Anti-Defamation League

===Conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism===
{{See also|Anti-Zionism}}

In a 2022 speech to ADL leaders, Greenblatt said that "[[anti-Zionism]] is antisemitism".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Chotiner |first1=Isaac |date=11 May 2022 |title=Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/is-anti-zionism-anti-semitism |access-date=9 January 2023 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' noted that the "speech marked a rare moment of the organization unequivocally" making that assertion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kampeas |first1=Ron |date=2 May 2022 |title=ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt equates anti-Zionist rhetoric with antisemitism |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/adl-ceo-jonathan-greenblatt-equates-anti-zionist-rhetoric-with-antisemitism/ |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=[[The Times of Israel]]}}</ref> The remarks upset activists and Jewish groups critical of Israel, and also set off  controversy within the ADL.<ref name="TG11">{{cite web |last=Guyer |first=Jonathan |last2=Perkins |first2=Tom |date=5 January 2024 |title=Anti-Defamation League staff decry 'dishonest' campaign against Israel critics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/jan/05/adl-pro-israel-advocacy-zionism-antisemitism |accessdate=5 January 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |quote=Critics of the group argue that these and other actions risk undermining the civil rights organization’s counter-extremism work and say the group has foregone much of its historical mission to fight antisemitism in favor of doing advocacy for Israel.}}</ref> Internal ADL messages seen by ''The Guardian'' included a senior manager at ADL’s Center on Extremism writing in protest that: "There is no comparison between white supremacists and insurrectionists and those who espouse anti-Israel rhetoric, and to suggest otherwise is both intellectually dishonest and damaging to our reputation as experts in extremism."<ref name="TG11"/> The newspaper reported that the speech, which "put opposition to Israel on a par with white supremacy as a source of antisemitism", had sparked controversy.<ref name="TG11" />

In January 2024, two-thirds of ADL's tally of more than 3,283 antisemitic incidents in the United States since October 7, 2023, were tied to the [[Israel-Hamas war]]; ''[[The Forward]]'' said the ADL acknowledged "that it significantly broadened its definition of antisemitic incidents following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack to include rallies that feature 'anti-Zionist chants and slogans,' events that appear to account for around 1,317 of the total count".<ref name="tf11">{{cite web |last=Rosenfeld |first=Arno |date=10 January 2024 |title=ADL counts 3,000 antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, two-thirds tied to Israel |url=https://forward.com/news/575687/anti-defamation-league-adl-antisemitism-count-anti-zionism/ |accessdate=14 January 2024 |work=[[The Forward]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chavez |first=Nicole |date=2024-01-10 |title=ADL records more than 3,200 antisemitic incidents since start of Israel-Hamas war |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/10/us/adl-antisemitism-reports-soar-reaj/index.html |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The ADL classified anti-war protest events led by Jewish groups including [[Jewish Voice for Peace]] and [[IfNotNow]] as "anti-Israel", adding the protests to a database documenting rising antisemitism in the US. In response, an ADL staffer quit, who told the Guardian that "These were Jewish people who we [as the ADL] were defaming, so that felt extremely, extremely confusing, and frustrating to me. And it makes it harder to talk about that when any criticism of Israel, or anyone who criticizes Israel, just becomes a terrorist."<ref name="TG11"/> The ADL told ''The Intercept'' that it did not consider the protests antisemitic, but Greenblatt labelled the protesting groups as hate groups.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Micah |date=November 11, 2023 |title=Anti-Defamation League Maps Jewish Peace Rallies with Antisemitic Attacks |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/11/11/palestine-israel-protests-ceasefire-antisemitic/ |work=[[The Intercept]] |publisher=}}</ref> Former staff told ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' in 2023 of dissent within the ADL over the increasing equation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and over Greenblatt's calls for bans and investigations of pro-Palestinian organizations that he alleged had supported terrorist groups.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weill |first=Kelly |date=2023-11-22 |title=Dissent Over Zionism Is Splitting the ADL From Within: Ex-Staff |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/anti-defamation-league-ex-staff-decry-ceo-jonathan-greenblatts-stance-on-ceasefire-rallies |access-date=2023-11-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=For More Than 100 Years, the ADL Has Been Fighting Antisemitism. Critics Say It's Losing Its Way |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/anti-defamation-league-elon-musk-jonathan-greenblatt-antisemitism-critics-interviews-1234897065/ |publisher=Rolling Stone}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2024/02/21/adl-palestine-terrorism-legislation|title=How the ADL's Anti-Palestinian Advocacy Helped Shape US Terror Laws|work=The Intercept|accessdate=23 March 2024|date=21 February 2024}}</ref> As of early 2024, two ADL staff quit the group in response to pro-Israel advocacy during the war.<ref name="TG11" />

ADL supported a 5 December 2023 US Congress resolution that described anti-Zionism as antisemitism.<ref name="TG11" /> The ADL and other Jewish groups have campaigned for governments to adopt the [[International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance]] definition of antisemitism, which describes anti-Zionism and some forms of criticism of Israel as antisemitic, according to ''The Guardian''.<ref name="TG11" />

Critics of the ADL said that such advocacy for Israel had undermined the group's counter-extremism work and argued that it had foregone parts of its historical mission against antsemitism, according to ''The Guardian''.<ref name="TG11"/> In 2024, an article in ''[[The Nation]]'' said, "The ADL's priority today remains—as it has for decades—going after Americans who are simply opposed to Israel’s endless occupation and oppression of Palestinians", and criticized what it described as US media outlets using ADL reports on antisemitism uncritically.<ref name="tn111"/>