Thread by @rabbijilljacobs

A few words about the drama that unfolded over the past week plus regarding @ADL

This will be a long thread—please read the whole thing before responding. And if you tweet part of it, remind your followers that it's a thread & they should also read the whole thing. (1/25)

The ADL was founded in 1913 in response to the lynching of a Jewish man, Leo Frank, the anniversary of whose murder was Monday. This lynching was a wake-up call to American Jews that antisemitism was alive and well. myjewishlearning.com/article/leo-fr… (2/25)

Worth noting that this was just a decade after the Kishinev pogrom, which shook American Jews and the world. Definitely worth reading Steve Zipperstein’s book on this. wwnorton.com/books/97816314…

Also worth noting that white nationalists on twitter are still attacking Frank. (3/25)

For 107 years, the ADL has been important part of coalition of orgs working for civil rights. They have been critical to passing hate crimes legislation, protecting LGBTQ rights, defending wall between church and state, and exposing & fighting dangerous white nationalists. (4/25)

The suggestion that ADL merely masquerades as a civil rights group, or is a trojan horse pretending to care about civil rights in order to push a right-wing agenda is both wrong & deeply offensive.

(I'm about to talk about the very real, fair criticisms)

(5/25)

Note that the ADL has been the target of major attacks by the far right (Jewish & not) for their strong criticism of Trump, support of refugees/immigrants and focus on white nationalism; and of white nationalist conspiracy theories that they control the FBI/US gov. (6/25)

AND there are plenty of times in the recent and distant past in which the ADL failed to live up to their founding mission, including in ways that have had a negative impact on other civil rights and racial justice organizations. (7/25)

In this Jewish season of cheshbon hanefesh (personal accounting) & teshuva (returning to one’s best self), ADL should transparently investigate accusations made by progressive allies, reach out to repair harm, and assess how lessons of history may affect future work. (8/25)

Some of the accusations made against the ADL (recent or in distant past) deserve investigation and accounting, as above. Some are based on conjecture or guilt by association (a tactic the far right uses against the left all the time, and which we should avoid.) (9/25)

Some other accusations reflect real ideological differences. 1) Israel. ADL has taken the same position as most legacy Jewish organizations—theoretically for two states, but reluctant to criticize Israeli govt, condemn occupation or demand human rights for Palestinians. (10/25)

This is wrong. All Jewish organizations, and all organizations that truly care about the future of Israelis and Palestinians should speak out loudly for the human rights (incl right to self-determination) of both peoples. (11/25)

ADL has taken small steps recently, opposing annexation, & advocating for asylum seekers inside Israel. They should do more--fighting for civil rights in Israel must include working to end the occupation, as well as standing with Palestinian citizens & other minorities. (12/25)

While criticizing ADL on Israel, remember that vast (>90%) of American Jews are committed to long-term stability of Israel AND majority oppose current govt & occupation and support two states. Progressive left sometimes forgets part 1, legacy Jewish orgs forget part 2. (13/25)

While Israel is likely the most divisive issue in the progressive world, setting a litmus test that one cannot consider oneself pro-Israel, or support two states, would divide the vast majority of Jews from the left. Not what we need when fighting white nationalism. (14/25)

2) Policing. ADL has a massive program providing anti-bias training to police. There is a basic ideological divide between those who choose to work with police & try to make them less racist, and those who say this work is futile or worse. Let’s argue about that. (15/25)

This gets conflated w/ADL’s program to bring US police to Israel for counter-terrorism training. They should publish curriculum of those programs, as there’s a lot of conjecture. And likely not do them at all--police can figure out their own training (or not) (16/25)

3) What constitutes antisemitism. The ADL was founded to fight antisemitism, so see the world through this lens. Most of their recent focus is on white nationalism, but yes—they call out antisemitism (real or perceived) on the left, sometimes well & sometimes badly. (17/25)

They have often blurred the line between criticism of Israel & antisemitism in unhelpful ways. Criticism of a country is not bigotry. And sometimes it crosses line. Where’s that line? People disagree. Let's argue about it. My take here:

washingtonpost.com/outlook/how-to… (18/25)

The ADL is not perfect by a long-shot. But we cannot fight for racial justice, against antisemitism, and against other bigotries by working only with groups with whom we agree 100% of the time. (19/25)

The organization I lead (@truahrabbis) often works in interfaith coalitions on worker justice, civil liberties, incarceration with faith groups whose positions on reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights threaten members of our community. (20/25)

But that’s how you make change—by working in diverse coalitions with people w/whom you deeply disagree on other issues. That’s what the right has figured out & that’s why they keep winning. (21/25)

Especially in this moment, when organized--and too often armed--white nationalist groups are threatening too many of our lives, and the very future of this country, we must come together across deep lines of difference to fight for a better future. (22/25)

I hope that those who feel harmed by the ADL’s actions, recently or years ago, will reach out and ask for the work of cheshbon hanefesh (accounting) and repair. And I hope that the ADL will respond accordingly & with humility & desire to learn & deepen relationships. (23/25)

And let’s go back to what’s most important—working for the human rights of all people: BIPOC, Jews, immigrants, women, LGBTQ people, disabled people, Israelis & Palestinians (these are all overlapping categories) across lines of difference, on issues on which we can agree (24/25)

Infighting w/i progressive/civil rights community only weakens us & empowers those trying to divide us. We don’t have to bury our hurts & ideological differences. Let’s talk about them & also stand together against white nationalism threatening our lives & our democracy. (25/25)