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Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), originally called the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, was founded in 1913 in reaction to the crude and overt anti-Semitism of that period, specifically the Leo Frank case. The ADL's goal, as stated in the charter that established the league, is “to end the defamation of the Jewish people… to secure justice and fair treatment for all citizens alike.” This entry reviews its history of advocacy.

Staff and Strategy

Originally based in Chicago, the offices of the ADL today are in New York City. The league works out of thirty-one regional offices located throughout the United States. The ADL also has a cooperative relationship with the B'nai B'rith Canadian office, an office in Jerusalem, and representation in Rome and Moscow.

Unlike the American Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee, and other community relations “defense” organizations in the American Jewish community, the ADL is not a membership organization. It has evolved from being a commission of its parent body to an organization with independent board and fund-raising structures and in reality is fully autonomous. The ADL is staffed by career professionals who are specialists in various disciplines related to community relations—law, communication, education, interfaith affairs, labor, foreign affairs (especially Israel and the Middle East), and social sciences.

Although the ADL views itself as an agency devoted to the combating of anti-Semitism and related forms of prejudice, it avers that the threats to Jewish security come from a weakening of the constitutional structures in U.S. society—such as church-state separation—and from a diminution of civil rights and civil liberties. Moreover, the ADL suggests that anti-Semitism appears in new forms and guises such as anti-Israel activity and radicalism of the right and left. The league views itself as being an “active” organization, responding in a timely manner to what are perceived to be threats to the rights and security of Jews. It sees itself as taking a pragmatic, rather than an ideological, approach to issues. The ADL, by virtue of its budget and its varied activity, is considered to be a significant voice among the community relations agencies.

Evolving Agenda

The ADL's initial efforts focused on the blatant anti-Semitism of the pre- and post-World War I period that included restricted neighborhoods, resorts, and jobs as well as schools that rejected Jews; for example, model legislation drafted by the ADL helped to unmask the Ku Klux Klan and drastically diminish its power. However, the ADL's focus during its early decades was not on taking legal remedies against discrimination but rather on countering defamation of Jews.

For example, the ADL exposed the vicious anti-Semitism of the Dearborn Independent, which printed and circularized the infamous Protocols of Zion, and extracted an apology and a retraction from its publisher, Henry Ford. Throughout the 1930s, the league fought and exposed the many hate groups that sprang up during the Depression and the Hitler period such as the Christian Front, the Silver Shirts, and the German American Bund. Particularly during the post-World War II period, the ADL was successful in advocating on behalf of legislation against such discrimination. It also dealt with vulgar stereotypes and caricatures of Jews on the stage and in communication media and with incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism, and it played a role in strengthening interfaith and interracial relationships.

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