The Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League, commonly known as the ADL, is one of the major Jewish-American organizations working against antisemitism, racism, and discrimination. Founded in 1913 through the initiative of B'nai B'rith, it has spent more than a century expanding its work from defending Jews against defamation to addressing civil rights, community security, hate crimes, and threats to democratic institutions.

The League combines public advocacy, education, research, reporting, monitoring of hate and extremist activity, and legal action when necessary. Its stated mission is to combat defamation of the Jewish people while advancing justice and fair treatment for all citizens, regardless of ethnic or religious identity. This combination of Jewish communal defense and broader civil-rights work has made the ADL an influential institution in American public life and in Jewish communities around the world.

Founded in the wake of the Leo Frank case

The organization was founded by Sigmund Livingston against the backdrop of the antisemitism exposed during the trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Atlanta who was convicted of murdering Mary Phagan, an employee at the pencil factory he managed. Frank was sentenced to death, later had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment, and in 1915 was abducted from prison and lynched by a mob. The case demonstrated the danger created when prejudice, inflammatory public rhetoric, and institutional failure combine to endanger a minority. It became one of the events that helped inspire the League's creation.

From its earliest years, the ADL challenged antisemitic propaganda and efforts to portray American Jews as outsiders or scapegoats. Its work helped develop public and legal tools for confronting discrimination and reinforced the principle that protecting Jews is part of a wider struggle for equal rights and the protection of minorities.

Confronting antisemitism and hate in modern society

The League publishes assessments, studies, and reports on antisemitism, hate crimes, terrorism, online hate, and threats to minority communities. It also addresses bias in schools and the criminal-justice system, as well as the ways in which communications technologies can spread hatred rapidly and on a mass scale. Alongside its work against antisemitism, the ADL presents itself as an organization opposing racism, discrimination, and threats to democracy.

The organization also works on issues involving Israel, the United States, and the relationship between Israel and Jewish communities in the Diaspora. Through publications, educational programs, and engagement with policymakers, it provides information on Jewish security, Israel-American relations, and the condition of Jewish communities internationally. Over the years, the League has supported Israeli policies; this position is part of the public advocacy associated with the organization.

A role in the civil-rights struggle

One of the most significant chapters in the ADL's history was its involvement in the movement for African-American civil rights. During the civil-rights era, Jewish and African-American rights organizations cooperated against racial segregation and discrimination. The partnership reflected a principle that Jewish security cannot be separated from the protection of other minorities, and that confronting racism strengthens society as a whole.

Relations between some Jewish and African-American organizations later changed, partly amid the rise of anti-Israel positions and new political movements. Nevertheless, the earlier cooperation remains an important example of the role Jewish organizations played in the broader American struggle for civil rights.

A national organization with an international reach

According to the material preserved in the archive, the ADL has an annual budget of more than $40 million, approximately 30 offices across the United States, and three offices outside the country—in Israel, Russia, and Italy. Its headquarters are in New York City. Jonathan Greenblatt has served as the organization's national director since 2015. This network enables the League to connect local responses to antisemitism with wider Jewish and international discussions.

Why the Anti-Defamation League belongs in Moreshet

The Anti-Defamation League merits inclusion in Moreshet because it represents a defining chapter in modern Jewish communal history: the transformation of protection against defamation from a private concern into organized public, educational, and legal action. For more than a century, the League has documented manifestations of hatred, brought them into public debate, and worked to influence institutions, educators, and policymakers.

Its significance extends beyond the Jewish community. Combating antisemitism, racism, and incitement helps protect minorities and democratic society, while the ADL's historic cooperation with African-American civil-rights organizations shows how a specifically Jewish experience can contribute to a broader human struggle. Because of its impact on Jewish life in the United States, on connections between Israel and the Diaspora, and on public discussions of prejudice around the world, the League has a meaningful place in the archive of Moreshet.com.