ADL GROWING CONCERNED BY THE TONE OF THE CANDIDATES

The Anti-Defamation League, which, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center, is one of the major organizations in this country monitoring hate groups and bigotry, has taken the rare step of issuing a warning statement to candidates in a presidential campaign regarding anti-immigrant rhetoric. The ADL was careful not to single out any particular candidate, but you don't have to really work too hard to figure out who they had in mind. Here is the press statement:

ADL Urges Candidates To Keep Debate On Immigration Policy "Respectful"

New York, NY, December 17, 2007 � The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), increasingly troubled by the deeply polarizing rhetoric of the immigration debate and the routine demonizing of illegal immigrants, today called on all of the major party presidential candidates to "set an example of how immigrant policy can be debated respectfully" and to "forcefully speak out against intolerant and dehumanizing rhetoric."

In a letter to the major party presidential candidates, ADL urged each to refrain from hateful rhetoric that demonizes minorities, particularly Hispanics, when discussing immigration on the campaign trail and in the debates.

"While there are many legitimate and sincere perspectives in the national conversation about illegal immigration and immigration in general, we are deeply troubled by some of the rhetoric accompanying this debate," said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

"In our view, demonizing illegal immigrants has the effect of demonizing many minorities, particularly Hispanics, regardless of their citizenship status.  It is contrary to the high ideals upon which our nation � a nation of immigrants � was founded."

The League shared with the candidates a summary of its recent report, Immigrants Targeted: Extremist Rhetoric Moves into the Mainstream, which documents how anti-immigrant propaganda, once the domain of hate groups, is routinely used by anti-immigrant advocacy organizations and some media figures to generate fear and hatred of immigrants.

"In the coming months, we hope the candidates will set an example of how immigration policy can be debated respectfully," said Mr. Lewy and Mr. Foxman. "We believe the candidates should forcefully speak out against intolerant and dehumanizing rhetoric at every opportunity."

Comments

[USC]

The hate group, FAIR, has come out with an interesting response to the recent SPLC report:

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/29225

Stein, President & Executive Director of the hate group, FAIR, claims:

"(SPLC's) assertions about a meeting with Belgium activists are fraudulent, their assertions about the staff are fraudulent, their assertions about virtually everything else are fraudulent, Stein said."

Perhaps, he should have spoken to his Director of "Special Projects:"

"However, FAIR's director of special projects, John Martin, said he himself met with the group, but that it was Vlaams Belang that was seeking advice because of the current "civil war" in Belgium due to immigration. Martin said he regularly briefs foreign visitors."

LOL! From the Belang's Wikipedia entry it is not likely that they need advise on how to hate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaams_Belang

Their best excuse is:

"They insisted, when I asked specifically about that, they did not have a racist policy," Martin said. "Having been a member of an organization that is attacked as being racist, which I know isn't true, I'm willing to believe people when they say that is not true in their case."

Of course they conveniently ignore:

"The group was renamed after it was banned as a racist political body by the Belgium Supreme Court."