Anti-Defamation League

== Relations with religious and ethnic groups ==
=== Relations with African-Americans ===
During the 1970s, the ADL was a staunch opponent of [[affirmative action]], with its then-leader Perlmutter one of the national figures in opposition.<ref name=":12" /> It filed an amicus brief in support of Allan Bakke, the white student in the landmark 1978 ''[[Regents of the University of California v. Bakke]]'' Supreme Court Case that struck down [[racial quota]]s for university students.<ref name=":13">{{cite web |date=June 29, 1978 |title=Jewish Organizations Hail Court Ruling in Bakke Case; Say It Vindicates Their Stand Against Quotas |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/jewish-organizations-hail-court-ruling-in-bakke-case-say-it-vindicates-their-stand-against-quotas |accessdate=2023-04-01 |publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]}}</ref> Differences on the issue and others were described as leading to a rift between Jewish and African-American groups in the 1970s.<ref name=":12" /> In the 2003 landmark Supreme Court case ''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'', the ADL filed a brief opposing the [[University of Michigan]]'s affirmative action program, but its argument did not propose to end affirmative action entirely; rather, the ADL contended that race "may appropriately be considered in the admissions process," but with no more weight than other characteristics of applicants.<ref name=":12">{{cite web |date=January 29, 2003 |title=Jews temper views on affirmative action |url=https://www.jta.org/2003/01/29/lifestyle/jews-temper-views-on-affirmative-action |accessdate=2023-04-01 |publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/resources/amicus-brief/grutter-v-bollinger |title=Grutter v. Bollinger |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |accessdate=2023-04-01}}</ref>

In 1984, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' reported that then-ADL national director Nathan Perlmutter said that Rev. [[Jesse Jackson]], Sr. was antisemitic after Jackson referred to New York City as "Hymietown".<ref>{{cite journal |first=Fay |last=Joyce |date=February 23, 1984 |title=Post Reaffirms Report On Jackson Comment |journal=[[The New York Times]] |page=13 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/27/us/jackson-admits-saying-hymie-and-apologizes-at-a-synagogue.html |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210101315/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E10FB3B5D0C708EDDAB0894DC484D81 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Fay |last=Joyce |date=February 27, 1984 |title=Jackson Admits Saying 'Hymie' And Apologizes At A Synagogue |journal=[[The New York Times]] |page=16 |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A14F83C5D0C748EDDAB0894DC484D81 |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210101255/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A14F83C5D0C748EDDAB0894DC484D81 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The ADL criticized film director [[Spike Lee]] regarding his portrayal of Jewish nightclub owners Moe and Josh Flatbush in his film ''[[Mo' Better Blues]]'' (1990). The ADL said the characterizations of the nightclub owners "dredge up an age-old and highly dangerous form of anti-Semitic stereotyping", and that it was "disappointed that Spike Lee – whose success is largely due to his efforts to break down racial stereotypes and prejudice – has employed the same kind of tactics that he supposedly deplores".<ref>{{cite journal|date=August 16, 1990|title=Spike Lee's Jews and the Passage From Benign Cliche Into Bigotry|journal=[[The New York Times]]|author=Caryn James|author-link=Caryn James|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/16/movies/critic-s-notebook-spike-lee-s-jews-passage-benign-cliche-into-bigotry.html|access-date=July 27, 2018|archive-date=July 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708193813/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/16/movies/critic-s-notebook-spike-lee-s-jews-passage-benign-cliche-into-bigotry.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Lee's portrayal also angered the B'nai B'rith and other such Jewish organizations, causing Lee to address the criticism in an opinion piece for ''[[The New York Times]]'', where he stated "...if critics are telling me that to avoid charges of anti-Semitism, all Jewish characters I write have to be model citizens, and not one can be a villain, cheat or a crook, and that no Jewish people have ever exploited black artists in the history of the entertainment industry, that's unrealistic and unfair".<ref>{{cite journal|date=August 22, 1990|title=I Am Not an Anti-Semite|journal=[[The New York Times]]|author=Spike Lee|author-link=Spike Lee|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/082290lee-editorial.html|access-date=June 9, 2020|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023112110/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/082290lee-editorial.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, ADL became the lead partner in the [[Peace and Diversity Academy]], a new New York City public high school with predominantly black and Hispanic students. The school was part of a Bloomberg-led effort to open many smaller schools. In 2014, the school was designated among New York's schools with the lowest graduation rates.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Darville |first1=Sarah |title=City's struggling schools face another annual test: enrollment |url=https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/5/28/21095019/city-s-struggling-schools-face-another-annual-test-enrollment |work=[[Chalkbeat New York]] |date=May 28, 2015 |language=en |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712222149/https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/5/28/21095019/city-s-struggling-schools-face-another-annual-test-enrollment |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wall |first1=Patrick |title=After 30-year career, founding principal reflects on his school and the city's plan to revamp it |url=https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/1/27/21092164/after-30-year-career-founding-principal-reflects-on-his-school-and-the-city-s-plan-to-revamp-it |work=Chalkbeat New York |date=January 27, 2015 |language=en |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712222122/https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/1/27/21092164/after-30-year-career-founding-principal-reflects-on-his-school-and-the-city-s-plan-to-revamp-it |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2018 the ADL criticized US Representative [[Danny K. Davis|Danny Davis]] for not condemning [[Louis Farrakhan]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 5, 2018|first=Leo |last=Giosue|title=ADL pans congressman who won't condemn Farrakhan for lacking 'courage'|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com |url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/ADL-pans-congressman-who-wont-condemn-Farrakhan-for-lacking-courage-544221|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726075426/https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/ADL-pans-congressman-who-wont-condemn-Farrakhan-for-lacking-courage-544221|url-status=live}}</ref>{{clarify|date=May 2023}} Davis subsequently condemned Farrakhan's views, saying, "So let me be clear: I reject, condemn and oppose Minister Farrakhan's views and remarks regarding the Jewish people and the Jewish religion."<ref name="JTA">{{cite web|last1=Kampeas|first1=Ron|title=Democratic congressman who praised Louis Farrakhan now denounces him|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/03/09/news-opinion/democratic-congressman-praised-louis-farrakhan-now-denounces|access-date=October 30, 2018|website=JTA|date=9 March 2018|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref>

=== Interfaith camp ===
In 1996 ADL's New England Regional Office established a faith-based initiative called "The Interfaith Youth Leadership Program", better known as "Camp If", or Camp Interfaith. Involving teenagers of the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths, the camp brings the teens together for a week at camp where the teens bond and learn about each other's cultures. The camp has emerged as a new attempt to foster good relations between younger members of the Abrahamic faiths.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Siek |first=Stephanie V. |date=April 6, 2006 |title=A different kind of camp |journal=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/06/a_different_kind_of_camp/|archive-date=May 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522062202/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/06/a_different_kind_of_camp/|url-access=subscription}}</ref>