To whom it may concern at the City of Austin:

I am a resident of Austin and I am writing to ask that immediate steps be taken to remove the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from the “We All Belong, powered by Austin Against Hate” campaign. Additionally, I ask that the ADL no longer be permitted involvement with any equity programs at the City of Austin.

The ADL is a community partner of the 'We All Belong' initiative which is hosting the 'Party at the People’s House.' As long as the ADL is part of it, this purported anti-hate campaign will be a dangerous and disingenuous smokescreen to cover the hateful agenda of the ADL.

More than eight months into a genocide, in a city that has refused to demand a ceasefire, the sickening reality is that I must approach all city-sponsored events with a learned skepticism for how the powerful in our community launder their appearance of having anti-racist and social justice priorities, while actually turning a blind eye to—or outright supporting—inequality, white supremacy, and mass violence.

The ADL cannot simultaneously be running a hate crime tracker and reporting feature for We All Belong (removed sometime around 6/20/2024 and unconfirmed as permanently removed), while actively CONTRIBUTING to hate crimes in Austin and elsewhere with their hateful rhetoric towards Palestinians and Muslims.

The ADL and its supporters:

• Fought a months-long campaign against our ceasefire resolution calling ceasefire resolution supporters “terrorists” at Austin City Hall on 04/04/2024 (1:30 mark).

• Allowed their ADL Central Division Director of Policy to spew racist and debunked rhetoric about Palestinians and pro-Palestinians during an Austin City Council meeting at the (2:17 mark) on 02/29/2024 and at a Texas State Senate Hearing on 05/14/2024.

• Has an ongoing pattern of attacking social justice movements led by communities of color, queer people, immigrants, Muslims, Arabs, and others—while aligning itself with police, right-wing leaders, and other perpetrators of state violence. Disgustingly, it has often conducted those attacks under the banner of “civil rights.” ADL has a history of harmful practices within social justice coalitions and communities of color, despite seemingly being integrated into community work in many of these arenas and promotion of its anti-bias materials and resources.

• Has condemned the Movement for Black Lives, Palestinian liberation organizing, and many progressive leaders.

• Consistently smears Palestinian organizers and the movement for Palestinian liberation as “anti-semitic.”

• Used its integration in local, state, and national policymaking and media spaces to quash Arab American community efforts to participate in US politics, and to defend Israel from criticism.

• Blacklists organizations criticizing Israel’s genocidal settler colonialism, and smears Jewish organizers who refute the claim that anti-zionism is antisemitic.

• Tell Jonathan Greenblatt: Defaming Students Puts Jews in Danger

• The Anti-Defamation League Has Abandoned Some of the People It Exists to Protect  

• Supports the Israeli government’s work to partner with even the most racist, fascistic, and far-right US politicians, including Donald Trump—encouraging the legitimacy of Israel as an example of ethnonationalism for white supremacists and colonizers.

I noticed that the ADL was removed from the website. Does this mean that the ADL has been removed from the city initiative as a partner and from the work itself, or is this simply meant to create the impression to appease the public?

In addition, I noticed that all other community partners including the NAACP were removed, and want to make it clear that the issue is not with the idea of community partners, but rather only with the ADL.

It is clear from a city document and ADL’s own leadership that, in the past, the ADL has not only been a partner of the We All Belong event but an active planner, promoter, and benefactor.

Given the ADL’s involvement in promoting Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Semitic tropes, their involvement in this event is disconcerting at the very least. If the website was edited without full removal of the ADL as a community partner, that would undermine my trust in your organization, the city, and all other parties involved. It dismisses the community’s concerns regarding the well-documented hateful history of the ADL, and I am disheartened by what appears to be a cover-up of their disgraceful past while gaslighting activists who are bringing this issue to light.

Further action is needed on the part of the city to remove the ADL as a community partner and avoid putting the well-being of community members at risk.

Their involvement introduces the possibility of more surveillance on vulnerable communities and adds to the ever-present distrust our community has with institutions that promote performative events. In the meantime, I will take it upon myself to educate the community on the harms caused by the ADL, and be sure to let community members know that the City of Austin’s involvement with the ADL puts our communities in danger.

I demand that the ADL be dropped from this initiative and any other initiatives or programs involving our community's safety and social justice issues.

Refer to this website for information about this hateful organization hiding behind anti-hate language here Drop the ADL.