News Brief: The ADL's Bogus Origin Story and Its Rise as Ideological Enforcer for Empire and Israel
In this News Brief, we speak with Emmaia Gelman, author of the new book The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, about how the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) functions as a vehicle of reactionary Western political agendas---including white supremacism, the surveillance and police state, and settler-colonial projects throughout the world---while masquerading as a civil-rights organization.
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Guest
Emmaia Gelman is the founding director of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism. She's taught social and cultural analysis at NYU and social sciences at Sarah Lawrence College and is the author of The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State (University of California Press, 2026). Her writing has appeared in Jewish Currents, Boston Review, The Forward, and elsewhere.
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Show Notes
The ADL Tried to Appease MAGA. The FBI Cut Ties with Them Anyway.
Mari Cohen and Alex Kane | December 10, 2025 | Jewish Currents
US Teachers Are Kicking the ADL Out of Schools
Emmaia Gelman | July 8, 2025 | Jacobin
Internal memo reveals Anti-Defamation League surveillance of leftwing activist
Tom Perkins | July 9, 2024 | The Guardian
It’s Time to Break With the ADL as a Source for News and Research on Extremism
Emmaia Gelman | December 15, 2023 | Truthout
Mari Cohen and Alex Kane | March 8, 2023 | Jewish Currents
The Anti-Democratic Origins of the ADL and AJC
Emmaia Gelman | March 12, 2021 | Jewish Currents
Beware the Anti-Defamation League’s Efforts to Partner with Progressive Orgs
Sarah Lazare and Adam Johnson | July 21, 2020 | In These Times
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Transcript
For a full transcript of this News Brief, go here. You can also find transcripts of past episodes, live shows, Beg-a-Thons, interviews, and News Briefs here.
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Citations Merch
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Credits
Senior Producer: Florence Barrau-Adams
Producer: Julianne Tveten
Production Assistant: Trendel Lightburn
Newsletter: Marco Cartolano
Music: Grandaddy
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