ADL FACES WIKIPEDIA BAN OVER RELIABILITY
Allan C. Brownfeld, Editor
Special Interest Report
August 2024
Editors at Wikipedia have voted to declare the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
“generally unreliable” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. adding it to a list
of banned and partially banned sources.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (June 19, 2024), “An overwhelming
majority of editors involved in the debate about the ADL also voted to declare
the organization unreliable on the topic of antisemitism, its core focus…The ADL
is now grouped together with the National Inquirer, Newsmax and Occupy Democrats
as a source of propaganda or misinformation in the eyes of the online
encyclopedia. Dozens of Wikipedia editors said ADL acts primarily as a pro-
Israel organization and tends to label legitimate criticism of Israel as
antisemitism.”
An editor known as Islander 323 said, “ADL no longer appears to adhere to serious
mainstream and intellectually cogent definitions of antisemitism, but instead has
given into the shameless politicization of the very subject that it was
originally esteemed for being a reliable voice".
James Loeffler, professor of Jewish history at Johns Hopkins University, says the
ADL’s ability to fulfill its mission is directly tied to its credibility which
has taken a significant hit with the decision by Wikipedia. He said that,
“Losing this mark of trust will impair the ADL’s ability to reach digital
audiences".
Wikipedia cited statements by the ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt that “anti-Zionism is
antisemitism,” that student protestors against Israel’s role in Gaza were
“Iranian proxies,” and that the Keffiyeh headscarf was akin to the swastika, as
being without merit. Editorially, The New Republic (Jan.10, 2024) declared that
“The ADL has made a startling confession. It is now including pro-Palestinian
marches in its count of antisemitic incidents…The ADL has abandoned all pretense
of tracking antisemitism properly.”
According to The New Republic, the ADL reported 3,283 “antisemitic incidents” in
2023, a 361% increase from the previous year. The ADL says the American Jewish
community faces “a threat level that’s now unprecedented in modern history.” The
ADL declares The New Republic, “could even count anti-Israel protests by Jewish
activists. ADL isn’t helping anyone when it defines a bomb threat at a synagogue
and a Students for Justice in Palestine rally as equally antisemitic.” *
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