COVID-19 regulations, and called on the Minister to better educate himself about the lessons of the Holocaust.


ADL
[link removed]
repudiated the use of the Auschwitz slogan “Work Will Free Us” by the Brazilian President’s communications department in their video about the government’s response to COVID-19.



ADL
[link removed]
condemned an Argentine journalist’s comparison of Zionism to Fascism.

Global






ADL condemned antisemitic attacks and trends globally, including repeated attacks on a kosher restaurant in
[link removed]
Amsterdam , the drawing of swastikas on a Jewish-owned golf course in
[link removed]
Australia , a bomb threat against a Jewish organization in
[link removed]
Britain , Holocaust comparisons by the Foreign Minister of
[link removed]
Brazil , two antisemitic incidents in
[link removed]
Finland , an antisemitic video by a comedian in
[link removed]
France , and a chalk drawing linking Jews and Israel to COVID-19 in
[link removed]
Germany .


ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt
[link removed]
thanked UN Secretary General Guterres for his video message condemning hate related to COVID-19, writing: “At a time when the world is fighting the #COVID19 pandemic, we must stand together against antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and hate of all kinds.”


ADL
[link removed]
welcomed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's unanimous approval of two foreign policy bills: the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act (
[link removed]
S. 238 ) and the U.S.-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act (
[link removed]
S. 3176 ). ADL had organized a
[link removed]
letter for endorsing the Anti-semitism envoy act that was signed by over 70 Jewish communal groups.


ADL
[link removed]
signed on to a Jewish Rohingya Justice Network letter to Secretary of State Pompeo calling on the US to pressure Burma to halt human rights abuses against the country’s ethnic and religious minorities under the guise of responding to COVID-19.


‌







[link removed]
Support Our Work






[link removed]

[link removed]

[link removed]

[link removed]

[link removed]




[link removed]
Read our blog

[link removed]
send to a friend /
[link removed]
Contact ADL

ADL / 605 Third Avenue / New York, NY 10158


(c)2020 Anti-Defamation League. All rights reserved.







[link removed]
Unsubscribe or Update Email Preferences /
[link removed]
Privacy Policy

[link removed]