Watch ADL national director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in conversation with Pastor Jamaal Bernard and Rev. Sam Rodriguez at the “ADL’s Never Is Now” event.
In this compelling three-way dialogue, Greenblatt discusses the origins of the ADL in 1913, the pervasive anti-Jewish discrimination at the time, and the organization’s mission, which seeks to secure justice and fair treatment not only for the Jewish community but for all segments of society.
“ADL is the oldest anti-hate organization in the country. It was founded at a time when there was systemic discrimination against Jewish people in this country,” he says. “Jews couldn't live in many places. You could decide you weren't going to sell your home to a black or a Jew. That was legal. Jews couldn't work in many professions. They were either kept out of universities or quotas kept their numbers down.”
Explaining the organization’s universal message, Greenblatt shares, “We’re all created in the image of God. ADL's history for 113 years has been fighting for the Jewish people and fighting for other people – we are still doing that today.”
Discussing the common ground that exists between Judaism and Christianity, he notes, “There's a long history of us as peoples living together. Sometimes it wasn't so great. Sometimes it was very good. But I think the thing to recognize is that we all read from the same book and we all ultimately worship the same God. Now we may worship differently. We may have different traditions. We may have different kinds of theological scaffolding that hold up our faith. But at the end of the day, it's under the altar of the same sky.”
Commenting on the need for religion to address hatred, Rev. Rodriguez added, “Every single generation must be vigilant in addressing hatred. If we don't address it and aren't cognizant of it, it's going to emerge in the next. These are the elements that we have as we develop this partnership together.”