The tag line above the Anti-Defamation League’s Web site reads, “To stop the defamation of the Jewish people, to secure justice and fair treatment for all.” Its mission statement, unchanged since it was founded in 1913 and prominent on the home page of its Web site, is straightforward: “The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.” And so, for nearly a hundred years, it has sought, often brilliantly, to do precisely that.
In fiscal year 2001, the ADL spent $54 million; in 2007, $71 million. (By way of comparison, the American Jewish Committee in 2007 spent $51 million, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee $60 million, Human Rights Watch in 2008 $42 million.) It is not entirely self-serving for the ADL to describe itself, as it does, as “the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency.”
Yet neither its tag line nor its mission statement hints at the ADL’s mission creep. These days, there is no better example of how much American Jewish organizations have come to depend on Israel to juice their members. Perhaps because the ADL’s traditional domain — the “defamation of the Jewish people” or, more broadly, antisemitism — has by now become more a vague memory than an urgent problem here in America, the ADL has turned increasingly to involvement with Israel’s ongoing conflict with its neighbors. It is almost as if, like the March of Dimes after polio was defeated, the ADL has become an agency in search of a fresh purpose.
True, Israel needs all the help it can get. So why dump on the ADL for lending Israel a helping hand? Try this: The help Israel needs is not the tedious repetition of alibis and excuses, but a sober assessment of its current situation. But nothing in the ADL’s recent interventions suggests it has the desire or the competence to offer such an assessment.
Thus, on July 27, a full-page ADL ad appeared in The New York Times under the blaring headline, “MR. PRESIDENT, THE PROBLEM ISN’T SETTLEMENTS, IT’S ARAB REJECTION.” And then, “We all support peace in the Middle East. But pressuring Israel is not the right approach. The obstacle to peace is not Israel. The settlements are not the impediment. The issue is simple: the Arab and Palestinian rejection of Israel’s right to exist… The path to peace is clear. With recognition, Israel has said again and again that everything is on the table without preconditions. Mr. President, it’s time to stop pressuring our vital friend and ally.”
Innocuous? Hardly. A major American Jewish organization goes public in its criticism of the president, and does so with contempt for the intelligence of its audience (including, presumably, the president): It asks the reader to believe that the issue at the heart of this enervating conflict is “simple,” that all that has to happen is for the Arab world to “recognize” Israel and then Israel will put everything “on the table without preconditions.”
But the ADL must know that the issue is not “simple” at all. It must know that Jordan and Egypt have already recognized Israel, and that the Arab League has promised to recognize Israel if Israel negotiates what the Arab League regards as an acceptable conclusion to the conflict. Does that mean there are preconditions? Yes, but no more disruptive than the preconditions Prime Minister Netanyahu insistently put forward during his major policy speech at Bar-Ilan University on June 14. And the ADL must know, as well, that Israel’s call for recognition is not quite the innocent demand it is made out to be. Instead, it is a demand that Israel be recognized as the Jewish state. Some believe that the only purpose to be served by such recognition is to preempt any discussion of the Palestinian “right of return.” Others feel that it is demeaning for the Jewish state of Israel to require that others acknowledge its core ideological principle. Simple?
And the ADL surely knows that settlements are, in fact, very much a problem. In a piece on The Huffington Post of July 24, the ADL’s national director, Abe Foxman, acknowledges that Israel has confiscated property to establish new settlements, has provided financial incentives to Jews to relocate to the West Bank, has failed to remove illegal outposts. He himself prefers, as does the Israeli government, that settlements be treated as “a matter for final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians.” Yet, inexplicably, he wants America now to praise Israel for once again promising to address these matters. But he must know that the only thing that may now bring them to fulfillment is American pressure.
In the meantime, between the long-since stale promises and final-status talks, Israel has built more and more housing in the settlements, until recently established new settlements, indulged the construction of new illegal outposts, planned for the major development of Area E-1, which would connect Jerusalem to Ma’aleh Adumim. Is all this construction merely a charade, its true destiny to be negotiated at the end of the day? Or is it an effort to establish “facts on the ground” that will ensure an endless night?
Here’s an idea, a way to test the ADL’s commitment to its stated mission: Let the panoply of American Jewish organizations that have genuine expertise on the Israel/Palestine conflict do their thing, while the ADL, in line with its stated purpose of securing “justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike,” takes a full-page ad in The New York Times endorsing major reform of our health care system.
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With breathtaking chutzpah, the Forward's resident extremist leftist Israel-basher attacks the ADL for challenging Obama's libel of the Jewish State of Israel!
Even as Fein (again) aggressively defames the Jewish people, he amazingly argues that, "the `defamation of the Jewish people' or, more broadly, antisemitism — has by now become more a vague memory than an urgent problem here in America." Now, that's actually pretty good shtick - if you are into sick humor. The defamation of the Jewish people is the daily work of the Forward, which publishes Fein and numerous other anti-Israel/anti-Semitic "stories".
At least Fein has helpfully included every anti-Israel "progressive" talking-point used by Israel's enemies. If for easy reference you want the "progressive" perversion of the truth, here it is.
Of course, the ADL is precisely correct. Anyone with half a brain, and an intact sense of morality knows it is true. Until the arabs accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish State, there can never be a meaningful peace - only intermittent hot and cold wars. "Settlements" are obviously a red herring (particularly outrageous when Obama claims Jerusalem is a "settlement"). Obama's attacks on Israel are unprecedented and frightening to American Jews. Although the Forward and J Street wish it to be otherwise, American Jewish groups are appropriately "pushing back"!
Here's an idea, a way to have the ADL continue in its mission: It should set up an office to monitor marginal "progressive" crackpots who defame the Jewish people.
To the ADL: Thank you and keep up the good work!
the label "jew" does not denote any ethnicity or nationality; it symbolizes a peculiar sense of "jewishness": being a cut above everybody else. the label "jew" appears to be used solely to convince unwary people that the symbol "jew" stands for a nationality or an ethnicity.
in fact, the label "jew'' evokes in many people's minds divisiveness, separativeness, projected 'jewish' superiority, cultishness, constant grievances, fight against everybody, etc.
and as we educate people about what 'jews' do and strive to achieve, more people wld condemn severely such antihuman cultishness. tnx
Who is a "Self hating Jew"? In his inimitable style, Bibi Netanyahu recently called Rahm Emanuel a self-hating Jew. Other than the possibility that the presumption revealed by the remark hints at a certain lack of tact when directed at the Chief of Staff of an extremely popular American President, one might legitimately wonder whether Bibi suffers from a surfeit of arrogance, or of ignorance, or of both.
But then it may be that our esteemed head of government, if asked, and sufficiently well informed of my opinions, might also conclude that I too, am a self-hating Jew. In an effort to be fair to the leader of the right-wing Likud party, I will attempt to address the question.
I begin with the conviction that ultimately I alone am responsible for my actions, or my inaction in the face of any ethical or moral dilemma. The preceding statement is based on the probability that any such dilemma may be viewed from more than one side.
Specifically, I contend that Israel, after a number of wars fought and won on the battlefields, has assumed the role of Goliath, Goliath the strong, invincible and unforgiving. The Palestinian State in waiting, in contrast, has been recast as David, albeit David without the sling.
Given that we now live in the post-colonialist world, Israel, unlike America or Australia, cannot hide the indigenous peoples of conquered territories in reservations, there to be ignored by the rest of the civilized world. Unlike Britain, France and Belgium, Israel's lately conquered adversaries do not live half-way around the world, but live among and around the citizens of the new state, although not on the land on which they once dwelt.
Many Israelis, and certainly the official and inept Israeli propaganda machine whimper that we are misunderstood. The modern world however, when witness to conflicts, roots almost inevitably for the underdog. That's just the way it is, and the world is the better for it; so we should stop whining, and get on with it.
Sometimes, unfortunately, as in the case of the mass murder of the Tootsie peoples by the Hutu, or the beastly Bosnian Moslem genocide by the Serbs, the underdog is ill served by those who later bemoan its fate.
The world, however, for whatever reason, is far more up to date concerning the Palestinian – Israeli struggle. Israel, heir to two millennium of the honing of a set of moral and ethical principles second to none, is expected, like it or not, to behave in a manner conforming to its assertions of superior ethical integrity.
Sadly, I am aware of little, if any respect offered the ordinary Palestinian by too many Israelis or any of our right-wing politicians. My government, and the average young Israeli soldier, evidence precious little knowledge of the nature of cause and effect in their daily interactions with Palestinians, seemingly ignorant that if you do not give respect, you are not worthy of respect.
The ordinary right-wing reaction to Israeli self-examination is to ask, "What about what the Arabs did…(whenever or whatever)? The only rational response is that I am not responsible for the crimes of Palestinian leaders and extremists, who are no less stupid than their Israeli counterparts; that is the responsibility of the Palestinians. Blame is too easily apportioned to one or the other of the contending sides. It is time that we contend with our own actions and decide what we can reasonably do to achieve peace. I repeat, we are the stronger, the onus is on us.
So, am I a self-hating Jew? Is Rahm Emanuel a self-hating Jew? I think not! He might just hate what I hate. What I do hate is the stupidity of too many Israeli politicians. I hate the fact that the settlers in the West Bank are not constrained by decency, or by the laws of the land, the same laws which are too harshly applied to ordinary Palestinians. I hate it that the settlers are making a mockery of Jewish law, morals and ethics. And you…are you a self-hating Jew?
a 'jew' in an ethiopean skin must also be selfhating. Such a person wishes he had ashk'c money and skin. and all the mizrahic 'jews' must also be selfhating; since they are poor and have 'tainted' skin. and since all nonjews are part shemitic [being 000001% of that race], they, too, are, selfhating. and since all 'jews' are partly [00001%] zulu, hutu, apache, french, russian, et al, they are all impure; so, they are selfhating.
in the end, we all live in a impure world. Too bad hitler didn't know that. If he knew that, he wld have considered germans as an admixture of huns, goths, slavs. Partly also being zulu, apachee, shemitic, gypsie. thus he wld not have waged any war for such impure races. tnx
Here's a good article on the so-called Arab rejection. In fact, Netanyahu deliberately rejected Hamas peace offers.
London Review of Books 29 January 2009 Israel’s Lies Henry Siegman http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n02/sieg01_.html
Middle East peacemaking has been smothered in deceptive euphemisms, so let me state bluntly that each of these claims is a lie. Israel, not Hamas, violated the truce: Hamas undertook to stop firing rockets into Israel; in return, Israel was to ease its throttlehold on Gaza. In fact, during the truce, it tightened it further. This was confirmed not only by every neutral international observer and NGO on the scene but by Brigadier General (Res.) Shmuel Zakai, a former commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division. In an interview in Ha’aretz on 22 December, he accused Israel’s government of having made a ‘central error’ during the tahdiyeh, the six-month period of relative truce, by failing ‘to take advantage of the calm to improve, rather than markedly worsen, the economic plight of the Palestinians of the Strip."
There is plenty of real antisemitism, and it has gotten worse since the present economic crisis started. I see it all over the Internet and watch it carefully.
Unfortunately, because the ADL under Foxman has chosen to shill for Likidnik extremism, it has made itself much less credible in its mission to fight real antisemitism precisely at the time that credibility is needed. Foxman seems to believe that any person who speaks out against any Israeli policy is either an antisemite or self-hating.
He has made himself into a caricature and should be replaced.
As an expatriate American living in Israel, since 1970 I have two major concerns; the survival of Israel and the rule of law. I am not sure that the illegal settlements actually have any real impact on Israel’s survival, but they have a large impact on the rule of law. In as much as they are illegal, they must come down. If a location is in fact necessary for Israel’s security then the Government should authorize a legal settlement. However, I feel that President Obama’s policy is too encompassing and favors the Arab position. Is he just giving “lip service” to his statements of support of Israel? All Israeli citizens should have the right to live any place they want within the Land of Israel.
Good comment Frank...the Forward, Leonard Fein and J-Street (now busted as all it's Islamist and anti-Israel Arab funders have been revealed) are of the same piece/peace. They will sell Israel down the drain for a crumb of "approval" from non-Jews.