Jonathan Greenblatt Speaks at Jewish Journal Event; His Job Description: “To Defend the Jewish People”

  • December 14, 2016

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt participated in the Jewish Journal’s Crucial Conversation, The New Reality:  Jews in Trump’s America, on December 13 at Shalhevet Institute.  In front of a crowd of 400, Greenblatt — along with panelists Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR, Rabbi Ari Segal of Shalhevet and political analyst Dan Schnur of USC — shared a dialogue about what the future may hold for the Jewish community during a Trump presidency.  Jewish Journal columnist Danielle Berrin served as moderator.

web_1303Greenblatt opened the discussion, noting what separates Donald Trump from all other previous occupants of the White House: “This man walks into the Oval Office with a more intimate relationship with the Jewish people than any president in our history.” Asked about the significance of having Jewish “kin” later, Greenblatt responded that “It’s complicated. . .I don’t think we know (how this will play out).”  Another panelist, Rabbi Brous, added that she is “not reassured by the presence of Ivanka and Jared having Shabbat dinner at the White House….I don’t believe Ivanka Trump will be our Queen Esther.”

Greenblatt fielded tough questions regarding ADL’s statements during the campaign and since the election.  He explained, “ADL tries to focus not on politics, but principles, and calls out prejudice.”  When asked about accusations that ADL had been partisan, Greenblatt responded to resounding applause:  “We will never tolerate intolerance.  Period. To those who think that’s political, so be it.”

Greenblatt specifically mentioned concerns about Trump not having shown contrition for receiving endorsements from KKK leaders and tweeting images sourced from white supremacists.  Associations with the Alt Right also concern him, and he was quick to say, “I prefer to call them white supremacists because they are bigots who traffic in anti-Semitism and racism. . .  Normalizing them is very troubling. ADL will speak out against cheerleaders of white supremacy.  Our mission mandates we do.”

Greenblatt added, “I challenge the claim that we are more partisan today.  We are not.  I have a simple job description:  to defend the Jewish people. . . ADL has worked with every administration since Woodrow Wilson.  We work with Democrats and Republicans.”

Rabbi Brous spoke about the obligation of Jews to “stand up for minorities” and “strengthen our relations with minority communities.”

Political analyst Schnur took the opportunity to publicly thank ADL for “standing up admirably.  This deserves our admiration and respect.”

Rabbi Segal pointed out that Trump “is a businessman running the largest company in the world.”

Greenblatt exhorted:  “We must push back haters to the margins of society.  We need to push back on social media, at the water cooler at the office, and across the dinner table. . .Hate speech needs to be called out and shut down.”

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