The head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is blasting people in the U.S. for attending “pro-Hamas” rallies.
On Tuesday, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to criticize people for participating in what were billed as pro-Palestinian rallies after Hamas — which has been designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization that governs that Gaza Strip — launched a surprise attack on Israel.
He noted on Sunday he heard people chanting outside the ADL’s office in New York City and added, “We looked down and there’s one of those pro-Hamas protests.”
Greenblatt equated the demonstration to a 1939 rally that took place in New York City where 20,000 Americans expressed support for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
“These protests here in America, these pro-Hamas, pro-terror demonstrations, these are like pro-Nazi things in this country in the ’30s. And they will not be remembered well when history looks back because they are complicit — these accomplices — they are guilty for excusing and for rationalizing the absolutely, barbaric irrationality of terror,” he added.
Watch the video below:
“We have got to stop referring to what happened on Saturday as an attack, as if it was military on military. This was a massacre. This was a slaughter. The appropriate word is 'medieval.' And the appropriate points of comparison are al-Qaida and ISIS.”
— The Recount (@therecount) October 10, 2023
— @JGreenblattADL pic.twitter.com/7GSZpQjn0Q
His comments referred to pro-Palestinian rallies held in various cities. In New York City, protesters could be heard chanting “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” Meanwhile, one demonstrator was seen holding up a swastika.
The demonstrations came after Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, killing at least 900 people and injuring thousands more. There have been many reports detailing the horrors of violence, including stories of families being killed by Hamas, rapes, and kidnappings.
Meanwhile, at least 765 people were killed in the Gaza Strip following Israeli strikes.
Greenblatt also called out the media for the language used to describe the violence in Israel.
“We have got to stop referring to what happened on Saturday as an ‘attack,’ as if it was military on military. This was a massacre. This was a slaughter. The appropriate word is ‘medieval.’ And the appropriate points of comparison are al-Qaida and ISIS,” he said.
Additionally, he called out presidents of universities and other institutions for their silence on the situation in Israel after making forceful statements in support of Black Lives Matter or Ukraine.
“Why are they silent on dead Jews? Why, why is my inbox empty with messages from CEOs, from major religious movements? Where are they?” Greenblatt asked.
