Group Urges Inquiry of ADL Spy Network

Officials of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee called Tuesday for a vigorous federal investigation of the Anti-Defamation League, charging that the Jewish organization’s spy network has been engaged in massive civil rights violations aimed at critics of Israel.

Angered that secret files kept by the Anti-Defamation League included the names of 4,500 of the American-Arab group’s 30,000 members, the group’s president, Albert Mokhiber, said in Washington:

“This case represents the greatest invasion of Arab-American civil and constitutional rights that we have ever feared. 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.”

Mokhiber said he has conferred with members of Congress about possible hearings by a House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Don Edwards (D-Calif.). The hearings would look into revelations by San Francisco prosecutors about a police and FBI investigation into the Anti-Defamation League’s spying operation.

“Our own organization and membership was spied upon and infiltrated by persons passing themselves off as sincerely interested in the issues of civil and human rights,” Mokhiber said.

Commenting on Mokhiber’s statements, David Lehrer, the Anti-Defamation League’s regional director in Los Angeles, said:

“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.”

The San Francisco inquiry has focused on allegations that the Anti-Defamation League obtained information on as many as 12,000 individuals from police undercover agents, who may have violated the law by disclosing the confidential material.

The Los Angeles regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Nazih Bayda, said Tuesday that the revelations undermine people’s faith that the police will protect them.

“It is of grave concern when this protective function of a law enforcement agency can be compromised by a private organization such as the Anti-Defamation League to serve its espionage activities,” Bayda said.

Bayda said the American-Arab group is examining the possibility of bringing civil lawsuits against the Anti-Defamation League.

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