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Does the ADL Diminish the Threat of Muslim Anti-Semitism?

By Michael Weiss / July 13, 2007

A recent comment on Joey Kurtzman's piece, "Fire Foxman: Denying the Armenian Genocide should be the last atrocity perpetrated by the ADL chief," makes an interesting point about the real crimes of the Anti-Defamation League's pursuit of trivial cases of perceived anti-Semitism:

It's an interesting article and although I agree with the fundamental point that on Foxman's watch the ADL has become a net negative, I find it curious that the author (and most of the commenters I read, I did not read all) have left out reference to what I believe to be Foxman's greatest crime. In bending over backwards to hyperbolize and vigorously prosecute perceived threats coming from politically correct enemies, (read: Christians) Foxman has consistently ignored or worse, appeased actual, real and arguably much more dangerous examples of Muslim anti-semitism here in the U.S. This is not to say Christian anti-semitism doesn't exist, (I agree with those who spoke out against Mel Gibson's movie) but it is cowardly and disingenious and damaging to legitimate Jewish-Christian partnerships for Foxman and the ADL to steadfastly ignore the threat institutionalized anti-semitism in Wahhabi-funded American Muslim institutions pose to the Jewish American community in favor of beating up on the same old bogeyman just because he knows in so doing he will enjoy the support of liberal media and the greater American Left.

Leave your thoughts on this comment below, and I'll cull the best responses in a subsequent post.

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  • Michael Pine
    By mhpine 7/13/07 at 6:08 p.m. UTC

    Its not true that the ADL overlooks Islamic anti-semitism.  The ADL for years has diligently tracked anti-semitic rhetoric and images in the Arab and Islamic world.  (The ADL is most certainly not holding its tongue in criticizing American Islamic anti-Semitism out of political correctness.  In the 1990s, the ADL pulled no punches and spared no hyperbole in going after the National of Islam or any African-American politician who remotely associated with the NOI.  And anyone who thinks that the ADL's fundraising would decline if it found a few juicy quotes from an Brooklyn-based imam is kidding themselves.) 

    The problem is that the ADL is increasingly getting caught up in Israel advocacy at the expense of its core mission.  (And I say this as a proud Zionist who supports the work of Jewish and interfaith Israel advocacy groups.)  If you go to the ADL's webpage, you can see a clear example of this.  The homepage is dominated by a campaign to free the Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas and Hezbollah.  A very worthy campaign for every American Zionist from MeretzUSA to the ZOA to get behind, but should it really be the top priority for the ADL?   The homepage also features Foxman's inagural blog post, in which he pontificates on how the U.S. and Israel should relate to Fatah in light of Hamas' takeover of Gaza.  When did Foxman become an expert on Middle East diplomatic and security issues?  (Around the same time David Brooks because an expert on pop music?)

     

    Its understandable how the ADL began its mission creep into Israel advocacy.  Part of the ADL's core mission does involve policing the attacks on the Jewish state.  The ADL should, and does, monitor anti-Semitism in Arab and Iranian state media.  The ADL should unmask anti-Semitism cloaked in anti-Zionist rhetoric.  (Which is why the ADL's efforts to oppose selective boycotts of Israeli academics is appropriate, if not beyond questioning.)  But the ADL has gotten significantly offtrack when its agenda becomes virtually indistinguishable from the AJC or the JCPA – and in the case of the Armenian genocide, AIPAC and JINSA.  What has made the ADL such an effective organization in comparison to the rest of the American Jewish Alphabet Soup (AJAS) is that it had a clear mission and stuck to it, and that clearly placed the Jewish struggle for anti-Semitism in the context of the larger struggle against bigotry and discrimination.  It needs to get back to that mission. 

  • By Anonymous 7/13/07 at 3:57 p.m. UTC

    But criticizing Muslim antisemitism is anti-left, and there’s not much point in criticizing racism if you don’t have the left wing onboard. So Foxman is doing the right thing.

    My tongue is only partly in cheek here. By criticizing particular instances of antisemitism, a larger message is sent which speaks to those not explicitly engaged with. That’s worth something. Given the possible harm that could arise from criticizing Muslim antisemitism — basically, a shitstorm — it’s worth more than the alternative.

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