Arab Group Demands Investigations of ADL at Local and Federal Levels

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is asking for local, federal and congressional investigations of the Anti-Defamation League, in the wake of charges that the veteran Jewish defense agency has maintained a national intelligence network to keep tabs on some 950 groups and 12,000 individuals.

Documents released in conjunction with police searches of ADL offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles indicate that among those surveyed are thousands of ADC members, said Albert Mokhiber, president of the Arab American group.

“The facts in this case far surpass even the greatest fears that we may have had about Israeli infiltration into American government, law enforcement and community activism,” he said in a statement released in Washington.

“It is our sincere hope that Jewish American organizations will speak out against the ADL involvement and will join forces with us to put an end to these illegal and dangerous practices,” Mokhiber said.

David Lehrer, ADL’s regional director in Los Angeles, responded to the statement by saying: “We don’t monitor groups or individuals on the basis of their race, religion or ethnicity. We do have every right to educate ourselves and the public about what critics of Israel say and write.

“We have done so for decades, and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Adverse national publicity on ADL operations following the April 8 police searches of its West Coast offices has increased pressure on ADL officials to issue a comprehensive rebuttal to the charges, which so far have been left largely unanswered.

The agency has retained a New York public relations firm and is expected to go public with its position before the weekend.

In an editorial Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times questioned “whether the ADL might have crossed the clear line that separates gathering information on defamers and gathering information that possibly could be used to embarrass and even defame others.”