ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on fighting hate and engaging adversaries

Executive overview

Antisemitism is spreading faster than institutions can contain it. Social media amplifies fringe voices; celebrities and billionaires platforming them normalise hate at scale.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, argues for council culture over cancel culture: engage rather than reject, turn confrontations into partnerships, and hold the line on antisemitism without flinching.

The core insight: calling out hate loudly, while still reaching for dialogue, is more durable than cancellation.

The Elon Musk confrontation

• ADL had worked with Twitter for years, including serving on its Trust and Safety Council.
• Greenblatt opened dialogue with Musk before the acquisition closed, believing a safer Twitter was achievable.
• After a productive Zoom with new CEO Linda Iaccarino, a tweet about the meeting triggered a white-supremacist "ban the ADL" hashtag.
• When Musk engaged with that content, his 150M followers amplified it massively.
• Musk accused ADL of trying to destroy Twitter's ad revenue; Greenblatt says ADL never directly pressured advertisers.
• "Freedom of speech, not freedom of reach" — Greenblatt's line, originally Musk's own, captures the distinction ADL draws.
• Greenblatt says he doesn't believe Musk is antisemitic, but the people Musk platforms are "openly hateful, toxic."

Council culture in practice: the Adidas case

• When Kanye West's antisemitic comments erupted, ADL pressed Adidas publicly rather than quietly.
• Adidas eventually spoke out; their North American president appeared at ADL's conference.
• A partnership launched to educate young people about intolerance through sports.
• When Adidas's new CEO Bjorn Gilden seemed to downplay Kanye's comments, Greenblatt called him directly.
• Gilden apologised publicly; Greenblatt accepted and committed to continuing the partnership.
• Greenblatt also works with Volkswagen and other companies with complicated histories — accountability is about what they do now.

Why business leaders can't stay neutral

• Participation in organised religion is down; trust in political parties has never been lower.
• Brands fill that vacuum — more people are fervent about Apple or Spotify than about their religion.
• Millennials and Gen Z choose employers and brands based on values alignment.
• CEOs face pressure to be statesmen, not just operators; Greenblatt thinks that pressure is justified.

ADL's three-part model

• Protect: tracks antisemitic attitudes and incidents globally; trains 20,000–25,000 law enforcement officers annually on extremism and hate.
• Advocate: lobbies Congress, litigates in courts, and speaks publicly.
• Educate: works to change hearts and minds — you can't arrest or sue your way out of stereotypes.

The Media and Entertainment Institute

• Hollywood still relies on stereotypical Jewish characters and narrow Eastern European archetypes.
• Over half of Jews globally are people of colour — Mizrahi, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern — a diversity rarely shown on screen.
• The institute works constructively with studios, directors, and screenwriters to develop richer representation.
• Changing cultural narratives is, long-term, the most powerful tool against antisemitism.

The ADL workplace pledge

• Most DEI programmes don't address antisemitism specifically.
• The pledge asks companies to do three things: integrate antisemitism into DEI training, allow a Jewish employee resource group if there's interest, and provide religious accommodations on request.
• Antisemitic incidents in the US are more than 500% higher than a decade ago.
• ADL provides free resources to help companies implement the pledge.