A Zionist Smear: The ADL Attacks an Islamic Peace Conference

By Mark Weber
Institute for Historical Review
August 2008

The Anti-Defamation League is a master of deceit. A good example is the recent ADL blast against a conference in suburban Baltimore on August 16, 2008, where I was a speaker. Dedicated to peace and cross-cultural understanding, the meeting was organized by Jamaat al-Muslimeen, a local Islamic group.

The ADL, one of the world’s most influential Jewish-Zionist organizations, calls it a gathering of  “Far Right and Muslim Extremists” who found “common cause in their hatred of Jews and Israel.” (http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Israel/jamaat_baltimore_conference.htm)

In fact, the conference brought together men and women of diverse religious and racial backgrounds, and a range of political views, who were united by devotion to peace and justice.

Contrary to what the ADL suggests, no conference speaker expressed hated of Jews. Instead, speaker after speaker emphasized the importance of promoting justice, peace and cross-cultural understanding. Ramsey Clark – a prominent peace activist who served as US Attorney General in the Johnson administration -- spoke eloquently about the need for understanding between Christians and Muslims, and the dangers of an arrogant and militaristic US foreign policy. He movingly stressed the importance of justice even for the vilified and the powerless. Chuck Carlson, a Christian activist, spoke about his campaign to persuade churches to embrace the authentic Christian message of peace.

In my talk, I spoke in some detail about the dangerous consequences of the US alliance with Israel and of the Jewish-Zionist grip on American political and cultural life. I concluded with a call for awareness and unity for the sake of humankind. (http://www.ihr.org/other/aug08weber.html)

After explicitly speaking against “hate,” I emphasized: “We should not, and we do not, wish harm to any individual because of his or her ancestry, ethnic background, religion or privately held beliefs.”

According to the ADL, “Weber told the audience that not only was the Iraq war the result of `Jewish cabal,’ but that the same `Jewish cabal’ is currently pushing for war with Iran.” In fact, my only mention of a “Jewish cabal” was when I cited remarks of a prominent Labour Party member of the British parliament, who said in May 2003: “A Jewish cabal have taken over the government in the United States and formed an unholy alliance with fundamentalist Christians … There is far too much Jewish influence in the United States.” 

As it has on many other occasions, the ADL once again described the IHR as a “Holocaust denial organization.” But as the IHR website explains (http://www.ihr.org/main/about.shtml ), this smear is “completely at variance with the facts… Every responsible scholar of twentieth century history acknowledges the great catastrophe that befell European Jewry during World War II.”

In my talk, my only mention of the deaths of Jews during the Second World War was a single ten-word sentence I quoted from a speech by Malaysia president Mahathir Mohammed: “The Europeans killed six million Jews out of twelve million.”

Is that what the ADL means by “Holocaust denial”?

Conference speakers, the ADL charges, were “well-known anti-Semites” and “prominent  domestic extremists.” For the ADL and its allies, of course, an “anti-Semite” is anyone who speaks forthrightly about Israel’s inhumane and illegal policies, or the harmful role of the organized Jewish community in political and cultural life. As one witty commentator has put it, “An anti-Semite used to be someone who hates Jews. Now, it's someone whom Jews hate.”

Only by the distorted standards of the ADL and its allies can the conference speakers be considered “extremists.” In fact, the basic views and values presented at the meeting -- for peace, justice, and unity against war and oppression – are supported by the vast majority of people of good will around the world.

The ADL claims to “counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.” In fact, the group routinely defends institutionalized discrimination of non-Jews by Israel, as well as the Zionist state’s routine violations of human rights and international law.

As I explained in my talk, it’s the ADL and its allies who are “extreme” and out of step with world opinion. But the ADL’s minority view is not surprising, given its arrogantly ethno-centric mindset. This outlook was candidly spelled out by ADL National Director Abraham Foxman in an essay published in the group’s monthly newsletter. He wrote: “…The Holocaust is something different. It is a singular event. It is not simply one example of genocide but a near successful attempt on the life of God's chosen children and, thus, on God himself."

The ADL attack against the Baltimore peace conference is understandable, because Zionists fear the growing unity and sense of common purpose by people of diverse political and religious views who understand the Jewish-Zionist agenda and what it means for humanity. Given the ADL’s track record of malice and deceit, this latest attack is a badge of honor.