Building Respect for All An Interview with Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) EDITORS’ NOTE Abraham Foxman Our work hasn’t evolved – it has That piece of legislation, which was chal- has held his current post since remained true to its dual mission, al- lenged as a restriction on freedom of speech, 1987. He is the co-author of Viral ways understanding you can’t fight was upheld by the Supreme Court 9-0, and it Hate: Containing Its Spread on just the prejudice against Jews without went a long way in unmasking the bigots. the Internet and author of Jews & fi ghting for the rights of others. If you Another significant achievement in the Money: The Story of a Stereotype, don’t change the environment against 1970s was the passage of anti-boycott legisla- The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby racism, bigotry, and prejudice – if you tion. At the time, there was a serious economic and the Myth of Jewish Control, don’t build respect for all – you will boycott of Israel. American citizens doing busi- and Never Again? The Threat of not succeed in protecting the rights of ness in the Arab world had to submit boycott the New Anti-Semitism. Foxman the Jewish people. information, and it began to spill over on Jews has had consultations in Europe, Some say I have extended the vi- as well because they were automatically seen as Russia, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, sion, but I haven’t; it has always been Zionists and supporters. Jordan, China, Japan, South Africa, Abraham H. Foxman there. The things that make news are This was significant legislation, which and Argentina, as well as with when we speak out on anti-Semi- said to the world, America will not permit Palestinian leaders, on problems of ethnic ha- tism or when we strike out against racism and American businessmen to be blackmailed or tred, violence, terrorism, and promoting democ- bigotry. threatened by counter-boycott when they deal racy. He has had six audiences with Pope John The guts of our institution is education. We with whoever they want – in this case, Israel Paul II, four with Pope Benedict XVI, and re- have programs to teach diversity and respect, and the Jews. cently met with the newly installed Pope Francis. which we conduct with the religious commu- The third one was the hate crimes law, fi - A Holocaust survivor, Foxman was a member of nity, with the law enforcement community, with nally passed by Congress nearly fi ve years ago the President’s United States Holocaust Memorial teachers, with administrators, with college stu- as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Council, appointed by Presidents Reagan, Bush, dents, etc. The bulk of what we do is inoculat- Crimes Prevention Act. In this country, where and Clinton. He has been a participant of offi - ing against prejudice and the only antidote we we are open about who and what we are, and cial Presidential delegations to special events in know is education. In education, our program about our attitudes towards hate, it wasn’t easy Europe and Israel. Foxman has a B.A. in po- is still generically anti-bias. to get this legislation passed in Congress. It did litical science from the City College of the City Another thing that has happened in the not make hate a crime, but it put a consequence University of New York, graduating with hon- years I have been in charge is that other groups on it. For instance, if you commit arson for the ors in history. He holds a J.D. degree from New that face prejudice have developed institu- insurance payoff, the penalty is one year and York University School of Law, and did graduate tions of their own. The Jewish community es- $1,000; but if it can be proven that you com- work in advanced Judaic studies at the Jewish tablished the NAACP. There were times when mitted that arson because of racism or bigotry, Theological Seminary and in international eco- there were no serious institutions fi ghting for then the penalty is $2,000 and two years of nomics at The New School for Social Research. African-American rights, Hispanic rights, gay prison. He joined ADL in 1965. rights, Asian rights – today, there are. We now This legislation reinforces that our society work in coalition with them when it comes to puts a higher consequence value on crimes mo- ORGANIZATION BRIEF The Anti-Defamation advocacy and legislation, and even litigation. tived by hate. When you’re acting out against an League (adl.org), founded in 1913, is the world’s There are a few achievements that I’m individual motivated by hate, it’s not just a crime leading organization fighting anti-Semitism most proud of: one came before me, and that is against that individual but also against society. through programs and services that counteract the anti-mask law; another is anti-boycott legis- We fi ght anti-Semitism all over the world. hatred, prejudice, and bigotry. lation; and the third is the anti-hate law. When I came to ADL, the level of anti-Semitism In the 1950s, the Anti-Defamation League in the U.S. as we measured it was at 30 percent; How has the ADL evolved since its early drafted, advocated, promulgated, and got a law today, it’s down to 12 percent. days? passed in the State of Georgia that said, you It would be nice to think that this is what A few lawyers in Chicago had a vision 100 cannot demonstrate publicly with a hood or a we alone have achieved. Although there were years ago. They decided there was a need for an mask which, ironically, was the most signifi cant many involved, I do think we had a signifi cant organization to fi ght what they primarily called law that undermined the Klan because the First role in it. But the most important thing that dif- “the defamation of the Jewish people.” Then Amendment guarantees you and me the right ferentiates the U.S. from the rest of the world is they determined that you can’t just fi ght anti- to be bigots. that while anti-Semitism is rising there, here it’s Semitism in the American environment without Our social environment, however, says you declining. In this country, while it’s legal to be fi ghting other forms of hatred and prejudice. can be a bigot, but you have to take responsi- a bigot, there are consequences. The price of They immediately set two goals: fi ght the defa- bility for your bigotry. When we removed the those actions will come from the public, which mation of the Jewish people and fi ght for equal mask from the bigot, the Klan began to shrink, will react. opportunity for all citizens. Ironically, in 1913, because all these champions of racism, who In Europe, being a bigot might be politi- “citizens” covered everybody; we just removed were political leaders and churchgoers, weren’t cally expedient. Here, if you’re in commerce the word “citizens” because it’s limiting today. so brave when they were unmasked. and you engage in anti-Semitism, you won’t VOLUME 37, NUMBER 2 POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 35 sell a thing. Mel Gibson went from an active When we battle anti-Semitism today, one People’s Choice Award-winning performer to of the factors we have to address is this new someone who is rarely seen because he exposed superhighway. While we can use it to answer his anti-Semitic bigotry. and as an antidote to educate, we’re still strug- There is also more of a message of toler- gling with a changing paradigm: In the old days, ance coming from political and religious leader- when someone wrote a hate letter, the answer Maybe ship in the U.S. to that bad speech was good speech. But what Educating law enforcement on hate has also if you wake up and suddenly there is a tsunami made a difference, but our work is not done. We’re of bad speech? How do you answer it, and how in the grand not immune to the recurrence of hate. Until we do we work to stop that tsunami without harm- have a vaccine, we have to remain active and edu- ing civil liberties? scheme of things, cate people to make sure that the lids remain on The Internet has had many positive attri- the sewers, because the virus still lurks there, as butes that have been a great boon to society for unacceptable and immoral as it is. learning, for research, and for communication. I haven’t removed So you feel this is still a signifi cant is- But unfettered freedom of speech unleashes sue globally? a lack of civility. When people stop talking to Anti-Semitism globally, sans the U.S., is each other face to face, they become less civil. bigotry, but in a micro probably the worst it has been since World War As the level of civility goes down, it impacts II. As the memories of the war fade, there is a respect and tolerance. sense, I am working growing acceptance of it. Are you able to evaluate the impact of We’re in the midst of creating a global in- your education efforts? dex of anti-Semitism, which we’ll probably It’s not an exact science, but we need to to change it one release in about two months.