Not only has the ADL bungled its response to the Kyrie Irving Jew-hatred affair, its actions — both past and present — will perpetuate more of the very hatred it pretends to fight
“Pop quiz: Which of these two individuals do you find more problematic?” asks Liel Leibovitz in a new, explosive article for Tablet.
Anti-Semite Kyrie Irving — a man with a long record of attacks on Israel and flirting with Holocaust denial — or ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt?
As Leibovitz shows, Greenblatt is the winner:
“Let’s think about it for a minute. One of these guys is a weirdo with dumb opinions he may or may not actually believe. The other is running a soulless racket which just made it clear that you can say whatever you want about the Jews and buy your indulgences at a discount price.
Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely believe that Irving’s endorsement of a Black nationalist documentary based on an obscure Jew-hating book, to say nothing of Kanye West’s meltdown, will most likely contribute to a surge in antisemitism in America, particularly in the Black community. But we Jews don’t control Kyrie Irving; in theory, we do control the ADL, and we shouldn’t want our chief defense group to behave in a way that advances antisemitic conspiracy theories about shadowy Jews trafficking in money and influence for fun and profit.
All of this leads to one sorry conclusion: It’s time to say goodbye to the ADL. It can’t be killed, so we need to just walk away from this formerly venerable organization, and weaken it before it swerves so far off the road that it takes us with it.”
Not only does the ADL refuse to truly fight anti-Semitism from “non-PC” sources like black supremacists, its pathetic attempts to appear to fight it — including extorting half a million dollars from Irving — will only perpetuate Jew-hatred from all corners.
As Leibovitz succinctly titles his piece: “No More ADL.” Read Leibovitz’ devastating takedown of the ADL in full here.