ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt Fails His Mission
After years of being the favorite go-to guest on antisemitism, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, is being slammed by a range of critics for his lack of response to Trump’s Madison Square Garden event, which recalled the 1939 Bund Rally held by the American Nazi Party.
The gathering was a cornucopia of hate speech, racism, antisemitism, and misogyny. With a rogue’s gallery of speakers (including Steven Miller, a one-man horror show, and shanda to Jews everywhere), it was the kind of October surprise nobody had anticipated.
With Project 2025 serving as the agenda for a potential second Trump administration, it was an extremely inopportune moment for Greenblatt to choose to be “non-partisan” in his reaction.
Greenblatt, in his media appearances even before October 7, has been consistently called on to present comments on antisemitism and other discrimination in America. However, he almost always shifted the dialogue to conflating Zionism and any criticism of Israel to an equivalent of antisemitism.
Comments disparaging other Jewish organizations who have questioned the Israeli government’s lack of concern over Palestinian human rights have added to the conflict within the American Jewish community. Greenblatt supported Elon Musk’s move on X to ban language that Greenblatt considered offensive and anti-Israeli. Yet, in November 2023, Musk referenced an antisemitic statement as the “actual truth.”
Moving into ten years of leadership at the helm of the ADL, Greenblatt is now being vociferously questioned about his weak response to the Trump rally. From a Biden administration official to Abe Foxman (the previous head of the ADL), Greenblatt is being challenged as to why he has chosen such a conciliatory path regarding Trump.
On Thursday, October 31, NYC4Kaplan, an Israeli-American activist group, took it a step further. They demonstrated in front of the ADL headquarters on Third Avenue in Manhattan, bringing the question directly to Greenblatt.
Gathering on the sidewalk, they held signs and called to the organization:
“ADL,
Listen to our plea,
Condemn Trump’s statements,
For everyone to see.”
I spoke with Avital Shimshowitz, one of the organizers, to ask her why she felt it was imperative to take this action. Referencing Greenblatt, Shimshowitz stated, “He failed in his mission. He’s the head of the ADL. He’s to blame.” Shimshowitz found Greenblatt’s lack of a strongly worded response to the night at Madison Square Garden “unfathomable.” Why was Greenblatt reticent to call out the antisemites by name? Shimshowitz qualified Greenblatt as “Looking the other way,” adding, “Silence is violence. He is normalizing this language.”
Anat Goldberg-Yosefi traveled from Long Island to ensure her voice was heard. Born in Netanya, Israel, Goldberg-Yosefi has been in the United States for thirty-four years. An architect, both of her parents were Holocaust survivors. Her outrage was palpable. She emphasized how appalled she was by Greenblatt’s absence of commitment to having the “courage to speak the truth.”
Without parsing words, Goldberg-Yosefi noted that Greenblatt’s lack of a definitive reaction was the equivalent of suggesting that he has no problem with “Trump’s affinity for Hitler.” She referenced the incident in Jupiter, Florida, where neo-Nazis shouted out “Heil, Trump” at a boating event for the former president. Goldberg-Yosefi was clear about the messages that Trump consistently delivers when he addresses American Jews and calls Israel “Your country,” suggesting dual allegiances and loyalties.
When I asked her why she thought Greenblatt continued to maintain his stance despite calls to acknowledge Trump’s ongoing affinity with Adolf Hitler, Goldberg-Yosefi suggested that Greenblatt was hedging his bets if Trump won the election. “Maybe he’s trying not to aggravate anyone,” she offered. “But how is this not antisemitism? It’s as blatant as it comes. It (ADL) is supposed to be an apolitical organization, but it is aligning itself with antisemites. There is no clearer antisemitic message than being a Hitler sympathizer!”
Goldberg-Yosefi responded to my question on Trump’s comments about how great he would be for Israel. She said, “Being pro-Trump is not being pro-Israel.” Giving herself a moment to reflect, she said, “What does pro-Israel mean anyway at this point?”
Ironically, several placards had statements on Greenblatt’s judgments about demonstrations on college campuses. One said, “Student protests were flagged as threats to Jews, but a Hitler fan gets a pass? What gives, Jonathan?”
Greenblatt’s ADL bio asserts that the objective of the ADL is “to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” It’s evident that in his lackluster response to the performance at Madison Square Garden, Greenblatt failed his objective.
Photos: Courtesy of Gili Getz
