A researcher at the far-left Anti-Defamation League has resigned over the organization’s chief executive, Jonathan Greenblatt, publicly condemning Jewish people protesting to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The researcher, Stephen C. Rea, has a doctorate in anthropology and has worked at the organization for about a year in the Center for Technology and Society, focusing on online hate and harassment.
Rea announced his resignation in a social media post.
“So, I uh, just quit my job?” Rea wrote on the Bluesky social media platform. “I couldn’t square my morals and politics with the direction I saw the org going in. I think that ADL does a lot of great work, and trust me, there are some AMAZING people there (many of whom agree with me…). But there are times when you have to stand up and say ‘enough.'”
A senior researcher at the @ADL named Stephen C. Rea resigned from the organization today.
“I couldn’t square my morals and politics with the direction I saw the org going in,” he wrote. pic.twitter.com/54V20RHAuv
— Arno Rosenfeld (@ArnoRosenfeld) October 19, 2023
Rea explained that the ADL’s positions on the war are “ just a personal red line for me, and some things are more important than a job.”
The former ADL employee quoted a post from a user saying that the ADL will only help “white supremacists and fascists” with the language they used to describe the Jewish anti-war protesters. The post also accused the organization of demonizing anyone who rebelled against “the genocide.”
Rea wrote in his response to the post, “This right here is why I resigned from ADL this morning. In my opinion, it was throwing red meat to the people who want to do the *most* harm. And I couldn’t be part of it any longer. It’s so disappointing, and imho unnecessary.”
Greenblatt has been extremely outspoken against protesters who are calling for a cease-fire, particularly the hundreds with gathered at the Capitol in DC on Monday.
“Who in their right mind can watch Hamas terrorists commit atrocities, brutally murder civilians, kidnap children & elderly, & then protest Israel’s right to defend itself???” Greenblatt wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Who in their right mind can watch Hamas terrorists commit atrocities, brutally murder civilians, kidnap children & elderly, & then protest Israel’s right to defend itself???
Let’s get a few things straight:
1. Israel does not occupy Gaza – Hamas does.
2. Stop with the absurd… https://t.co/qLcmfUlkeD
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 18, 2023
The protest was organized by the Jewish anti-war groups Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow.
Greenblatt added, “These radical far-left groups don’t represent the Jewish community. Far from it. They represent the ugly core of anti-Zionism —> antisemitism.”
The ADL has declined to comment about Rea’s resignation to media outlets that inquired, including Forward.
