Which organization has been a strong partner in the anti-Muslim and anti-Arab “Countering Violent Extremism” strategy, calling for its funding and expansion?
Which organization smears Palestinian rights advocates as antisemitic while defending actual antisemites, including Trump?
Which organization was a proxy for the US government during the McCarthy and Civil Rights eras, feeding info to the FBI, spying on Black liberation movements and activists, including MLK, and surveilling many other progressive organizations?
No, it's not some far-right group run by Steven Emerson. It's the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization which has branded itself as a progressive civil rights group.
AMP, along with coalition partners, has been working on a project to end our communities’ and other progressive movements’ involvement with the ADL. The coalition now has more than 100 signatories of Black, Latino, Indigenous, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and faith groups committed to #DroptheADL.
The open letter makes a simple call: we invite community institutions and organizations to reconsider their partnerships with the ADL -- to hold the ADL accountable for its role in undermining, coopting, and attacking movements for justice.
Check out the new website and primer on the extensive history of attacks and smear campaigns led by the ADL against progressive movements in this country. You can also check out our previous work on the ADL. Join the Movement for Black Lives, Mijente, and Democratic Socialists of America by signing up your group today !
Going back to the 1930’s, the ADL has positioned itself as a central component of the Zionist lobby in the US and abused the label of antisemitism while masquerading as a civil rights organization. The ADL has gone after everyone from activists, community leaders, academics and politicians who are outspoken in support of Palestinian human rights and liberation.
Today, the ADL is the single largest non-governmental police trainer in the country and has attacked the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) platform, blasting the M4BL in racist, patronizing terms. The ADL advised police to film and plant undercover agents among antiracism activists in Charlottesville, gave an award to the St. Louis Police Department during the Ferguson uprisings, and helped train Ferguson police on repression tactics in Israel.
It’s about time we #DroptheADL.