Dear John,

The Jewish New Year presents those observing the holiday with an opportunity for personal renewal and for looking forward to a brighter year. It’s also a good moment to take stock of the year that’s passed and to reflect on what we as a people and a society might do to improve our world and ourselves in the days to come.

A Year of Challenges

There’s plenty of uncertainty as we look around us this Rosh Hashanah. The surge of antisemitism in recent years, ADL’s number one priority, played out in our streets during the Israel-Hamas conflict this past May, including in the United States but also around the world. It laid bare the fact that we face the threat of raw antisemitism spawned by the anti-Israel animus emanating from many on the Left and that we cannot relent on our vigilance. While we hosted a successful virtual rally that brought together more than 30,000 people to hear diverse allies from across the spectrum who pushed back against this antisemitism, we still have a long way to go to create truly inclusive environments where all forms of bigotry are addressed equitably and without hesitation.

This past year has seen the COVID Delta variant slow an economic recovery and return to normalcy. It brought a return to mask mandates and a reminder that the pandemic is not yet behind us. And it sparked an ugly wave of Holocaust trivialization. ADL has been quick to call this out.

Indeed, the anti-vaxxer protests in America and overseas are a reminder of the work that needs to be done to push back on extremist lies, especially in the echo chambers created by social media and other digital spaces. ADL remains uniquely engaged with all of the major social media companies in order to ensure that these spaces are safe for all, and do not devolve into cesspools of extremism.

But extremism continues to spread seemingly from all sides. No moment exemplified this more than the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, the most predictable terror attack in American history. It was a terrifying reminder of the fragile state of our democracy and the ability of extremists, emboldened by false accusations of a “stolen election” amplified on social media, to wreak havoc on our national institutions.

We’ve been reminded time and time again that racism and bigotry can flare during times of unrest and uncertainty. The COVID pandemic brought with it conspiracy theories that Jews were helping to spread the virus. Asian Americans felt the full brunt of accusations that they were responsible for bringing the virus to America; culminating in the vicious attack in Atlanta this past March where eight people were murdered. As the AAPI community continues to heal from this harm, we are so proud of the role that ADL played to incubate The Asian-American Foundation earlier this year.

And yet the fight for racial justice in America endures. We continue to see efforts to disenfranchise voters of color and undermine voting rights. The spread of anti-transgender legislation, particularly targeting young people, has underscored the need to fight anti-LGTBQ+ bias wherever we find it. And we expect that the abrupt, disastrous pullout of US troops from Afghanistan and subsequent Taliban takeover will result in a new refugee crisis. Our country has a moral responsibility to ensure the safe resettlement for those Afghans and their families who helped us over the years.

Moreover, a Taliban-controlled country seems poised to serve as a haven for Islamist extremists, fueling forces who seek to destabilize secular governments in the region as well as delegitimize and destroy the Jewish state. Israel already faces a fragile security situation in the aftermath of the Gaza violence in May, and the risks from an emboldened Iran, a regime now led by a war criminal who promotes Holocaust denialism and a coterie of wanted terrorists and hardened antisemites.

Hope for the Coming Year

While there are daunting issues, there’s plenty to be hopeful about in the coming year. The FDA’s recent approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for people 12 and older was a significant milestone, and the widespread availability of a booster vaccine for immuno-compromised people shows promise.

And we are making progress in the fight against antisemitism and hate. The recent nomination of Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, one of the foremost authorities on antisemitism, to be the new U.S. Special Envoy on Global Antisemitism was a strong positive sign from the new administration. We’ve been fortunate to share our expertise with elected officials on numerous occasions over the past year, including testifying before Congress, engaging with the White House, and meeting with governors and mayors across the country.

The Jewish community is coming together to combat antisemitism — whether it comes from the left or the right — more than ever before. ADL has recently announced new partnerships with communal organizations including the Secure Community Network, Hillel International, the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism to coordinate our responses to anti-Jewish hate — and more are on the way. Our new BINAH program in schools is making strides to educate about antisemitism. And Never Is Now has surpassed expectations as the largest annual conference in the world focused on antisemitism and hate; this year’s conference promises to be even bigger and better than previous installments.

ADL also continues to break new ground in the fight against antisemitism and hate on social media. Following our Stop Hate for Profit campaign, Facebook made a series of consequential concessions, including taking down QAnon and extremist content, banning Holocaust Denialism as hate speech, and hiring a dedicated executive to monitor our concerns. ADL now is working with PayPal to stop the flow of funds to extremists. And our Backspace Hate campaign has succeeded in passing new laws to address online harassment.

In the coming year, we will double down on our efforts to push back on antisemitism and hatred in the U.S. and around the world. Our work continues to expose extremists, to ensure that every antisemitic incident is taken seriously, and to ensure that law enforcement is working hand-in-hand with our communities to ensure the safety and security of Jewish people and our institutions as well as everyone in society.

We will strive to ensure that America is more prosperous and safer, free from the elements of antisemitism, extremism, racism, anti-AAPI hate, anti-Muslim bias and other forms of bigotry that threaten to undermine our society. We will work to make our country a fairer place for all people, regardless of how they pray, where they’re from or who they love. And we won’t just hope for a more peaceful world where people of all backgrounds can prosper — we will commit to making it happen.

Sincerely,
Esta Gordon Epstein National Chair	Jonathan Greenblatt CEO & National Director