The ADL Quietly Eliminated Its Anti-Bias Educational Program

The Anti-Defamation League has fashioned itself as the “leading anti-hate organization in the world.” But these days, it appears to be focused mostly on fighting antisemitism specifically.

Beginning in 2023, it phased out its signature anti-hate educational program, A World of Difference Institute, without formally announcing it, the magazine Jewish Currents first reported on March 27.

{snip}

Begun 40 years ago, the educational program reached thousands of schoolrooms each year and was designed to “challenge prejudice, stereotyping and all forms of discrimination.” The program consisted of a trained facilitator offering workshops to teach teachers and students how to fight bias, strengthen pluralism and promote democratic ideals.

But in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, the ADL appears to have shifted its focus. In addition to tracking antisemitism, it has become increasingly vocal in championing Israel. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has repeatedly said that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. He has called for the campus organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, to be investigated for providing “material support” to Hamas and endorsed stronger measures to end pro-Palestinian student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.

In January, it defended Elon Musk after he twice gave what many interpreted as a fascist Nazi salute at an event celebrating Trump’s inauguration, advising those who were upset to give Musk “the benefit of the doubt and take a breath.”

Most recently, it applauded the Trump administration’s move to deport former Columbia student activist and permanent U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil, saying there should be “swift and severe consequences for those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.”

{snip}