This Week’s Topline

The State of Antisemitism in Professional Academic Associations

ADL’s new report on “The State of Antisemitism in Professional Academic Associations” is the first ever comprehensive, data-driven assessment examining how antisemitism is showing up in 20 major professional academic associations and how these organizations are responding. The report reveals alarming patterns of marginalization, leadership failures and systematic exclusion of Jewish members from their professional communities and academic homes.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt pointed out the corrosive nature of this problem: “When antisemitism and biased anti-Israel narratives are normalized within these influential spaces, they seep into curricula, research and public discourse, quietly but profoundly shaping how students and future professionals interpret the world.”

Read the full report for ADL’s suggestions for how to reform these groups to promote respect and cut out harassment in order to prevent and respond to antisemitism appropriately.

👉 READ THE REPORT

👉 TAKE ACTION: Join ADL in calling on Congress to hold these influential organizations accountable and protect their Jewish members from discrimination.

What’s News

The Possible Cost of an Anti-Zionist Agenda: In an important op-ed, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Ari Hoffnung, managing director of ADL-affiliate JLens, point out the dangerous potential of a pro-BDS Mayor in New York City.

“Over the next four years, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will not only lead the world’s financial capital, but he’ll also have control over public funds topping $1 trillion. ... That’s an extraordinary amount of power in the hands of one official. The question is: Will he weaponize those funds to carry out his anti-Zionist agenda, even if at great expense to the public?”

→ Read the full op-ed here.

From the Frontlines: ADL’s Scott Richman hosts our podcast on antisemitism and extremism. His latest edition is the most emotional one yet, because it’s about one of ADL’s own. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton University doctoral student, was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2023. Leading the fight for her release was her sister Emma Tsurkov, the Director of Quantitative Research in the ADL Center for Antisemitism Research. Emma never stopped advocating, never stopped demanding action and never gave up hope. In September, Elizabeth was finally freed and returned home to Israel. Emma joined the podcast to share this powerful story.
→ 🎧 Don’t miss it! On SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

MAKING PROGRESS WITH ADL

Honoring Everyday Heroes Against Hate: ADL celebrated champions of justice in Washington, D.C. at the 31st annual In Concert Against Hate.

Hosted by actor and director Jason Alexander, the evening honored four extraordinary individuals for their courage in fighting antisemitism and hate: Holocaust survivor and health policy leader Marion Ein Lewin; Dr. Michael L. Lomax, President and CEO of the United Negro College Fund; Wesley Seidner, a high school senior combating antisemitism in his Virginia community; and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who received the Levenson Family Defender of Democracy Award.

Joan Osborne, the American Pops Orchestra, Shoshana Bean and Max Beitan delivered powerful musical performances.

Social Spotlights

@ADL

The NEA and many of its state partners have promised to ensure its Jewish members are not isolated or marginalized. Yet incidents recorded at the recent @NJEA workshop suggest otherwise. This underscores how much work teacher unions must do to earn the trust of Jewish educators and the wider community. Check out our toolkit with best practices for addressing antisemitism within unions.

@JGreenblattADL

It’s utterly despicable that visibly Jewish tourists were attacked while in Italy. The attacker punched and kicked the victims while hurling threats like “dirty Jews” and “you kill children in Palestine.” We must condemn antisemitic violence and rhetoric across the world, so that all Jews can travel — can simply exist — without fears of being beaten or harassed. More info.

@ADL

As ADL’s @danieljkelley told @washingtonpost’s @willoremus, having extremists like Nick Fuentes on mainstream social platforms normalizes hate and gives them “a megaphone to spread hateful antisemitism, Holocaust denial.” More here.

@ADL

ADL and @JLensnetwork urge shareholders to reject Proposal 9 at the @Microsoft Shareholder Meeting on 12/5. The BDS-aligned campaign unfairly targets Israel and seeks to delegitimize the Jewish state. More info.

*As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, ADL takes no position in support of or in opposition to any candidate for elected office.