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New Resources and Webinars About Crisis in Ukraine | |
ADL continues to closely monitor and react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Following our initial statement debunking the reprehensible Russian stated war aim of “de-nazifying” Ukraine, we published a piece
further explaining why Putin accused the Ukrainian government of being Nazis. In response to strong demand, ADL has created a Ukraine Crisis page containing variety of resources, including donation opportunities to organizations doing vital humanitarian work on the ground in Ukraine.
In addition, ADL has provided analysis about antisemitic conspiracy theories related to the Ukraine invasion, a blog about how American white supremacists have been framing the war as a Jewish conspiracy, and advice to help parents and teachers speak with children about the refugee crisis.
We also hosted a series of webinars on Ukraine, featuring a variety of experts and voices connected to the conflict, including former Soviet Refusenik Natan Sharansky, who spoke about Putin, his mentality and his possible strategic aims; Vlad Davidzon, a journalist who spoke about the war from his perspective on the ground in Ukraine; Rachel Levitan
, Vice President of HIAS, who spoke about the refugee situation and the vital efforts of HIAS and other organizations, which are coordinating and providing humanitarian aid; Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, who spoke about the Polish Jewish community’s work in providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees; and Jenna Hopkins, ADL’s Director for Technology Policy, who spoke about Russia’s disinformation campaign against Ukraine.
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New Report Examines threats posed by Swedish Extremist Group Nordic Resistance Movement | |
ADL released a new report
on the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), Scandanavia’s most dangerous neo-Nazi right wing extremist group that has a history of harassing Jewish communities in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The report describes the history, antisemitic ideology and violent actions of the group and makes recommendations for governments to better counter this major extremist group, which has links to American white supremacists, including with Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Workers Party, who said he modeled the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on NRM organizing.
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ADL Letter Calls out Amnesty’s Hostility Towards Israel and Jews | |
In response to the recent hostility displayed by Amnesty International and its employees towards Israel, including the February report alleging Israel has engaged in apartheid policies from its founding and problematic comments made by Paul O’Brien, Director of Amnesty USA, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote a
letter to the Amnesty Secretary General, expressing concern about this trend, saying:
These episodes sadly demonstrate how Amnesty appears to have abandoned its perch as a leading global human rights organization. It appears to have adopted the practices of an activist anti-Israel organization that seeks to politicize not just the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also Zionism and the millennia-old Jewish connection to Israel. It is lamentable that Amnesty has decided to cast Israel and its supporters, including Jews around the world, as the evil protagonists in a warped narrative of the conflict. This not only serves to harm good-faith efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is especially shameful in the current global environment of rising anti-Jewish
hate. This kind of anti-Israel propaganda could have been prepared by the former USSR and we fully expect it will exacerbate and intensify antisemitism.
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ADL expressed shock at the wave of terrorist attacks in Israel – in Beersheba where four Israelis were killed, in Hadera where two Israeli police officers were killed, and in
Bnai Brak
where five people were killed, including police officer Amir Khoury, a Christian Israeli, whose heroic actions likely saved lives. The attacks were widely condemned, including from several Muslim and Arab leaders like Turkish President Erdogan and Palestinian President Abbas.
ADL welcomed the Israel-hosted Negev Summit that included foreign ministers from Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, the UAE, and US Secretary of State Blinken, saying it was important both historically, as it brought together Israeli and Arab leaders, and symbolically, as it took place on Israeli soil.
ADL denounced the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) for ratifying a BDS resolution boycotting Israeli academic institutions, saying it undermined academic principles of dialogue and obstructed Israeli-Palestinian engagement. ADL further lauded Brandeis University for announcing
that it would end its institutional membership in MESA. ADL regional offices across the US have reached out to other universities with institutional membership to disassociate from MESA.
ADL sent a letter to the Sierra Club in response to their decision to cancel their trips to Israel, calling the move a validation of the BDS campaign “that seeks to undermine and demonize Israel’s legitimacy.” Shortly after, following consultations with ADL and other concerned organizations, Sierra reversed their earlier decision, and announced they would reinstate the Israel trips.
ADL condemned an apparent anti-Palestinian “Price Tag” vandalism and arson of a mosque in the West Bank.
ADL expressed sadness at the passing of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the greatest Torah sages of our times and a leader for Jews worldwide.
Anti-Muslim comments by Jerusalem’s deputy mayor were condemned.
ADL condemned former Vice President Mike Pence for engaging with Jewish extremists while in Hebron, including with a Knesset member who has repeatedly expressed racist, anti-Arab views.
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The visit to Turkey by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the first by a senior Israeli official in over a decade, was welcomed as a hopeful development towards renewing relations between Israel and Turkey. |
In an op-ed
, Jonathan Greenblatt called on the US to develop a multi-track process to deal with many threats posed by the Iranian regime, including a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to Iranian terror activities, by denying sanctions relief to convicted terrorists, as well as a process focused on human rights and an effort to lift up Iranian voices opposed to the regime’s human rights abuses and tyrannical practices. ADL also said that reports that the US may remove IRGC's designation as a terrorist group are very troubling.
ADL condemned Yemeni-Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi for claiming the Ukraine-Russia war was a result of the Jews' “evil-doing” and Ukraine having a Jewish president. |
Sharon Nazarian, SVP for International Affairs,
represented ADL
at the annual dinner hosted by CRIF – ADL’s French Jewish communal partner. Prime Minister Jean Castex substituted for President Emmanuel Macron, who was attending an urgent EU summit in Brussels. Also in attendance was nearly two-thirds of the government ministers and dozens of diplomats and representatives of Muslim communities, the Catholic Church and others.
ADL marked 10 years since an Islamic extremist opened fire at Ozar Hatorah Jewish day school in Toulouse, France, killing 1 teacher and 3 children.
ADL marked the anniversary of the killing of Mireille Knoll, a French Holocaust survivor who was brutally murdered in Paris in an antisemitic attack.
ADL continued delivering Words to Action trainings on responding to antisemitism across Europe, including five trainings with the European Union of Jewish Students, Moishe House Brussels, Habonim Dror youth movement Brussels, the Jewish Student Union Berlin, and Makkabi Berlin. |
Liat Altman, ADL’s Director of Latin America Affairs, traveled to Colombia and presented about modern-day antisemitism at a workshop organized by the Jewish Community of Colombia as part of a series of workshops taking place at police academies throughout the country in response to an incident involving local police dressing up with Nazi garb and trivializing the Shoah. Liat also presented at the first
Summer U seminar organized by the Federation of Latin American Jewish Students (FEJJLA), where she led a panel discussion with students on issues confronting antisemitism and anti-Zionism on Latin American college campuses.
Liat Altman was interviewed on Chilean TV about the recent terror attacks across Israel.
ADL marked the anniversary of the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires by Iranian-backed Hezbollah operatives which killed 29 people and injuring over 240.
ADL translated several op-eds into Spanish, including: |
ADL condemned several antisemitic incidents and trends globally, including: the vandalizing of a Hannukah menorah in Temuco, Chile; and antisemitic rhetoric used by elected officials in Ireland.
ADL said the Taliban’s decision to close girls’ schools in Afghanistan just hours after reopening is wrong and heartbreaking.
ADL welcomed the formal declaration by the US of the years-long attacks by the Burmese military on the Rohingya as a genocide and crimes against humanity.
ADL condemned the horrific terror attack targeting innocent Muslim worshipers at a mosque in Pakistan.
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