Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

ADL is ‘mired in leftist ideology’

“Top Story” with Jonathan Tobin and guest William Jacobson, Ep. 64

The revelation that the school curricula being distributed by the Anti-Defamation League as part of their anti-hate programs are filled with critical race theory teachings is shocking, says JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin.

But when seen in the context of everything that has happened during the Jewish defense agency’s transformation in the last several years under CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, it’s hardly surprising, he notes.

According to Tobin, the critical race theory indoctrination being spread by the ADL illustrates that the vital Jewish defense agency has “betrayed its mission,” because “woke leftist ideas that legitimate racialist attitudes are linked to Jew hatred.”

He explains that the ADL is now “mired in leftist ideology in which it has bought into the BLM agenda of equity as opposed to equality.” By emphasizing ideas about race and privilege even though doing so “gives a boost to the lies about Israel being an ‘apartheid state,’” the ADL “undermines the interests and security of the people they’re supposed to be standing up for,” he says.

He’s then joined by LegalInsurrecution.com’s William Jacobson who explains that critical race theory is based on the idea that the American system is “completely corrupted, and completely racist, and ... needs to be torn down.” Its goals, he says, are “the exact opposite of the American civil rights movement,” and seek to racialize society almost in the same way as apartheid-era South Africa.

More than that, he argues, it has become inextricably linked with anti-Israel and anti-Semitic ideas about Jews being white oppressors.

As Jacobson notes, the ADL has embraced all this because “it fits in with their left-wing narrative.” The organization, he says, has remade itself into a “social justice organization” and become “a functional arm of the Democratic Party.” In doing so, “They’ve burned bridges to anyone who is right of center. And that’s not healthy for the fight against anti-Semitism.”

Though the group still defines in terms of combating anti-Semitism, it has ceased to do so, becoming a mere part of the political back and forth in a divided society, in which they prefer to demonize former President Donald Trump and his supporters, he says.

Moreover, by involving itself in efforts to censor free speech on the Internet, the ADL fails to realize that the same tactics can be used by leftist elites to target Jews and supporters of Israel, he adds.

“Top Story” also airs on JBS-TV.

Listen/Subscribe to weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the JNS YouTube Channel.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS, a columnist for Newsweek and a contributor to many other publications. He covers the American political scene, foreign policy, the U.S.-Israel relationship, Middle East diplomacy, the Jewish world and the arts. He hosts the JNS “Think Twice” podcast, both the weekly video program and the “Jonathan Tobin Daily” program, available on all major audio platforms and on YouTube. Previously, he was executive editor, then senior online editor and chief political blogger, for Commentary magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of The Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia and editor of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger. He has won 60-plus awards for his columns, commentary, art criticism and other writing. He appears regularly on television, commenting on politics and foreign policy. Born in New York City, he studied history at Columbia University.
A quarter century after the terror attacks in lower Manhattan, Rabbi Yona Reiss spoke to JNS about the agunah cases handled by the Beth Din of America.
“Our motto is God first, and Israel always has a special place in our hearts,” Naoero Foreign Minister Lionel Aingimea said.
Military commanders mobilized reserve units and tested sudden war plans ahead of the High Holidays.
Actor and co-creator of the series shared the difficulties in filming abroad in the wake of the Hamas-led massacre and rising antisemitism.