Why Would the ADL Honor Rupert Murdoch?

It is a valid question that demands answers. Why would a prominent civil rights organization -- one which is supposedly dedicated to fighting bigotry and discrimination -- present an award to a man whose cable network profits from race-baiting and hatred?

On October 13, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the nation's foremost Jewish civil rights organization, presented an award to media magnate Rupert Murdoch "for his stalwart support of Israel and his commitment to promoting respect and speaking out against anti-Semitism," according to a press release on the organization's website.

In his acceptance speech, Murdoch -- who of course is the CEO of News Corp, parent of Fox News -- spoke of the "soft war" against Israel, and the "ongoing war against the Jews." Perhaps the most eye-opening part of Rupert Murdoch's speech was his assertion about the source of most of today's worst anti-Semitism: the Left.

Tonight I'd like to speak about two things that worry me most.

First is the disturbing new home that anti-Semitism has found in polite society -- especially in Europe.

Second is how violence and extremism are encouraged when the world sees Israel's greatest ally distancing herself from the Jewish state.

Now, when Americans think of anti-Semitism, we tend to think of the vulgar caricatures and attacks of the first part of the 20th century.

Now it seems that the most virulent strains come from the left. Often this new anti-Semitism dresses itself up as legitimate disagreement with Israel.

The same day, the ADL released its own blacklist of sorts, what it calls the "Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups In America." These are generally progressive peace activist groups, and civil rights and human rights organizations that are critical of Israeli government policy, and advocate for Palestinian self-determination. They include groups such as US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and Council on American-Islamic Relations. Also on the list is Jewish Voice For Peace, which is "the only national Jewish organization that provides a voice for Jews and allies who believe that peace in the Middle East will be achieved through justice and full equality for both Palestinians and Israelis."

Now, no part of the political spectrum has a monopoly on bigotry and intolerance. And as the Southern Poverty Law Center notes, there is some anti-Semitism on the far-left, and some critics of Israel cross the line into anti-Semitism. However, criticism of Israel does not typically equal anti-Semitism, and many critics of Israel are unfairly labeled as bigots. It seems that Mr. Murdoch is painting in rather broad brushstrokes in his condemnation of the left. And he is a hypocrite as well, given the virulent anti-Semitism that viewers will find on Fox News.

As Media Matters recently reported, Fox News has an anti-Semitism problem. Fox host Glenn Beck promoted the racist book The Red Network by Elizabeth Dilling, a Nazi sympathizer who praised Hitler, called "Colored people" savages, and blamed Germany's anti-Semitism on "revolutionary Russian Jews." According to Media Matters, Beck also cited an anti-Semitic smear of George Soros, and promoted Secrets of the Federal Reserve, a book by the anti-Semitic and white supremacist conspiracy theorist Eustace Mullins.

In addition, Beck has hosted and associated with other controversial leaders on the right, including Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America, Roy Beck of NumbersUSA, and Michael Hill of the League of the South. Even the ADL has said that David Barton, a so-called historian promoted by Beck, has spoken to groups affiliated with the racist and anti-Semitic Christian Identity movement.

Moreover, Beck recently defended Ohio congressional candidate Rich Iott's right to wear a Nazi uniform, comparing it to "good cop bad cop" or "cowboys and Indians."

So, what's really going on here?

First, the ADL apparently has decided to eschew its glorious past and become a rigid single-issue organization. It has cast its lot with the neocon crowd in America who want to characterize all legitimate critics of Israel -- including progressive Jews who also believe in Palestinian rights -- as anti-Semites. The goal is to shut off all debate on the Mideast crisis. And he ADL puts itself in lockstep with a hard-right government in Israel that would erode the rights of Jew and Arab alike -- with efforts by the ultra-orthodox to define who is or is not a Jew; enforced gender segregation on public streets, a law requiring Arab and other non-Jewish Israelis to pledge loyalty to a "Jewish and democratic" state, and legislation that would criminalize minority political opposition and human rights organizations who assist refugees.

Second, Rupert Murdoch has deep pockets, and I suppose the ADL will benefit from that reality. But they must hold their nose and look the other way as Murdoch's Fox News serves as the official network of the Tea Party, which the ADL itself says is a recruiting ground for white supremacists. And Murdoch has given $1 million apiece to the Republican Governors' Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, doing his part to further the corporate purchase of American politics and foreign influence over elections, not to mention the outsourcing of U.S. jobs.

Only two months ago, the ADL was embroiled in controversy when it spoke out against the construction of an Islamic center near Ground Zero in Manhattan. That move did much to damage its reputation and integrity as an advocate for civil rights and religious freedoms. And now, it seems the ADL has learned very little from that episode, as it just honored Rupert Murdoch of all people. The organization founded nearly a century ago following the lynching of Leo Frank has come a long way, but not in a good way.

Two questions remain: Will the ADL demand that Murdoch return his award? And will Murdoch repudiate the anti-Semitism of Glenn Beck and his own Fox News network?

The ADL's Troubling Alliance With the Christian Right

From Huffington Post:

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the nation's foremost Jewish civil rights organization, took a troubling position recently that screams out for further examination. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a Manhattan community board approved the construction of Cordoba House, an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero, the location of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Sadly, the ADL has come out against the construction of this center, calling for it to be built on a different location. On its website, the organization says that freedom of religion includes the right of Americans of all religions to build houses of worship. The ADL also states that they "categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry. However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site." Mindful of the pain felt by the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, the organization has concluded that "the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process."

The mission of the ADL, nearly a century old now, is "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." A noble goal, to be sure, but one of which the ADL has fallen short. The organization has taken many proper stands against racism and hate groups, but like most organizations, has had an imperfect past. But for a civil rights organization to sanction intolerance is, well, intolerable.

J Street, a progressive pro-Israel, pro-peace organization, released a statement calling on the Jewish community to stand up for a religious minority trying to exercise its legal rights. Regarding the Islamic center--noting that a synagogue or church would not be subject to such scrutiny-- J Street decries those "fear-mongerers and pandering politicians urging it to relocate." Joe Klein of Time Magazine said in rather harsh words that the ADL has gone "from beacon of tolerance to slightly potty geyser of toxic foolishness."

Just imagine if the NAACP announced its support for the Arizona anti-immigrant law, which discriminates against Latinos. Now, imagine the NAACP maintained they reject the racists who support the law because they hate Latinos, not to mention the hate group that helped write the legislation. And this is the quandary in which the ADL finds itself. You can't have it both ways. If people share your position, but for the wrong reasons, perhaps your position is wrong and needs to change.

In this case, the Anti-Defamation League is providing cover to Neocons and the Christian Right, who are known for their hatred of Muslims and the Arab world just because. Further, the ultra-Right claims to support Israel far more than that so-called socialist-fascist-Kenyan Obama. After all, House Republicans just gave the green light for a resolution supporting an Israeli campaign to bomb Iran, which would be catastrophic for the U.S. and the entire Mideast region.

The neocons love war, because military domination is part of their playbook. Remember the Project for the New American Century and their pet project called the war on terror? Meanwhile, the Christian Right is even more insidious and diabolical in their motives for supposedly standing by Israel. Their feigned support for Israel and opposition to Mideast peace is nothing more than pure anti-Semitism, based on their interpretation of a concept called the Rapture. They want all Jews in the same place, namely the Holy Land, so that when Jesus returns, all Jews who do not accept Christ will perish.

But there is an even bigger picture here. Right-wing voices in Israel and the U.S. have tried to monopolize the debate regarding Mideast policy and discussions on Israel. American neocons have been at the forefront of the dangerous politicization surrounding accusations of anti-Semitism. Ultra-rightwing hawks run Israel's coalition government, expand the Jewish settlements on Palestinian land and maintain the prison called Gaza. Meanwhile, a small group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis would decide in talibanic fashion who is not a Jew--including anyone who is not ultra-Orthodox. This happens as women are arrested and called Nazis for carrying the Torah at the Waling Wall. Any discussion on the Cordoba House controversy in New York must take all of this into account.

And certainly, the Anti-Defamation League is well aware of the dangers of singling out a religious or racial minority group as scapegoats, an object of society's contempt. This only paves the way for laws that remove those groups from civic life, if not from life itself. It happened with Jews under the Nuremberg laws, Japanese-Americans in World War Two, and African-Americans under Jim Crow. Today, it's Latinos, Muslims and people of Arab descent.

The Anti-Defamation League tarnishes its image when it provides cover to those who have a disdain for civil and human rights. You have to be careful when you call yourself a civil rights organization, yet stand with Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. You lose credibility that way.