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New York (JTA) — Jewish
organizations have closed
ranks behind the embattled
Anti-Defamation League,
which is under investigation
by the San Francisco Police
Department on suspicion of
carrying out illegal informa-
tion-gathering activities.
In separate statements,
four major umbrella groups
have expressed their con-
fidence that the accusations
leveled against the ADL
would prove groundless.
The groups are the Con-
ference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish
Organizations, the National
Jewish Community Rela-
tions Advisory Council, the
World Jewish Congress and
the American Zionist
Movement.
"ADL deserves our respect
and confidence. We are cer-
tain that after all the legal
processes are concluded, our
trust in and respect for the
ADL will be justified," read
a statement issued by Lester
Pollack, chairman of the
Conference of Presidents,
and Malcolm Hoenlein, ex-
ecutive vice chairman.
The controversy surroun-
ding the ADL stems from ac-
cusations made by the San
Francisco police that the
organization illegally ob-
tained information using a
variety of means, including
wiretapping and the pur-
chase of confidential police
files.
No formal charges have
been filed yet, although the
police executed search war-
rants at the ADL's Los
Angeles and San Francisco
offices earlier this month.
Police officials claim the
ADL's violations came about
as part of its effort to keep
tabs on thousands of in-
dividuals and organizations
as part of a nationwide "spy
network."
ADL, an organization
founded to fight anti-
Semitism and racism, main-
tains it has not broken any
laws and that its compila-
tion of information on racist
and extremist groups has
been totally legitimate.
The ADL reiterated this
stand to the 20 or so repre-
sentatives of Jewish organ-
izations who gathered to
draft the Conference of Pres-
idents statement.
A representative from
Americans for Peace Now,
the newest member of the
50-member conference, ask-
ed about reports that her
organization was among
those concerning which ADL
maintained files.
"I was told that the folder
marked APN contains in-
formational materials, our
own publications and clipp-
ings about our activities,"
said Letty Cottin Pogrebin,
chair of Americans for Peace
Now.
"I certainly subscribe to
the view that what's impor-
tant is how people use files,
and if I don't see any
evidence that they have used
the files to denigrate us, I
don't have any problem with
it," she said.
NJCRAC, an umbrella
group comprised of 13 na-
tional and 117 community
organizations, applauded
the ADL's work, saying its
"fact-finding activities have
been significant in counter-
ing extremism and protec-
ting the rights of all Ameri-
cans.
"For this work, the
organized American Jewish
community, and indeed all
who support civil rights for
all Americans, are in the
debt of the ADL."
The American Zionist
Movement, composed of 21
Zionist groups, likewise
praised the ADL and
dismissed the recent allega-
tions against it.
"The Anti-Defamation
League is the pre-eminent
organization devoted to the
struggle against anti-
Semitism, racism and
bigotry," Seymour Reich,
president of the movement,
said in a statement.
"Having heard the report
of the leadership of the ADL,
we reject the allegations
that ADL has employed il-
legal methodologies in the
course of information
gathering," he added.
The World Jewish Con-
gress also joined the chorus
of support for ADL.
"The World Jewish Con-
gress, representing the Jew-
ish communities of 86 coun-
tries, expresses its full con-
fidence in the integrity of
the operations of the ADL,"
a WJC statement said.