Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and Chairman Mark Levenson, Esq. released the following statement: 

The ZOA raises the following concerns about the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)’s newly announced “Mayor’s Compact to Combat Hate, Extremism and Bigotry” initiative:

1. The “10 key components” of ADL’s Mayors’ Compact never mention Jew-hatred and Antisemitism, despite the fact that Jews are the victims of the overwhelmingly majority (60%) of religious hate crimes in the United States (Anti Muslim hate crimes are 15% of all religious hate crimes) and despite the fact that ADL’s primary historic mission is to fight Antisemitism.
2. The only mention of Jews is the following sentence, found in a preface: “We have seen an increase in hate violence, xenophobic rhetoric, and discriminatory actions that target Muslims, Jews, and other minorities.” Mentioning Jews after Muslims wrongly implies that Muslims are more discriminated against than Jews. In fact, FBI statistics show that Jews are victims of hate crimes at least 4 times more often than Muslims.
3. The “10 key components” of ADL’s Mayors’ Compact never mention the frightening, dangerous sermons calling for the murder of Jews, preached by certain Imams in mosques in New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and California, and perhaps elsewhere. In this era of growing Antisemitism, shouldn’t America’s mayors be alerted to such dangerous incitement, and empowered an encouraged to deal with this?
4. The “10 key components” of ADL’s Mayors’ Compact never mention Islamist Antisemitism or Islamist terrorism, jihad, ISIS, Hamas, Al Qaeda, or any other Islamist terrorist group or ideology, despite the numerous actual and attempted attacks carried out by radical Islamists in the U.S. and throughout the world. Omitting Islamist attacks seems to be a glaring omission, after the San Bernardino massacre; the Boston Marathon bombing; 9/11; the Islamist Boston Marathon bombers’ slitting the throats of three young Jewish men prior to the marathon bombing; the Orlando nightclub mass shooting/murder of 49 innocent people; the recent Islamist shooting attack outside a Los Angeles synagogue; the 2017 truck attack in Manhattan; Egyptian terrorists’ murder of two people and wounding of four at the El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles; Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad’s murderous shooting attack on an army recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas; Nidal Hasan’s murder of 13 American soldiers and wounding of 32 at Fort Hood, Texas – to name but a few. In our view, American mayors’ first duty must be the safety of their constituents.
5. The first of the “10 key components” of ADL’s Mayors’ Compact insists that mayors must speak out against “xenophobia” among other forms of bigotry. Xenophobia is defined as prejudice or hatred towards foreigners. However, ADL has been using the pejorative label of “xenophobia” against those who do not agree with ADL’s left-wing immigration advocacy. For instance, while introducing ADL’s report entitled “Mainstreaming Hate: The Anti-Immigrant Movement in the U.S.,” ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt said: “We must take steps to remove this anti-immigrant ideology and xenophobia.” In the same report introduction, ADL condemned organizations (such as the Center for Immigration Studies) that voice legitimate concerns and provide information and analysis about illegal immigration and/or inadequately vetted immigration. ADL even went so far as to attempt to shut down and censor debate on immigration issues by demanding that Congress must “stop inviting known anti-immigrant groups to testify in hearings and forums.” Again, we believe that American mayors’ first duty is the safety of their constituents. Mayors should not be asked to join ADL’s xenophobia accusations against safety advocates with a different, rational legitimate view on immigration policies.

We sincerely hope that ADL will revise its Mayors’ Compact so that it becomes an instrument for combatting Antisemitism and the scourge of Islamist terror, and so that it will help assure the safety of the residents of American cities. ZOA hopes that America’s mayor swill take these important concerns into consideration.