—Sylvester Loving, B1Daily

Jonathan Greenblatt’s leadership of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has raised serious concerns among activists and scholars who question whether the organization truly serves the interests of Black Americans, or if it operates with a hidden agenda.

While the ADL claims to combat hate and discrimination, its actions often reveal a pattern of selective outrage, political maneuvering, and even suppression of Black-led movements.

Selective Advocacy & Ignoring Anti-Black Racism

The ADL has historically been quick to condemn antisemitism (as it should), yet it has repeatedly downplayed or ignored systemic anti-Black racism. For example, during the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020, the ADL issued statements condemning vandalism while failing to amplify the movement’s core demands for racial justice.

This mirrored a long-standing trend: the ADL has consistently prioritized issues affecting Jewish communities while treating Black struggles as secondary.

Undermining Black-Led Movements

Perhaps most damning is the ADL’s history of surveilling and sabotaging Black activists. In the 1960s and 70s, the ADL collaborated with law enforcement to spy on civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, under Greenblatt, the organization has smeared Black critics of Israel as “antisemitic,” weaponizing accusations to silence legitimate dissent.

This tactic has been used against Black academics, journalists, and even progressive Jewish voices who support Palestinian rights, demonstrating that the ADL’s primary loyalty is to its political agenda, not universal justice.

AIPAC Ties & Political Exploitation

Greenblatt’s ADL has deepened its alliance with AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), a lobbying group that supports right-wing Israeli policies, including those that harm Palestinians, many of whom are Black and Brown.

This alignment raises questions: why is an organization claiming to fight bigotry actively supporting a foreign government accused of apartheid by Human Rights Watch?

Whose Side Is the ADL On?

The ADL, under Greenblatt, functions less as a civil rights watchdog and more as a political entity protecting specific interests, often at the expense of Black liberation.

Until the organization reckons with its history of surveillance, its suppression of Black voices, and its refusal to confront anti-Black racism with the same vigor as antisemitism, Black communities should view its advocacy with skepticism. True solidarity requires more than performative allyship, it demands accountability.

If the ADL really cared about fighting hate in *all* its forms, it wouldn’t keep sidelining Black struggles.

—Sylvester Loving, B1Daily