I got this e-mail today, and it made me laugh. Kinda reminds me of the professors who called up Campus Watch and asked to be put on their list of "terrorist apologists." While I don't agree that the ADL has abandoned its good work of fighting racism and discrimination, this list is ridiculous.

The ADL List

From: The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Congratulations to Us--We Made ADL's List


Dear Jessica,

We were honored to learn yesterday that we made the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) top ten list of "anti-Israel groups" in the United States.

Help us "thank" the ADL for its recognition of our work by replanting Palestinian olive trees, which Israeli settlers are currently uprooting and stealing fruits from.

For every $25 you donate to the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, we'll replant one olive tree in Palestine. Donate $100, and we'll replant five trees.

You can help us replant 1,000 olive trees in Palestine as a "thank you" to the ADL. Then, we'll give the ADL a nicely framed certificate showing how naming our coalition to the list enabled Palestinian farmers to remain steadfast on their land, despite Israel's attempted colonization and ethnic cleansing. To contribute to the replanting, please click here.

The ADL, which long ago abandoned its noble charter to fight racism--in favor of spying on U.S. peace and justice organizations, fanning the flames of Islamophobia, and defaming anyone who supports Palestinian human rights, named the US Campaign the "primary organizer of efforts to persuade the U.S. government to cut off aid to Israel." The ADL said that the US Campaign "function[s] as an umbrella organization [that] boosts cooperation among various anti-Israel groups."

Thanks, ADL, for recognizing our centrality in building a national movement to end U.S. support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians and to change U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality. We appreciate it!

Of course, we dispute the ADL's facile characterization of our mission as "anti-Israel." It's the same type of wrong thinking that produces the red herring that people who criticize U.S. foreign policies are "anti-American." That Bush-era mentality went out of fashion a long time ago.

Thank you for your generous support!