# Anti-Defamation League (DD-674)

> The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a New York-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit. B'nai B'rith, a Jewish service organization, founded it in Chicago in autumn 1913, with attorney Sigmund Livingston as its first leader. Wikipedia's account places the founding in the wake of the contested murder conviction of Leo Frank that year. The ADL became independent of B'nai B'rith in 2009, and Jonathan Greenblatt has been its CEO since 2015. The ADL describes its purpose as protecting the Jewish people and fighting antisemitism and hate. It's known for incident audits, research on extremism, law-enforcement training and pro-Israel advocacy. The ADL is politically contested. Critics on the left have accused it of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. In late 2025, conservative critics, including Elon Musk and FBI Director Kash Patel, attacked its extremism research after its glossary included an entry on Turning Point USA. The ADL took the glossary down, the FBI announced it was cutting ties, and the ADL said it remained committed to protecting the Jewish people. This case reports those claims with their sources and doesn't judge them.

- Department: History (also People)
- First published: 2025-11-26
- Last updated: 2025-11-26
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/anti-defamation-league/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## Status as of Oct. 18, 2026

Active 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in New York, led by CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Its formal FBI partnership was ended by FBI Director Kash Patel's October 2025 announcement. In remarks reported in early 2026, Greenblatt said the ADL still shares intelligence on extremists with the FBI (IBTimes UK, Mar 2026).
Out of date in the Reel: The Reel's 'defend civil rights for all people' predates the ADL's October 2025 website change and its statement centering its 'core purpose' on protecting the Jewish people.

## On the timeline

- **1913**: B'nai B'rith founds the Anti-Defamation League in Chicago, led by Sigmund Livingston
- **2009**: The ADL becomes independent of B'nai B'rith
- **2015**: Jonathan Greenblatt becomes ADL CEO
- **Oct. 1, 2025**: FBI Director Kash Patel announces the FBI is ending its partnership with the ADL; the ADL issues a statement

Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=anti-defamation-league

## Quick facts

- **DD-674-F01**: The ADL was founded in 1913 by B'nai B'rith, with Sigmund Livingston as its first leader. _(Write-up · Exhibit A (Founding))_
- **DD-674-F02**: The ADL became independent of B'nai B'rith in 2009. _(Write-up · Exhibit B (Structure))_

## Write-up

A league born in 1913. The ADL was founded by B'nai B'rith in Chicago.

1. **Founding**: B'nai B'rith founded the ADL in Chicago in autumn 1913, with Sigmund Livingston as its first leader. Wikipedia ties the founding to the contested 1913 murder conviction of Leo Frank, whom historians today generally consider innocent.
2. **Structure**: The ADL became independent of B'nai B'rith in 2009. It's a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in New York City with regional offices around the US, and Jonathan Greenblatt is its CEO.
3. **What it does**: It publishes audits of antisemitic incidents, tracks extremist groups, trains law-enforcement officers and advocates on policy, including pro-Israel advocacy. In 2026 Greenblatt said it has about 40 analysts monitoring extremists full-time (as reported by IBTimes UK).
4. **The 2025 dispute**: After its 'Glossary of Extremism and Hate' drew criticism from Elon Musk and other conservatives, partly over an entry on Turning Point USA, the ADL took it down (The Guardian). FBI Director Kash Patel announced on October 1, 2025, that the FBI was ending its partnership (Al Jazeera). The ADL responded that it respects the FBI and remains 'more committed than ever' to protecting the Jewish people (ADL).
5. **Mission wording**: In October 2025, JTA reported that the ADL had removed a 'protect civil rights' passage from its website. An ADL spokesperson said this was part of a review of outdated content. Critics on the left have separately accused the ADL of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, which the ADL disputes (Wikipedia summary).

## Related case files

- [Kirk (DD-672)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/kirk/): The 2025 glossary dispute involved an entry on Turning Point USA, which Kirk co-founded
- [The Wailing Wall (DD-673)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/the-wailing-wall/): Another case touching on Jewish history

## Reel vs. record

- **Missing founder**: B'nai B'rith founded the ADL in Chicago in autumn 1913, with attorney Sigmund Livingston as its first leader (Wikipedia).
- **Missing context**: Wikipedia ties the founding to the contested 1913 murder conviction of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent in Atlanta who was later lynched (1915).
- **Structure**: the ADL was part of B'nai B'rith until 2009, when it became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It's headquartered in New York City.
- **Note**: Out of date on 'civil rights for all': in October 2025 the ADL removed a 'protect civil rights' passage from its website, which it called routine content review (JTA). Its October 1, 2025 statement put its 'core purpose' as protecting the Jewish people (ADL).
- **Missing context**: the ADL is contested from several directions. In 2025 it took down its extremism glossary after conservative criticism, and the FBI announced it was cutting ties (The Guardian, Al Jazeera). Critics on the left accuse it of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, which it disputes.

## Video: Anti-Defamation League: A League Born in 1913

- Duration: 19.5 s · Published: 2025-11-26
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DRipLwBEdNZ.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? The Anti-Defamation League, or ADL, is a US-based non-profit organization founded in 1913 to combat anti-Semitism and defend civil rights for all people. Originally established in response to widespread discrimination against Jewish Americans, the ADL's mission has expanded to include fighting hate, extremism, and misinformation across society. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: Which organization founded the ADL in 1913?**  
A: B'nai B'rith, with Sigmund Livingston as the first leader. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Founding) · Wikipedia: Anti-Defamation League)_

**Q: In which city was the ADL founded?**  
A: Chicago. Today it's headquartered in New York. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Founding) · Wikipedia: Anti-Defamation League)_

**Q: In what year did the ADL become independent of B'nai B'rith?**  
A: 2009. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Structure) · Wikipedia: Anti-Defamation League)_

**Q: Who has been the ADL's CEO since 2015?**  
A: Jonathan Greenblatt. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Structure) · Wikipedia: Anti-Defamation League)_

**Q: What did the ADL take down in 2025 after conservative criticism?**  
A: It removed the glossary (The Guardian). _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (The 2025 dispute) · The Guardian (Oct 1, 2025): Anti-Defamation League takes down extremism research after Musk leads rightwing backlash; Al Jazeera (Oct 2, 2025): FBI cuts ties with Anti-Defamation League amid conservative backlash; ADL: Statement on the FBI Director's 10/1 announcement (Oct 1, 2025))_

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Anti-Defamation League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League)
- [ADL: Statement on the FBI Director's 10/1 announcement (Oct 1, 2025)](https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-statement-fbi-directors-101-announcement)
- [The Guardian (Oct 1, 2025): Anti-Defamation League takes down extremism research after Musk leads rightwing backlash](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/01/anti-defamation-league-removes-extremism-research)
- [Al Jazeera (Oct 2, 2025): FBI cuts ties with Anti-Defamation League amid conservative backlash](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/2/fbi-cuts-ties-with-anti-defamation-league-amid-conservative-backlash)
- [J. The Jewish News of Northern California / JTA (Oct 30, 2025): ADL cuts 'Protect Civil Rights' from website](https://jweekly.com/2025/10/30/adl-removes-protect-civil-rights-from-website-as-it-narrows-its-mission-amid-right-wing-attacks/)
- [IBTimes UK (Mar 6, 2026): ADL chief says group monitors online 'extremists', shares intelligence with FBI](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/adl-surveillance-fbi-collaboration-1783555)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Anti-Defamation League." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-674, last updated Nov 26, 2025. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/anti-defamation-league/