US NewsIs America’s Jewish leadership failing American Jews?By Kathryn WolfPublishedJune 1, 2025, 8:00 a.m. ET

The murder of a young Israeli couple outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, last month traumatized Jews nationwide — leaving many asking tough questions about the state of

Jewish leadership in America. Their concern is understandable.

While the Hamas attack on Israel two Octobers ago thrust the Jewish nation into its longest war ever, it also ushered in unprecedented levels of antisemitism in the US. There were nearly

Those figures, while startling, fail to capture the endless examples of Jews being blacklisted, ostracized or targeted in sectors ranging from medicine to the arts.

Indeed, according to the newly released 2025 Jewish Landscape Report from the Israel-based Voice of the People Initiative, Jews worldwide now believe rising antisemitism is the most

important challenge facing their communities.

Amid this surge of hate, American Jews have begun questioning whether major Jewish groups like the ADL are doing enough — and have done enough — to keep Jews safe. The answer for many — once

unspoken and now increasingly reaching fever pitch —  is a resounding no.

reminds him of the period before World War II. WireImage

“I see the same problem that we had in the 1930s with the rise of Nazis,” said former Harvard University professor Alan Dershowitz. “Jewish leaders have been misallocating their resources,

focusing on the wrong people, and are now a part of the problem.” 

In the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks and subsequent antisemitism surge, American Jews were expecting accountability — and change. Instead, it’s been business as usual for major groups like the

ADL, the Jewish Federations of North America and many Jewish Community Relations Council chapters: Glitzy galas, pricey celebrity appearances and slick conferences, according to critics.

Meanwhile, within this void, grassroots organizations have been fighting the hate their far larger counterparts appear unable to counter.   

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Missteps by some of our oldest and best-funded organizations were years in the making. For at least three decades, the Jewish establishment underwent a mission drift, transforming from

defenders of Jewish-first issues into foot soldiers for progressive politics and social justice causes. They refused to seriously address the toxic brew of leftist and Islamist ideologies

seeping into universities. Stuck in their woke echo chambers, they sidelined voices who rejected progressive agendas, the two-state solution or insistence that antisemitism is never worse

than when it’s on the right.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars went to the ADL and all these organizations to fight antisemitism, but antisemitism has only increased,” said Adam Bellos, founder of the Israel Innovation

Fund. “What have they been doing for the last 20 years?” 

increased,” said long-time community-observer Adam Bellos. Adam Bellos

Aligning Jewish groups with liberal causes came with a hefty price tag: The focus on antisemitism — particularly within social justice groups themselves. Take Black Lives Matter, an

organization that literally enshrined anti-Zionism within its foundational mission statement. That, however, didn’t stop more than 600 Jewish organizations from signing a full-page New York

Times ad in 2020 endorsing BLM’s efforts. Three years later, the movement’s Chicago chapter posted a paraglider with a Palestinian flag just days after paragliding Hamas terrorists

infiltrated Israel.

Images for Anti-Defamation League

The ADL says it’s listening to community critique. In March, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt announced the implementation of “new strategies and new approaches to fight antisemitism.” The methods

used to gauge hate in the ADL’s year-old