2010s cont
In October 2018, an antisemitic mass shooter opens fire during Shabbat morning services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, killing eleven worshippers and wounding six in the deadliest attack ever on the Jewish community in the U.S. ADL mobilizes a national response, including partnering with other organizations to create #SolidarityShabbat and advocating in Congress for passage of the Domestic Terrorist Prevention Act.
ADL launches Backspace Hate, a national initiative supporting victims and targets of online hate and harassment. ADL advocacy results in the introduction (and ultimate passage) of several bipartisan bills that address severe online harassment and create accountability for online actions.
In August 2019, a white supremacist motivated by anti-immigrant hate opens fire at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, killing 23 people and wounding dozens more, one of the deadliest hate crimes in U.S. history. In the aftermath, ADL joins in coalition with national Hispanic organizations and local community groups to call on social media companies to do more to respond to anti-immigrant hate and conspiracy theories on their platforms.
In April 2019, a white supremacist opens fire at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, killing one worshipper. After a string of shocking antisemitic attacks in New York later that year — including a stabbing attack at a rabbi’s home during a Hannukah party in Monsey, NY, and a shooting that left four dead at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City — ADL co-sponsors the No Hate No Fear march in New York City. An estimated 25,000 people come together in an inter-religious show of solidarity against antisemitism.
After reviewing the history and consulting with other leading experts, ADL adopts the spelling “antisemitism” instead of “anti-Semitism” to better clarify understanding of this age-old hatred toward Jews, both today and historically.
As the coronavirus sweeps across the U.S., there is a sharp rise in reports of hate crimes and bias incidents targeting members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Throughout the pandemic, ADL catalogs these incidents and shines a light on anti-immigrant and antisemitic conspiracy theories connected to the pandemic.
ADL releases Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era, a comprehensive online resource that addresses the historical roots of antisemitism and deconstructs persistent antisemitic myths. Built in a modular format, it includes contemporary examples and calls-to-action for addressing this hate.