In 1941, a dedicated group of Colorado Jewish leaders – led by Col. Melvin Schlesinger and including such notables as Lou Isaacson, A.B. Hirschfeld, Max Goldberg, and Emmett Heitler – started a regional office of the Anti-Defamation League in Denver.  Some say it was the first regional office ever organized outside of Chicago, where ADL was founded in 1913, and New York, where ADL is headquartered.

On November 2, the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region will celebrate its 75^th Anniversary with a Diamond Dinner honoring philanthropists Shereen and Michael Pollak, the owners of Hyde Park Jewelers. The celebration will also feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Efraim Zuroff of the Wiesenthal Institute, widely considered to be the “last Nazi hunter.”

Think about what Colorado was like in 1941 for Jews and other minorities.

• Hitler had invaded Poland, occupied most of Europe, and threatened England.  American isolationists blamed Jews for trying to involve the United States in the European war, and radio preachers broadcasted virulent anti-Semitism on a weekly basis.  The horrors of the Holocaust were just beginning.
• Only a few years before, the Ku Klux Klan was a powerhouse in local politics, controlling the statehouse and the Governor’s mansion.
• Discrimination was widespread in housing, public accommodations, employment, and education.

ADL’s mission then was the same as it is today:  “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.”  As ADL’s charter says, “the League’s ultimate purpose is…to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.”  Fighting anti-Semitism goes hand in hand with fighting all types of bigotry and bias.

ADL’s efforts over the past 75 years have helped to change our community.

• ADL’s efforts helped to pass Colorado’s first laws banning discrimination in employment and housing, and we helped to end the use of restrictive property covenants that prohibited Jews and other minorities from buying property in many neighborhoods; eventually the Colorado Supreme Court outlawed such restrictions.
• ADL advocated for Jewish doctors who sought to practice medicine in area hospitals, and for Jewish students who were met by quotas in colleges and universities, including CU Boulder.
• ADL has been an active participant in the civil rights movement, working for voting rights and equal treatment for all.
• ADL successfully advocated for Colorado clubs and resorts to end policies that excluded Jews and minorities.
• ADL also increased its efforts to monitor and expose the work of hate groups and extremists – work that continues to this day. Over the years, ADL has confronted Colorado neo-Nazi groups, and has supported Israel in the face of boycotts, discrimination and terrorist activity.
• ADL launched the award-winning A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute. The Institute and its flagship program, No Place For Hate®, reaches 50,000 students in our region each year with anti-bullying and anti-bias workshops.
• ADL helped to pass federal hate crimes legislation.
• In response to allegations of religious coercion and harassment at the United States Air Force Academy, ADL has worked with the Academy to develop and implement a unique curriculum on religious respect, which reach every cadet during their time at the Academy.
• ADL continues to speak out against the use of hateful rhetoric in the debate on immigration policy and combats new forms of bias and anti-Semitism wherever found, including on social media.
• ADL’s new Words to Action program empowers and equips high school and college students with information and skills to combat anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric and activities on campus.
• ADL continues to respond to discrimination complaints and assist community members on a daily basis.

ADL’s advocacy has also been instrumental in assisting our coalition partners to achieve successes in the areas of marriage equality, fair tuition for undocumented students at CO colleges and universities, and in the fight for reproductive justice. We continue to advocate for all communities in CO and WY, and to be vocal in our support for Israel and our opposition to the BDS movement which seeks to delegitimize Israel.

ADL Mountain States Region thanks the community for celebrating this milestone with us, and for supporting us in our ongoing and critical efforts “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all.”