Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League is a non-governmental agency in the United States of America. This Agency lobbies governmental agencies such as congress to get legislation passed that will put an end to racism and bigotry. Founded in 1913 by Sigmund Livingston with the assistance of The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, the Anti-Defamation league set out to stop the persecution of Jewish people. This mission continues to this day with their slogan "To stop the defamation of the Jewish people…to secure justice and fair treatment to all."

Founding
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 by a lawyer named Sigmund Livingston in his Chicago office. The founding of this group received funding from the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith. In its creation Sigmund Livingston created its mission statement:"to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience, and if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. . . to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike. . . put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."

Early on (1913-1920)
The Anti-Defamation League started off their mission by taking on the endeavor to eradicate the negative images of Jews in the media. "Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of The New York Times and an ADL executive committee member, wrote a memo to newspaper editors nationwide discouraging the use of "objectionable and vulgar" references to Jews in the media. Within two years, Livingston reported "only 50 cases" of such objectionable references to Jews in the national press. By 1920, the practice had virtually stopped."

1920-1930
The Anti-Defamation League began exposeing the bigotry of the millions of white-robed Ku Klux Klan members. The Klan boycotted Jewish merchants, vandalized their stores and burned crosses outside synagogues and other Jewish institutions. In 1923, the KKK Imperial Wizard condemned Jews as "an unblendable element...alien and unassimilable...money mad." The League challenged Henry Ford's circulation of the infamous anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, in his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent.

The Anti-Defamation League circulated pamphlets by Sigmund Livingston on The Protocols, A Spurious Document and another, The Poison Pen, targeting The Dearborn Independent. The agency called on President Woodrow Wilson and former Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to denounce Ford's antisemitism. Ford eventually publicly apologized to the Jewish people. In a letter to The Anti-Defamation League's Sigmund Livingston, in this letter he expressed hope that "hatred of the Jews, commonly known as anti-Semitism, and hatred against any other racial or religious groups, shall cease for all times."

1930-1940
With the Great Depression, an array of antisemitic forces began emerging around world and in the United States. "Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany provided the impetus, and often the money, for a variety of American fascist groups. Bundists paraded swastikas and Nazi flags and ardently peddled their message of hate."

Antisemitic propagandists included Fritz Kuhn of the German-American Bund and Father Charles E. Coughlin who spread his antisemitic views on hate radio and was leader of the pro-fascist Christian Front. "The Anti-Defamation League joined a coalition to produce a monograph which analyzed Coughlin's propaganda line and contained a thorough refutation of his anti-Semitic charges. Among other things, the monograph proved that one of Coughlin's articles was lifted verbatim from an earlier speech by Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels. This evidence of Coughlin's turning to Nazism helped discredit him in the eyes of many Americans."

The Anti-Defamation League began a major fact-finding operation and began accumulating a famous storehouse of accurate, detailed, unassailable information on extremist individuals and organizations. The Anti-Defamation League expanded its staff and began to monitor and investigate the rapidly multiplying fascist groups in the United States.

1940-1950
During World War II, Anti-Defamation League fought bigotry and fascist groups.One of These Pro-fascist organizations included included the German-American Bund.

"Post-war tensions pointed to the need for the enactment of civil rights laws. The League waged a campaign against discrimination in housing, employment and education and instituted a highly successful "crack the quota" campaign against anti-Jewish discrimination in college and university admissions. Anti-Defamation League applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's declaring that restrictive covenants in housing were unenforceable. Anti-Defamation League also began its effort to bring reform to the harsh immigration quotas which had prevented the rescue of many European Jews."

The Anti-Defamation League filed its first amicus curi brief in 1948 in McCollum v. Board of Education, where the Anti-Defamation League questioned the constitutionality of released time for religious instruction held in public school classrooms. The Anti-Defamation League has filed amicus curi briefs in practically every major church/state case, consistently arguing that government remain distinct from religion.

1960-1970
Anti-Defamation League actively worked for the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, three of the most important pieces of legislation in the history of the civil rights movement. Anti-Defamation League was the first and only Jewish organization to expose the menace of the right wing with the breakthrough book Danger on the Right. Frequent, widely read Anti-Defamation League reports and publications revealed the dangerous ideas spread by intolerant groups such as the John Birch Society. When rampant anti-Catholicism emerged in the John F. Kennedy presidential campaign, Anti-Defamation League countered that bias as well.

In the aftermath of the Six Day War.The Anti-Defamation League created a solid American support for Israel by creating a radio broadcast named "Dateline Israel" which was to give American's vivid images of Israel and its human dimension. The Anti-Defamation League scored another amicus curi victory when the Supreme Court deemed the recitation of prayers in public school settings unconstitutional in the 1962 case of Engel v. Vitale.

1970-1980
In 1973 it intensified its ongoing Middle East interpretation program by negating Arab anti-Israel propaganda and keeping America informed of the facts concerning Israel Anti-Defamation League leaders played a key role in the passage of the 1977 Anti-Boycott Bill banning American participation in the Arab blacklist. Also at the urging of The Anti-Defamation League the United States, State Department limited travel for PLO representatives at the United Nations to a 25-mile radius of the UN.

In 1977, The Anti-Defamation League established one of the first formalized Holocaust programs in the world, the Braun Center for Holocaust Studies. The Center developed curricula for elementary and advanced students and organized teacher-training workshops and seminars on the Holocaust. Boasting a comprehensive collection of Holocaust-related materials, the Center, later renamed the Braun Holocaust Institute, also publishes the only general-interest magazine on the Holocaust, Dimensions: A Journal of Holocaust Studies. In 1979 relocated its Manhattan national headquarters to New York's United Nations Plaza.

1980-1990
"As the leader in the field of human relations, ADL made dramatic inroads in diversity-awareness and anti-bias training in the mid-1980's. In 1985, ADL and WCVB-TV in Boston initiated the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE campaign to combat prejudice, promote democratic ideals and strengthen pluralism. Launching the award-winning A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE program nationally, ADL began providing anti-bias training for classrooms, college campuses, corporate settings and law enforcement professionals. The innovative program grew at an astonishing rate, expanding from city to city as well as internationally, reaching more than 300,000 elementary and secondary school teachers and 1 million students to date in public, private and parochial schools"

1990-2000
In 1993 the ADL saw the signing of the Israel-PLO treaty and has tried to persuade the United States government for more backing.

In 1994 the ADL played a roll in affecting Christian-Jewish relations by setting up a diplomatic exchange of ambassadors between the Vatican and Israel.

"In 1997, ADL published the comprehensive Vigilante Justice: Militias and "Common Law Courts" Wage War Against the Government, reporting on militia violence, criminal activity, racism and anti-Semitism, conspiracies, use of the Internet, "Preparedness Expos" and political activity."

Current objectives and activities
The Anti-Defamation League fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the U.S. and abroad through information, education, legislation, and advocacy. The Anti-Defamation League serves as a resource for government, media, law enforcement, educators and the public. The League: scrutinizes and exposes extremists and hate groups, monitors hate on the Internet, provides expertise on domestic and international terrorism, probes the roots of hatred, develops and delivers educational programs, fosters interfaith/intergroup relations, mobilizes communities to stand up against bigotry and defends the security of Israel and Jews worldwide.

Organizational structure
This section should describe the group's organizational structure, including its principal leadership positions and their current incumbents.

Achievements
On October 27, 2008 The Anti-Defamation League assisted The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Crockett County, Tennessee Sheriff's Office in uncovering a plot to assassinate presidential candidate Barack Obama. As a result of investigation Daniel Cowart, 21, of Jackson, Tennessee, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas were all arrested. They were charged with suspicion of possessing an unregistered firearm, conspiring to steal firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer, and threats against a major candidate for the office of president.

Public perception and controversies
The ADL supports the continued existence of a Jewish State and reject the sentiment put forth in the 1975 United Nations Resolution that equated Zionism to racism.

In 2006 The ADL took a stand on gay marriage supporting it and wrote letters to United States senators condemning them for their votes on the Marriage Protection Act.

In 2009 the ADL was fined 10.5 million US Dollars when they levied a lawsuit which they lost against one set of neighbors involved in a dispute over dogs fighting and a stolen ornamental plant.