The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center hosted a discussion titled “The “Jew-Hunt” Pogrom in Amsterdam and Beyond” on December 3rd about countering antisemitism in America and abroad.
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and New York Times columnist Bret Stephens headlined the discussion, while the event was moderated by the temple’s senior rabbi, Joshua Davidson.
A Plea for Inclusion: ADL CEO Greenblatt demanded Jewish individuals be included in corporate DEI policies, rather than being viewed as privileged or worse yet, White.
- Greenblatt – “This DEI industrial complex has created this view that Brett was kind of…alluding to is Jews are seen as oppressors, Jews are regarded as White. This racialized view that reduces us to…the stereotypes is deeply damaging to our country in general. Specifically, it is a calamity for the Jewish people.”

Targeting College Campuses: Stephens and Greenblatt are both fixated on crushing pro-Palestine activism, which they label as antisemitic, on college campuses.
- Stephens advocated mandated “viewpoint diversity” on Israel while Greenblatt suggested “tenure reform” for professors, and time/place/manner restrictions for campus speech and assembly.
- Neither speaker opposed the other’s suggested methods.
A Legacy of Distrust: Both speakers leaned on a selective and distorted interpretation of history that serves their interests, fostering a sense of hostility toward outsiders and a belief that no allies exist beyond their own community.
- Stephens – “…[the Amsterdam riots] had all of the elements of the kind of pogrom from which my grandparents fled in Kishinev, 121 years ago.”
- Greenblatt – “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for and we cannot expect the cavalry to come. You are the cavalry! You are the ones who are gonna ensure that Brett’s mom doesn’t die in hiding.”
Echoes of the 1930s: While Greenblatt linked the fight against antisemitism to upholding American democracy, Stephens would go further suggesting that the world is entering a critical moment reminiscent of the 1930s prior to World War II.
- Greenblatt – “America is an experiment in democracy bound together by invisible values and morals that tie us together and root us. It’s up to us to hold on to those and I think [acting] ten percent ‘Jew-ier’ is a great way for us as a community.”
- Stephens – “Right now, we are entering a phase in the world not dissimilar to the 1930s, where the free countries of the world…are fighting an increasingly uniform struggle against dictators in Moscow, Tehran, Damascus, Beirut, Beijing, Pyongyang and elsewhere.”
The Big Picture: Stephens and Greenblatt are both supportive of Ukraine’s war against Russia and Israel’s war with the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East.
- The influence of pro-war voices like Stephens and Greenblatt on American foreign policy often outweighs the anti-war views held by the majority of the public in a zero sum game.
- This is due to the Jewish community making up the only dominant power bloc in American institutions allowing them to exert unopposed influence on American foreign policy,