One more taboo has been broken in America!

In the U.S., FBI Director Kash Patel’s announcement that he would officially end the FBI’s cooperation with the “Defamation and Denial Fighting Unit (ADL)” was another sign that the power of the “Israel Lobby” is beginning to crack. It cannot be said that Patel had such an intention, but the “ADL” linking conservative youth leader Charlie Kirk and his organization “TPUSA” to white supremacists committing hate crimes against Jews was the last straw.Charlie Kirk, leader of “Turning Point America (TPUSA),” was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10. In fact, the “ADL” had labeled “TPUSA” back in 2019. TPUSA was listed in the “Extremism Dictionary” on the “ADL” website. After Kirk’s murder, reactions against the “ADL” intensified within the pro-Trump “MAGA camp.” These reactions also played an important role in Kash Patel’s announcement ending cooperation with the “ADL.”

Patel also accused the ADL of “running shameful surveillance operations on Americans” and former FBI Director James Comey of planting agents in and giving support to the group. In his statements, Patel said the ADL was operating like a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, in a statement by the “ADL” it was announced that the “Extremism and Hate Dictionary” would be retired.

It is, of course, an interesting development that the ADL—which labels anyone pro-Palestinian as a terrorist—was described by the FBI Director as a group operating like a terrorist organization. What goes around comes around: the ADL fell into the pit it had dug for others. Recently the ADL had been digging even deeper, even labeling the wearing of a Palestinian keffiyeh as an antisemitic act. According to the ADL, since October 7 there has been an extraordinary rise in “antisemitic acts” in the U.S. The overwhelming majority of the actions on the ADL’s list, however, were protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The ADL provided so-called data on hate crimes, extremism and antisemitic acts not only to the FBI but also to many other law-enforcement agencies and police departments nationwide. Any demonstration supporting Palestinians was used to fill up “ADL statistics.” The ADL was also influential in public-school curricula. By Zionizing public education, the aim was for American students to adopt and internalize pro-Israel narratives.

The “United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)” union reacted against the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism and demanded that “ADL content” be removed from school websites. Likewise, the “National Education Association (NEA),” the largest union in the U.S., passed a resolution to sever ties with the “ADL.” In this decision, approved by a majority of about 7,000 delegates, it was demanded that “ADL” curriculum content or statistics not be used, approved, or promoted.

As a result of pressure from the “Israel Lobby,” the NEA’s 9-member Executive Board was forced to announce that it did not find it necessary to implement the decision taken by thousands of delegates. The union’s grassroots, however, accuses the NEA’s headquarters management of bowing to pressure from the “Israel Lobby.” The NEA leadership’s move to appease the “Lobby” does not mean the matter is closed.

The “ADL” is making a major effort to pass laws that would punish criticism of Israel as “antisemitic.” Some Republicans in Congress argue that such a law targets freedom of expression. These members point out that even a Christian saying “The Jews killed Jesus” could be accused of being “antisemitic.”

Tucker Carlson, one of the main faces of the “America First” wing of the Trump camp, had his speech at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service labeled “antisemitic” by the “ADL.” In that speech, Carlson did not speak directly about Jews, but he did draw attention to a plot set up in Jerusalem by certain people to eliminate Jesus. Carlson said that Charlie Kirk too had been killed as a result of such a plot.

To conclude, the FBI’s ending its cooperation with the “ADL,” the oldest institution of the “Israel Lobby,” is extremely significant in terms of breaking a taboo. On the other hand, we should also draw attention to the debates over making the “American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC),” which has made it its mission to keep Congress “pro-Israel,” subject to lobbying regulations. The restriction of AIPAC is a current issue that has also found support within the “Trump camp.”