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Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, discusses rising antisemitism in America, the distinction between criticism of Israel and antisemitism, and the ADL's stance on anti-Zionism. The interview covers the war in Gaza, college campus activism, and the ADL's role in combating hate.
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- Jonathan Greenblatt on Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism and the War in Gaza
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- Jonathan Greenblatt Discusses Antisemitism and Gaza War
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- Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, discusses rising antisemitism in America, the distinction between criticism of Israel and antisemitism, and the ADL's stance on anti-Zionism. The interview covers the war in Gaza, college campus activism, and the ADL's role in combating hate.
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Antisemitism Anti-Zionism Israel-Hamas War ADL Free Speech College Campuses Gaza Jewish Community
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1.000
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{ "tone": "analytical", "perspective": "neutral", "audience": "general", "credibility_indicators": [ "expert_quotes", "interview", "data_cited" ] }
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- Donato V. Pompo
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- August 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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{ "source_type": "extension", "content_hash": "520bff90c76c26b39bc1c88ffc97efa99cd9cdc7cde58e632734794abec29632", "submitted_via": "chrome_extension", "extension_version": "1.0.18", "parsed_content": "Middle East CrisisThe LatestFood CrisisSending Aid Into GazaGazan Cash ShortageIsraeli Hostages in GazaA Weakened HezbollahHamas\u2019s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel\u2019s nearly two-year war in Gaza since have convulsed not only the region but the world. Here in the United States, the rise in antisemitic incidents and questions of how criticism of Israel relates to antisemitism have become central to debates around free speech, immigration, national security and, fundamentally, what it means to feel safe and welcome in this country.Navigating all these debates is Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, or A.D.L. Founded more than 100 years ago, the A.D.L.\u2019s stated mission is \u201cto stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.\u201d Under Greenblatt\u2019s decade-long tenure, the A.D.L. has tracked and reported on a precipitous increase in antisemitism on the right and, in more recent years, on the left. The organization is often seen as the arbiter of what is and isn\u2019t antisemitic.At the same time, pro-Palestinian advocates within and outside the Jewish community say the A.D.L. has entered the political fray in ways that put it in tension with its founding civil rights mission and its ability to adjudicate fairly by, for instance, aligning with the Trump administration in its fight with universities, and by supporting the arrest of the Palestinian protester and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil. Greenblatt and I dug into all of this, as well as into his belief that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. I also wanted to ask Greenblatt about the war and how critics of the Israeli government, including some Jews, talk about it.With outrage over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza growing, and college students soon returning to campuses that have been roiled by the threat of funding cuts and years of tension over what some see as legitimate protest and others as anti-Jewish hate, I sat down twice with Greenblatt to talk about how he and the A.D.L. view this fraught moment.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio AppI want to start with a big question that I know you think about a lot. What is the situation, in your estimation, for Jews in America right now? I think this is a time of great concern for Jews all over the United States. At A.D.L., we track antisemitism, we measure attitudes and we also track incidents. And we\u2019ve never really seen a time like this, at least not in recent memory. So on the one hand, elevated or intense antisemitic attitudes, as a percent of the population, have more than doubled in the last five years. And we also track incidents. What I can tell you is, last year, 2024, was the worst year we had ever recorded in terms of acts of harassment, vandalism and violence directed at Jewish people or Jewish institutions. That was the fifth time in the last six years that we\u2019ve broken a new record. And if I look back over the 10 years since I became A.D.L. C.E.O., the number\u2019s up 10 times where it was when I started on the job.ImageJonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the A.D.L., speaking at a Stand Against Antisemitism and Hate event on June 4 in Boulder, Colo., days after an attack on Jews there who were marching in support of releasing the Israeli hostages.Credit...Michael Ciaglo for The New York TimesWe\u2019ve seen indisputable acts of antisemitic violence: the fatal shooting of two employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, the firebombing in Colorado in June against peaceful protesters calling for the release of the hostages, arson at the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. So there have been many high-profile cases of violence against Jews in this country, and that is terrible. There is a debate that I want to understand your perspective on, about what constitutes antisemitism in this country. We have pro-Palestinian speech. We have criticism of the Israeli government. We have anti-Zionism, and we have antisemitism. How do you distinguish among those? Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. If you\u2019re looking for an organization that criticizes the Israeli government, Israeli politicians, Israeli policies, I\u2019d point you to ADL.org, because we do it. There is a robust debate in the Jewish community. And I think you see heated criticism in the Jewish community of policies of the Israeli government.When it crosses a line is when it\u2019s not a criticism of Israeli policy per se, but we see things like, for example, the demonization of all Israeli people. Demonizing an entire group of people for a policy of government you don\u2019t like, I would say that\u2019s antisemitism. Second, delegitimizing the state itself, its right to exist. And then, No. 3, double standards when you talk about Israel versus other countries. So when I see demonization or delegitimization or double standards, that\u2019s where I think, Is this really criticism of Israel, or is this something else? Now, let\u2019s talk about anti-Zionism. And by the way, to talk about anti-Zionism, we need to talk about Zionism.Please define both. So Zionism is, simply put, the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancient homeland. That\u2019s what it is. Zionism is essential to the Jewish tradition. The idea of Jews returning to Israel, we\u2019ve been talking about it since Moses, literally. Political Zionism is newer, 125 years, but that notion of self-determination in the homeland doesn\u2019t exclude Palestinians, doesn\u2019t exclude any other group. It\u2019s saying Jews have the right, this sort of liberation movement, to go back to where they\u2019re from. Anti-Zionism is the belief that Jews do not have that right. It is an ideology which is committed to saying we will do what we can to prevent Jewish self-determination in their homeland. Anti-Zionism is an ideology of nihilism, Lulu, which would literally seek to not just delegitimize but eliminate the Jewish state. And that\u2019s very problematic.So you have equated anti-Zionism with antisemitism. It is.In preparation for this conversation, I talked to a lot of different people, and one of the things I heard is that anti-Zionism for them is a desire to have the rights of Palestinians equal to the rights of Jews in Israel and the Palestinian territories, which would ultimately mean that the country is not majority Jewish \u2014 the idea of the one-state solution. Is that definition of anti-Zionism antisemitic to you? If you believe that only Jewish people don\u2019t have the right to self-determination, that\u2019s antisemitic because it\u2019s holding out Jews to a double standard you don\u2019t accord to other people. So if you believe my definition of Zionism \u2014 which is really not my definition, it\u2019s widely accepted \u2014 it\u2019s peculiar to me how anti-Zionism isn\u2019t the opposite of that. How people choose to interpret it, to embellish it, dress it up as something other than what it is \u2014 but the reality is, if you believe how I laid out Zionism, then anti-Zionism is pretty simple.I think the challenge is if someone defines their view of anti-Zionism in a way that allows for Jews to exist in a state of Israel but that grants Palestinians rights, but you\u2019re seeing that as antisemitic, people don\u2019t feel like they have the space to have a different view without being tagged with something that is pretty serious. I can appreciate that for some people, this idea is an abstraction. Oh, anti-Zionism, it means such and such to me. I get that. But let me tell you what anti-Zionism doesn\u2019t mean to me but what it results in: It\u2019s a lunatic trying to burn down the governor\u2019s mansion with his family sleeping in it because of his, quote, position on Palestine. It is, again, firebombing elderly people because you want to \u201cend all Zionists.\u201dIn talking to people who are self-described anti-Zionists, starting with the idea that that is the way they feel \u2014 that everyone should have rights in Israel and Palestine and Palestinian territories \u2014 to then extrapolate that they are somehow connected to murder, arson \u2014 I am not connecting those people. That\u2019s kind of a sleight of hand, and not fair.ImageFire damage at the Pennsylvania Governor\u2019s Residence in Harrisburg, Pa. The arson attack occurred during Passover, early in the morning of Sunday, April 13, while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were asleep inside.Credit...Kyle Grantham for The New York TimesI\u2019m really not trying to do a sleight of hand. I\u2019m just trying to understand. You say that anti-Zionism leads to, that this is the inevitable end to this kind of belief. And so I think what people who hold those beliefs might say is that that is a sort of exaggeration and sleight of hand because they don\u2019t want the annihilation of Jews. They might not want that. They might not understand what it means. They might not be steeped in the context. They might not be familiar with all of the history \u2014 but all I know is what I see every day. All I know are the thousands and thousands of people who contact us because they have been, as I\u2019ve described already, targeted and victimized. Not because of what they believe but because of who they are. And again, when you normalize language like \u201cfrom the river to the sea,\u201d like \u201cglobalize the intifada,\u201d like \u201cIsrael is a Nazi state,\u201d this creates the conditions in which people feel not just compelled but almost obligated to do horrible things. So I think ideas have consequences, and it starts with words. And what I am saying to you is, again, Zionism is one thing. The opposite of that is not some, well, look, let\u2019s have an ideal one state where everyone is. I\u2019m not talking about that. I\u2019m focused here in America on the felt experience of Jewish people.I\u2019m sure you saw my colleague Ezra Klein\u2019s recent piece on divisions within the Jewish community, because this is not just an active debate outside of the Jewish community. These definitions and how they\u2019re interpreted are also very vigorously debated within the Jewish community. Absolutely.In that piece, he argues that the war in Gaza, and Israel\u2019s actions over the past year there, have broken the consensus around the central place Israel has for American Jews. And there was this one line in the piece that really struck me, about how we think about the idea of self-determination. He writes: \u201cThe question is not whether Israel has the right to exist. It is whether Israel has the right to dominate.\u201d So it\u2019s just important that I come back to \u2014 my focus really every single day is the lived experience of Jewish people here. So I am not someone who is opining on the politics and the geostrategic issues. That\u2019s important. Ezra has the luxury of doing that as a columnist. I don\u2019t.The reason I delve into this is because when we are discussing anti-Zionism, at the crux of that debate is that you believe anti-Zionism means the destruction of the Jewish state, and other people interpret it as the current incarnation of how Israel expresses its right to exist, the domination of the Palestinians. Again, I just disagree with this. I disagree with characterizing this phenomenon as something that it isn\u2019t. I won\u2019t concede that point because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s correct. And then, second, as it relates to Israel, look, the reality is the country inside the state of Israel has equal rights for its Arab citizens, whether they are of the Druze faith or the Christian faith or the Muslim faith, whether they self-identify as Palestinians or Bedouins or Arab Israelis. You\u2019ve spent a lot of time there \u2014ImageCredit...Philip Montgomery for The New York TimesAnd I would say, at a minimum, there are many examples of treatment that is not equitable. And I think that\u2019s what\u2019s so hard for many people about the clear distinction that you\u2019re making. Israel is a democracy unlike all the other countries in the region. It\u2019s imperfect like all democracies on the planet, including the one we\u2019re living in today. And we hold it to a very high standard because it\u2019s a democracy. And we may object to certain things, practices that that state is doing. And yet somehow people use that to rationalize and justify actions against American Jews here.I don\u2019t know that any rational person is supporting Jews\u2019 being treated badly in America. What I\u2019m trying to understand is: What are these different buckets, how are they defined and then how does that actually play out in real life in the United States? So, for example, I want to talk a little bit about the situation on college campuses. Shortly after Oct. 7, the A.D.L. and the Brandeis Center wrote a letter to nearly 200 universities. You said that the group Students for Justice in Palestine, which is a group that the A.D.L. has focused on, should be investigated for materially supporting a foreign terrorist organization, which can carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Critics of that letter and that position have said that the A.D.L. is trying to suppress pro-Palestinian speech, because the definition of material support for terrorism is actually vague in the statutes. Let\u2019s talk about the letter. To set the stage: I believe in a two-state solution. I believe that Israelis will never truly have safety and security unless Palestinians also have a degree of dignity and equality in a state of their own. Let\u2019s just establish that. But let\u2019s talk about S.J.P.Oct. 7 was this extraordinary moment. And on the 8th, the person who runs our Center on Extremism, the group at A.D.L. that monitors and disrupts extremist threats, reached out to me and said, You need to see this. And one of our people was in an S.J.P. national chat on Oct. 8. And in the chat, they released or published for people to use who were in the S.J.P. chat an organizing tool kit, discussion guides, in plural, and talking points about what had happened on the 7th. Now, mind you, we were literally still trying to figure out what was going on on the 8th. I\u2019m sure you remember, you were covering the story. There was still fighting going on. We didn\u2019t know exactly what had happened, who had perpetrated it, and yet S.J.P. on the 8th already had their narrative very well developed.One of the things that caught our attention on the 8th is they went from referring to the state of Israel to only referring to it as \u201cthe Zionist entity.\u201d \u201cZionist entity\u201d is how the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah refer to Israel. On the 8th, they used terms like \u201cgenocide\u201d to describe what was happening in Gaza. And they also talked about, they were sort of praising what had happened on the 7th, the direct conflict with \u201cthe Zionist entity.\u201d So this definitely got our attention. This is not what you see from other groups on campus. There was a level of language here that seemed wholesale adopted from Hamas. And then what we proceeded to see was S.J.P. continue to amplify and spread narratives through their social media, through their on-the-ground protests, and use tactics that were way beyond anything we\u2019d ever seen before from groups criticizing Israel on college campuses.The Supreme Court held in 2010 that the law applies only to actions \u201cperformed in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization\u201d and not to independent advocacy. So are you saying that you believe those materials came from Hamas directly? I don\u2019t know where it was coming from. We felt like this was a group with a pattern of behavior that already had our attention that was clearly expressing a desire to escalate right here, and we thought it merited attention. I absolutely stand by that. Does that mean that they\u2019re in direct correspondence? I don\u2019t know.Two hundred schools, students being looked into for material support for terrorism \u2014 that is a very serious allegation that the Supreme Court already looked at and said basically you have to be in direct coordination with a terrorist entity. Again, I\u2019m just wondering, did you believe that that\u2019s what was happening? The language they were using, the tactics they were expressing support for were in direct alignment with a terrorist organization.That is a different thing than being directed by and in communication with a terrorist organization. You know, we track extremists, and we\u2019ve been doing it for decades and decades. This gives us a degree of pattern recognition. And we clearly saw extraordinarily concerning behavior that led us to think this needs to be looked at. Guess what? All of our concerns have borne out to be correct about what was going to happen on those campuses. Since those days, Jewish students have been targeted, victimized and vilified. In large part by campaigns organized and executed by S.J.P. That\u2019s literally happened on our campuses. And I can go line by line and tell you the stories of all the individuals who\u2019ve experienced this.I don\u2019t want to belabor the point, I just think it\u2019s slightly different what you\u2019re talking about \u2014 what actually happened on campuses \u2014 and the accusation of material support for terrorism, right? On March 5, at the takeover for the Barnard Library right here in New York City, CUAD \u2014 they banned the S.J.P. chapter at Columbia for its behavior, and the students immediately reconstituted it as \u201cCUAD\u201d \u2014 and those students literally handed out Hamas literature. How do I know that? Because I went to the campus the following morning. And the students who were there in the library as it was taken over by the CUAD students said, \u201cHere, Jonathan, look at what they were handing out\u201d \u2014 pamphlets that said \u201cHamas media office\u201d on it. I\u2019ll bring one the next time we meet so you can see it for yourself. So look, did Hamas send that to them? Did they download it? I don\u2019t really know what the process of coordinating was. But you can\u2019t hand out ISIS literature in front of the Low Library at Columbia. I guess you could, and you may be detained for doing that. Is that speech or is that conduct?[We reached out to the National Students for Justice in Palestine and Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Neither group responded to requests for comment on Greenblatt\u2019s claims about their organizations in this interview. But S.J.P. has previously denied the A.D.L.\u2019s allegations that they have provided material support for terrorism.]ImageMahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by ICE agents following a pro-Palestine protest at Columbia University in 2024, arrives at Newark Liberty Airport in June after being released from a prison in Louisiana.Credit...Todd Heisler\/The New York TimesIn the same vein, I\u2019d like to understand your position on Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate who was initially detained under a different law that says his actions were a foreign-policy threat and that he can be deported because of that. He is married to an American. He has a green card. The A.D.L. supported his arrest when it happened, posting on X, \u201cWe appreciate the Trump administration\u2019s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism \u2014 this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions.\u201d Are you comfortable with the way this administration has been using the threat of deportation against protesters? First of all, we\u2019ve been doing civil rights for over 100 years in freedom of speech, freedom of expression, the ability to protest without fear of political reprisal. This is fundamental to our belief system. And so for me it\u2019s not about speech \u2014 it\u2019s about conduct. There\u2019s lots of ways you can protest the actions of what\u2019s happening, of the Israeli government, things in the Middle East, without using violent rhetoric or justifying violence. There\u2019s lots of groups who do this, who don\u2019t use this kind of language or these tactics.On CNN, Khalil said publicly, \u201cAntisemitism and any form of racism has no place on campus and in this movement.\u201d And when asked, he wouldn\u2019t condemn Hamas at the same time, in that same interview.I would ask you, though, about, again, the legal repercussions for some of these issues over speech. That\u2019s what I\u2019m asking. If you read the full post, what I said when Mr. Khalil was detained was that he needed due process. And I continue to believe he and every other person who is detained or arrested \u2014 due process is also fundamental to our legal system.That law had been very rarely used at that point. And this is where language becomes so important, because at a trial about his deportations and others, a senior State Department official testified that student-visa holders are having their social media screened for criticism of Israel, including the current war in Gaza. And in his testimony, this official said, and I\u2019m quoting, \u201cIn my understanding, anti-Semites will sometimes try to hide their views and say that they\u2019re not against Jews, they\u2019re just against Israel, which is a farcical argument.\u201d He added, \u201cIt\u2019s just a dodge.\u201d And so I\u2019m just wondering how you think this is all being implemented. Should students not get visas if they\u2019ve criticized Israel? Of course that\u2019s absurd. What I\u2019m focused on is not what people think but what they do. This is why these conversations about anti-Zionism as if they\u2019re some abstraction are kind of problematic for me. Because I deal in the reality. Again, the lived experience of Jewish students.But this is the reality. This is a reality of how this is now being implemented by policy in this government. I don\u2019t know who that State Department official was, but I don\u2019t agree that you can keep people out of the United States because they are antisemitic or racist or sexist or express any other prejudices. I don\u2019t believe in this concept of \u201cthought police.\u201d That\u2019s not what we do at A.D.L., and I certainly wouldn\u2019t want to see that codified into the criminal code.One concern that I\u2019ve heard, referring to what the State Department official said and the actions of this administration, is that this government might be using antisemitism selectively to screen people with whom it might be ideologically opposed. Well, obviously, that would be a problem. I don\u2019t think antisemitism should be used as a political football by elected officials from either side. And so to the extent that the Trump administration or any administration would use it as a pretext to go after people who they don\u2019t like or with whom they don\u2019t agree on a broader set of issues, clearly I wouldn\u2019t agree with that.I talked to Greenblatt again several days later.Since we last spoke, a lot has happened in the war in Gaza. There is mounting outrage in Israel over terrible images of one of the hostages having to dig his own grave, looking incredibly gaunt. \u201cStarved,\u201d I think is the word.\u201cStarved\" is the word. And we\u2019ve seen a mounting international outcry that has also been voiced in Israel over the mass starvation in Gaza. The beloved and prominent Israeli author David Grossman has now called what\u2019s happening in Gaza a genocide, \u201cwith immense pain and a broken heart,\u201d and said that \u201cthe occupation has corrupted us.\u201d And I did wonder what you feel about that characterization coming from someone who\u2019s often seen as a moral compass in Israel. I think David is an extraordinary author and in many ways one of the muses of the Jewish state, who\u2019s sacrificed so much. I don\u2019t begrudge him at all of his heartfelt opinions. Look, the situation in Gaza is a tragedy of immense proportions. The suffering, the starvation, it is heart-wrenching. It pains me every day. I would never purport to be a moral compass like David Grossman, but I do feel that my job requires me to have a kind of moral clarity.Having heard that the word \u201cgenocide\u201d is viewed when used against the Israeli state as basically an attack on Israel\u2019s existence itself, I just wonder if you view it that way or if you don\u2019t. Well again, I don\u2019t begrudge David. I do think what\u2019s happening in Gaza is a terrible, catastrophic situation. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a genocide. Because that\u2019s a legal definition which means an intentional effort. I don\u2019t have the dictionary in front of me.ImageGreenblatt speaks at an interfaith Shabbat service at the Temple Emanu-El in New York on Oct. 4, 2024, to commemorate one year since Hamas\u2019s terrorist attack in Israel.Credit...Lev Radin\/Pacific Press, via Getty ImagesI have it here. It\u2019s a U.N., legal definition, and it says, \u201cany of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.\u201d So in fairness, I don\u2019t have that definition in front of me, and I haven\u2019t read it like you have before this, but what I\u2019ll simply say is that I don\u2019t believe the Israeli government is committing genocide. I don\u2019t think they are intentionally trying to destroy or annihilate a group of people. I do think this is a war that was started by Hamas. I do think Hamas has made the decision to black-market and hoard the aid that comes in. The Hamas government has chosen to build tunnels below, not to create protective structures above. So we could ask ourselves questions about who is really bringing the catastrophe to the Gazan people.But look, at the end of the day, for me, it\u2019s not about how we define these things. We talked about this last time \u2014 anti-Zionism isn\u2019t an interpretation. It\u2019s a fact. And the pain and hunger and tragedy in Gaza is a fact, and the deaths of civilians are a fact, and the status of the hostages is a fact. So the facts compel me to say, without any hesitation, this war needs to end. The hostages need to come home. The aid needs to flow in. And we need people on both sides to be able to live in some modicum of peace. That\u2019s what I want.The reason I bring up the use of the word \u201cgenocide\u201d \u2014 and we should also say that Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister of Israel, is now calling Israel\u2019s actions \u201cwar crimes\u201d \u2014 is that these questions on the words that one uses are at the heart of what I hear many people asking about this war, including Jews, which is how can they support Zionism if this is the current manifestation of Zionism? Look, it\u2019s like how can you support Islam if Ayatollah Khomeini is the progenitor of it? How can you help support Christianity if the Crusades happened? How can you support America if you disagree with President Trump\u2019s policies? Or even in the face of larger-scale disasters like slavery? So again, Zionism is the right of a people to self-determination. You can be upset with the policies of a government. But again, if you didn\u2019t say in the wake of enslavement of Africans, America should be destroyed. If you didn\u2019t say in wake of the Crusades, Christianity has no legitimacy. If you don\u2019t say in the wake of the oppression of women for centuries, Islam has no right, then why would you feel differently about this?What people are trying to understand is how far that right to self-determination extends. If self-determination means having a nation that is majority Jewish, does the right to self-determination permit Israel to deny others their civil and human rights to maintain it? I think that\u2019s fair. It\u2019s a reasonable question to ask. And the reality is that people inside the state of Israel have civil and human rights. If you\u2019re looking for a country anywhere in the world that treats everyone perfectly, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll find one. If you\u2019re looking for a country in the Middle East, a democracy with corrective capacity, that\u2019s the state of Israel. And the rights that are enjoyed by minorities there, if you just compare it to other countries in the region, Muslims and Druze and religious minorities have more, and ethnic minorities have more rights in Israel than in any other country in the region.Sign up for The Interview Hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to the world\u2019s most fascinating people. Get it sent to your inbox.I do want to bring the conversation back to the United States and the work that the A.D.L. is doing. The A.D.L. just came out with a report rating states on how they\u2019re doing on combating antisemitism. Can you talk me through briefly why you wanted to look at states? Because I think it\u2019s the first time you\u2019ve done it, right? First time we\u2019ve done it. So we call it the Jewish Policy Index. And indeed, it takes a state-by-state view about policies and practices to evaluate how they are doing in the work of fighting antisemitism and hate. It\u2019s data driven. It\u2019s grounded in evidence. You can see that we basically tiered the states into three different categories, let\u2019s say: OK, better and best. And we lay out why we think they are doing as such. What are their laws? What are their practices? What are their policies? So that a state that is OK can see the path forward to do better. And it\u2019s a work in progress. My hope would be that over the ensuing years, we\u2019ll work with all of the states, Republicans or Democrats, whoever might be in office, to try to demonstrate how they can pursue a path forward that will keep their Jewish citizens as safe and secure as possible and allow them to enjoy the same rights, the same privileges, as do all other people in that state.On this idea of working with both parties, The Forward, which is a progressive Jewish outlet, reported a few months ago that in a speech to Republican attorneys general this summer, you said that student activists were \u201cfrothing at the mouth, looking like they just came out of Mosul.\u201d You said that there is a \u201cconvergence of what I call the radical left and, like, Islamist groups here in the U.S.\u201d And you praised the Trump administration\u2019s punishing of universities like Harvard and others, saying, \u201cGod bless Secretary McMahon,\u201d referring to the secretary of education. I know you made those comments in what you consider to be a closed-door meeting, but is there anything you\u2019d like to clarify? Absolutely. So, No. 1, I certainly was talking about activists, but only those who are completely masked, who don\u2019t show their identity, who are dressed like other people we\u2019ve seen unfortunately on the field of battle, and those student activists who are screaming and harassing and threatening other students. So that\u2019s No. 1. So when I say \u201cfrothing at the mouth,\u201d I was referring to that very small percentage of these activists.No. 2, I also talked about, as you said, the administration\u2019s approach to dealing with the antisemitism on campuses, and I praised Secretary McMahon. And I should say right here up front, I have worked with the prior education secretary, and I\u2019ve worked with this education secretary. And I credit the Biden administration for their national strategy to counter antisemitism, a really important document. No one had done what the Biden administration had done before in elevating antisemitism to a federal priority. And A.D.L., in full disclosure, worked with them on that, and they get a lot of credit for adopting the plan. And then I give credit to the Trump administration for actually implementing aspects of the plan and taking a strong view, again, in the face of real, not imagined, real acts of hate, real acts of discrimination.Now that being said, I praised Secretary McMahon in that meeting. Maybe I went a little overboard saying \u201cGod bless.\u201d And at the same time, when I met with Secretary McMahon, I met with her in her office and told her, \u201cYes, I appreciate what you\u2019re doing on these universities leaning in, and I\u2019m worried about overreach, because going too far could not only harm the universities, it harms our whole country.\u201d And the fact of the matter is, pulling back funding for research can have lots of deleterious impacts. So I said to her and to the antisemitism task force, \u201cYes, lean in, but don\u2019t go too far.\u201dWhat would be a sign that this administration has overcorrected, in your view? I think to the extent that research stopped happening. Ph.D.s stopped being granted. Breakthrough innovation was halted. Those would be things that would be evidence to me of it going too far. On the other hand, we just saw the settlement with Columbia, and there was another recent settlement. Those are encouraging because it shows me that schools demonstrate they\u2019re going to take this seriously, and the administration shows that they\u2019re going to work with them and reinstate the funding. That\u2019s a good outcome for everybody, I think.I\u2019ve heard the criticism that the A.D.L. is increasingly aligning itself with the administration, with Israel, with the right, and it\u2019s sacrificing its longstanding commitment to broader civil rights. In between our two conversations, there was an article in New York magazine that came out reflecting some of those criticisms, which you have roundly rejected, we should say. But I\u2019m wondering, do you see how the intensity of the language you used in that meeting could lead someone to that conclusion? First of all, the piece that you\u2019re referring to relied almost entirely on vague anonymous sources. I\u2019m surprised that you are even asking me about it, to be honest. That said, again, we helped to write the national strategy to counter antisemitism released by the Biden administration. We were deeply involved in that. We\u2019re working as well with the Trump administration. This is what we do. I just don\u2019t even agree with the premise that we are somehow aligning with the right or aligning with the administration. We are an institution at A.D.L. And one of the features about being an institution is you work with the other institutions. So I get and I take the feedback, and I hear the criticism, and I simply would say, we\u2019ve worked with presidential administrations over generations, right and left. We don\u2019t agree with them on everything, but where we can find common ground, we try. And where we have a point of disagreement, we make that known.I know you\u2019ve looked at a lot of the polling, and you know that Israel has lost a lot of support, even among Jews, especially among young Jews. Do you ever worry that you might have positioned the A.D.L. in such a way that the younger generation of Jews won\u2019t see you as defending them and the things that they believe in? What\u2019s interesting, 90 percent of Jews in the polling that I\u2019ve seen believe in the right of the state of Israel to exist. They are Zionists. And so, to young Jewish people, the vast majority of them identify with and feel positively about their Jewish identity and have a strong association with the state of Israel. All the data shows this. And so I think the majority of them, from whom I\u2019ve heard, appreciate the work that A.D.L. does for them and their communities. So I don\u2019t really think about this question, how have you positioned A.D.L.? A.D.L. has had a core position.So you think young Jews who might self-describe as anti-Zionist or have problems with the state of Israel at the moment \u2014 Well, come on, wait a second. I have problems with policies of the state of Israel. But when you talk about the young Jews who define as anti-Zionist \u2014 there are young Hispanic people who support President Trump\u2019s policies at the border. There are young Hispanic people who voted for President Trump, but the vast majority and the mainstream organizations fighting for the rights of immigrants don\u2019t agree with that. There are Blacks for Trump, and there\u2019s a whole movement among a portion of African Americans who deeply believe in the president. But like, would you say to the NAACP C.E.O., \u201cWhy don\u2019t you represent them?\u201dIt\u2019s less why don\u2019t you represent them. It\u2019s more a question of, as an organization that helps define antisemitism and has defined it as anti-Zionism, at a moment when these things are being debated, we\u2019ve seen expressed, and I\u2019ve heard it from a lot younger Jews, that there is \u2014 What polls are you seeing? I understand anecdotally you may have heard it from some people. I believe there may be a bit of a selection bias there. Have you gone to any of the mainstream synagogues in New York City, the ones with the largest membership, and asked them? I would encourage you to go to 92nd Street Y. Go to the West Side J.C.C. Go to Central, Park Avenue, Rodeph Sholom, go to KJ. Go to all these large Jewish synagogues and ask where their young people are. Like, you can go to Brooklyn and find three synagogues.And I appreciate you answering the question \u2014 But you\u2019re giving the audience a very narrow, biased view, as if that\u2019s where all Jewish young people are.I\u2019m asking a question, and you\u2019re responding and saying that\u2019s not what you think it is and you are not worried about it. I\u2019m responding to the question and saying I don\u2019t think on a day-to-day basis, how am I positioning A.D.L. I\u2019m focused on defending the Jewish people. And those who want to pontificate, it must be nice. This is not you, but it must be nice for those people in the commentariat to have these views. And so, yeah, I do think it is fair to say many Jewish people are upset about the war, aspects of its prosecution, the human toll, etc. That doesn\u2019t mean they think we should eliminate the Jewish state. And I think that\u2019s the logic behind your question. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t agree with the logic, Lulu. There\u2019s so much you get right. And on this, you\u2019re just wrong.You know, we started this conversation talking about how this is a terrible time for American Jews, no matter how they feel about the war. You\u2019ve spent the last 10 years of your life focused on protecting Jews in this country. What do you want the audience to understand about how they can help fight antisemitism? Like to the ordinary person, you mean?Yeah, to the ordinary person. That\u2019s a good question. I deal with so many people who are dealing with pain, but usually it\u2019s A.D.L. coming in to try to help them. But on a person-to-person, human level, I really believe in this idea of radical empathy and being there for others, not because it\u2019s a quid pro quo, but because it\u2019s the right thing to do, and opening your heart. So I guess what I would say to the non-Jewish person at the individual level is, No. 1, when you see something say something. Speak up, and try to have that radical empathy for your Jewish peer or colleague or friend or family member and go to them and try to, when something happens, say something.No. 2, I think we can all educate ourselves and get the facts. And I think for me, in an environment where young people aren\u2019t getting their news from the Times, but from TikTok, it behooves all of us to try to be digitally literate, to take information from a variety of sources, so we better understand the issues, rather than taking one source and thinking, Oh, now I know it all.And then No. 3, showing up matters. One of the most powerful things that I did in my job was when Reverend Al Sharpton and I went down to Florida for a memorial service after a young Black woman was shot and killed in an act of senseless violence. And being there in that Black church environment I hadn\u2019t been in before, just being present, just showing up really mattered. And I got lots of positive feedback from the parishioners who probably didn\u2019t expect to see the head of the A.D.L. sitting in the pews for the service. We can all show up in lots of ways, but showing up for another community, maybe in a way that\u2019s unexpected, can be incredibly meaningful.Gaza has frayed a lot of relationships. I\u2019ve seen it, you\u2019ve seen it \u2014 institutions, governments. And I\u2019m wondering how you look at that at the A.D.L., because you have been at the crux of many of these debates. They are controversial, and they are difficult, as we have seen. So how do you think the A.D.L. comes out the other side of it? So, No. 1, we deal with antisemitism, and I\u2019m afraid that the antisemitism we\u2019ve seen to rise to such high levels, I hope and believe it will come down. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s going to get back to the levels we were at, say in 2015, 2014, 2013. I worry that increased anti-Jewish hate is now part of the norm. I worry about that. I just do. And so we\u2019re going to have to cope with that reality, like it or not.I worry about communal ties that have been frayed between the Jewish and Muslim communities, for sure. So many Muslim people, like Jewish people, are outraged by what\u2019s happened in the war, just like they were outraged by what happened on Oct. 7. How they come together and forge bonds, I think, is really important.And I just worry on a day-to-day basis, again, about Jewish people having a sense of insecurity. You know, I was just talking with a family. Their Jewish child is at summer camp. They had security drills at the summer camp. That\u2019s crazy at a Jewish summer camp, having security drills, but they have a whole new protocol because of the very real fear of threats. I worry that that\u2019s the new norm. So I do think on the other side, not just of the war, but of this last decade, when we\u2019ve seen such a rise of hate, when we\u2019ve seen hate from podcasters on the right and on the left, when we\u2019ve seen explicit acts of violence, from Pittsburgh to Boulder, coming from all sides, I worry that American Jews are now living with a kind of anxiety that\u2019s well founded. The work to turn that around, the work to get back to where Jewish people, like all people, can feel safe in the places where they worship, in the place where they work and live, that\u2019s what I want to see us get back to. That\u2019s going to be really hard, and I think it\u2019s going to take a long time.This interview has been edited and condensed from two conversations. Listen to and follow \u201cThe Interview\u201d on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music or the New York Times Audio app.Director of photography (video): Zack Canepari\n \n \n \nLulu Garcia-Navarro is a writer and co-host of The Interview, a series focused on interviewing the world\u2019s most fascinating people.See more on: The Israel Hamas War, Anti-Defamation LeagueRead 660 CommentsShare full articleRelated ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT", "ai_headline": "Jonathan Greenblatt on Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism and the War in Gaza", "ai_simplified_title": "Jonathan Greenblatt Discusses Antisemitism and Gaza War", "ai_excerpt": "Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, discusses rising antisemitism in America, the distinction between criticism of Israel and antisemitism, and the ADL's stance on anti-Zionism. The interview covers the war in Gaza, college campus activism, and the ADL's role in combating hate.", "ai_subject_tags": [ "Antisemitism", "Anti-Zionism", "Israel-Hamas War", "ADL", "Free Speech", "College Campuses", "Gaza", "Jewish Community" ], "ai_context_type": "Analysis", "ai_context_details": { "tone": "analytical", "perspective": "neutral", "audience": "general", "credibility_indicators": [ "expert_quotes", "interview", "data_cited" ] }, "ai_source_vector": [ 0.005675448, -0.01179667, -0.0013439668, -0.08026539, -0.03033308, -0.015267075, -0.022602646, -0.012103034, 0.007857662, 0.0032407495, -0.0072654006, 0.030641848, 0.0059738127, 0.004592001, 0.084095575, 0.007127681, -0.016151885, 0.03328182, 0.03284374, 0.0054676295, 0.009003775, -0.0066594924, -0.018849004, -0.021834997, 0.009803281, -0.0070236037, -0.008844698, -0.042186935, 0.0022196225, 0.011916511, -0.001603874, -0.0037991784, 0.03830477, 0.005049296, 0.024350112, 0.0020966367, -0.01343685, -0.0030592934, 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<html lang="en" class="story nytapp-vi-article nytapp-vi-story story nytapp-vi-article " data-nyt-compute-assignment="fallback" xmlns:og="http://opengraphprotocol.org/schema/" data-rh="lang,class" style="--g-scrollbar-width: 15px;"><head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>The Head of the A.D.L. on Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism and Free Speech - The New York Times</title> <meta data-rh="true" name="robots" content="noarchive, max-image-preview:large"><meta data-rh="true" name="description" content="How Jonathan Greenblatt thinks about the line between legitimate protest and anti-Jewish hate."><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:url" content="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/magazine/jonathan-greenblatt-interview.html"><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:title" content="The Head of the A.D.L. on Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism and Free Speech"><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:description" content="How Jonathan Greenblatt thinks about the line between legitimate pr... - Parsed Content
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Middle East CrisisThe LatestFood CrisisSending Aid Into GazaGazan Cash ShortageIsraeli Hostages in GazaA Weakened HezbollahHamasβs attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israelβs nearly two-year war in Gaza since have convulsed not only the region but the world. Here in the United States, the rise in antisemitic incidents and questions of how criticism of Israel relates to antisemitism have become central to debates around free speech, immigration, national security and, fundamentally, what it means to feel safe and welcome in this country.Navigating all these debates is Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, or A.D.L. Founded more than 100 years ago, the A.D.L.βs stated mission is βto stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.β Under Greenblattβs decade-long tenure, the A.D.L. has tracked and reported on a precipitous increase in antisemitism on the right and, in more recent years, on the left. The organization is often s...
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Claims from this Source (81)
All claims extracted from this source document.
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Simplified: Anti-Zionism is not an interpretation
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Conflict , Historical π a114b5a7-894d-49f8-8c57-6d1dc2807463Simplified: Gaza war was triggered in October 2023 when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Politics , Social Issues π a1165058-c1af-4162-a2fb-d3e8206780c3Simplified: In the United States rise in antisemitic incidents and questions of how criticism of Israel relates to antisemitism have become central to debates aro...
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Navigating all these debates is Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, or A.D.L.1.000π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ People , Politics π a1165059-07b2-45f5-bc63-e6120f464c6eSimplified: Jonathan Greenblatt head of the Anti-Defamation League navigates these debates
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Organizations , Social Issues π a1165059-2e93-4b2e-9a64-25564e969469Simplified: The A.D.L.'s stated mission is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Organizations , Social Issues π a1165059-6d54-422b-92be-8265b3515051Simplified: The organization is often seen as the arbiter of what is and isnβt antisemitic
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Organizations , Politics π a1165059-9148-405f-8065-1cf35bb2ac07Simplified: Pro-Palestinian advocates say the A.D.L. has entered the political fray in ways that put it in tension with its founding civil rights mission and its...
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Greenblatt and I dug into all of this, as well as into his belief that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.1.000π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ People , Politics π a1165059-cd4d-4ebd-9ff3-8c0d86eeffd8Simplified: Greenblatt and the author discussed his belief that anti-Zionism is antisemitism
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Social Issues π a116505a-426c-4e6c-a91d-23a67c067f4fSimplified: They have never seen a time like this at least not in recent memory
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Social Issues , Statistics π a116505a-6bb5-4201-ae43-e1b4bd996cf4Simplified: Elevated antisemitic attitudes have more than doubled in the last five years
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Social Issues , Statistics π a116505a-901c-4484-b9c4-9f06b7c09c3bSimplified: 2024 was the worst year ever recorded in terms of acts of harassment vandalism and violence directed at Jewish people or Jewish institutions
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Statistics π a116505a-bbcd-42fd-afe8-20e15f98a47aSimplified: That was the fifth time in the last six years that a new record was broken
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Statistics π a116505a-e8cd-481c-b80a-0c1d4327140aSimplified: The number is up 10 times where it was when Jonathan Greenblatt started as A.D.L. C.E.O.
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Social Issues , Violence π a116505b-0ac5-4375-81d0-319ae358299fSimplified: They have seen acts of antisemitic violence including the fatal shooting of two employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington the firebombing in Colo...
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Organizations , Politics π a116505b-7367-4419-8f39-a943fdd09790Simplified: ADL.org criticizes the Israeli government Israeli politicians and Israeli policies
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Politics , Social Issues π a116505b-9c64-4db1-9598-530fc0d1b0ceSimplified: Demonization of all Israeli people crosses a line
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Politics , Social Issues π a116505b-bdc3-4839-af9e-64d4ff829b5eSimplified: Delegitimizing the state itself its right to exist crosses a line
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Politics , Social Issues π a116505b-e625-44e8-bc5d-b06aff17e6abSimplified: Double standards when talking about Israel versus other countries crosses a line
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Politics , Social Issues π a116505c-da1d-4bd8-85d9-0bfcd68bb173Simplified: Anti-Zionism is an ideology of nihilism which would seek to eliminate the Jewish state
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The opposite of that is not some, well, look, letβs have an ideal one state where everyone is.0.900π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Politics , Social π a116505e-4c42-4e19-85e0-94f2edb49152Simplified: The opposite of Zionism is not an ideal one state where everyone is
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The A.D.L. and the Brandeis Center wrote a letter to nearly 200 universities shortly after Oct. 7.1.000π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Organization , Education π a116505f-57ca-4857-ac90-1f47d044dd61Simplified: A.D.L. and Brandeis Center wrote a letter to nearly 200 universities shortly after Oct 7
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Simplified: Material support for terrorism can carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Organization , Education π a1165060-1c25-48b3-b569-b13880f91a58Simplified: On March 5 CUAD banned SJP chapter at Columbia for its behavior at Barnard Library in New York City
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Legal , Deportation , Foreign Policy π a1165060-bf60-457e-82b3-a24b50ba622bSimplified: Mahmoud Khalil was initially detained under a law that says his actions were a foreign-policy threat and he can be deported
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Political , Antisemitism , Legal π a1165061-263e-4dd1-9822-8a8eee9f8b99Simplified: The A.D.L. supported Mahmoud Khalil's arrest posting on X
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π News Article π·οΈ Political , International Relations π a1165061-72db-4fc7-be5b-42687cf8b2c5Simplified: You can protest actions of Israeli government things in Middle East without using violent rhetoric or justifying violence
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Political , International Relations π a1165061-e400-467a-be0d-e1650342afb9Simplified: He would not condemn Hamas in that same interview
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If you read the full post, what I said when Mr. Khalil was detained was that he needed due process.1.000Simplified: When Mr Khalil was detained he needed due process
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Simplified: That law had been very rarely used at that point
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Legal , International Relations π a1165062-7665-4320-85c9-62b933998568Simplified: A senior State Department official testified student-visa holders are having their social media screened for criticism of Israel including current war...
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ International Relations , Social π a1165063-a148-476a-8c8e-19a5d89627ffSimplified: There is mounting outrage in Israel over terrible images of one of the hostages having to dig his own grave looking incredibly gaunt
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ Conflict , Humanitarian Crisis π a114b5a9-e7ed-4e33-913b-ebdf2256ccafSimplified: Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has caused hunger crisis
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π€ The author π News Article π·οΈ International Relations , Social π a1165064-5b90-4975-822b-dbb75ef7d2dbSimplified: David Grossman has called what is happening in Gaza a genocide with immense pain and a broken heart and said the occupation has corrupted us
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Simplified: The situation in Gaza is a terrible catastrophic situation
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Simplified: Genocide means an intentional effort
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Hamas started the war.0.950Simplified: Hamas started the war
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The war needs to end.1.000Simplified: The war needs to end
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Simplified: The aid needs to flow in
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Simplified: Deaths of civilians are a fact
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Simplified: The status of hostages is a fact
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π Interview π·οΈ Human Rights π a1165065-7970-4013-b359-116005effad8Simplified: People inside Israel have civil human rights
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Simplified: Israel is a democracy with corrective capacity
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π€ Jonathan Greenblatt π Interview π·οΈ Antisemitism , Organization π a1165065-a819-43b0-9fd2-586f737d4204Simplified: A.D.L. came out with report rating states on combating antisemitism
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Simplified: States are tiered into three categories OK better best
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Simplified: Jonathan Greenblatt said student activists were frothing at the mouth looking like they came out of Mosul
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π€ The author π Interview π·οΈ Jewish people , War π a1165066-5b76-4985-a347-5393a33ccde2Simplified: Many Jewish people are upset about the war aspects of its prosecution and the human toll
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π€ The author π Interview π·οΈ Empathy , Jewish people π a1165066-6dbe-455e-a215-4def881419f3Simplified: Speak up and try to have radical empathy for your Jewish peer colleague friend or family member when you see something
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Simplified: Educate yourself and get the facts
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π€ The author π Interview π·οΈ Community , Jewish people , Muslims π a1165066-a3ad-4988-9ef9-90b45aeae22eSimplified: Communal ties have been frayed between the Jewish and Muslim communities
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Jewish people can feel safe in the places where they worship, in the place where they work and live.0.900Simplified: Jewish people can feel safe in places where they worship work and live
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Simplified: It could also be dirty and long