Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) head Morton Klein expressed support for tech titan Elon Musk’s “concerns” after the outspoken billionaire threatened a “defamation” lawsuit against the left-wing Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over its alleged censorship efforts, with the ZOA claiming the ADL is “dangerous” to both Jews and Israel.
Speaking with Breitbart News on Wednesday, Klein, who has headed the nation’s oldest pro-Israel organization for nearly two decades, stated that he “sympathizes” with Musk — a self-declared free speech absolutist — and his “concerns about Jonathan Greenblatt’s ADL.”
“The ADL almost never condemns left-wing antisemites yet has defended radical left-wing Israel-hater and ADL-funder George Soros and praised Jew-hating Israel-basher Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for ‘her commitment to a more just world,’” he noted.
The ZOA leader concluded by describing Greenblatt’s and the ADL’s “tendentious policies” as “harmful and even tremendously dangerous to the Jewish people and Israel.”
Klein’s remarks follow Musk’s spat with the ADL which saw the Tesla CEO threatening retaliation against efforts by the infamous civil rights group to cut off ad revenue from X, formerly known as Twitter.
On Monday, Musk threatened the organization with a lawsuit and the disclosure of their communications with the company.
To clear our platform’s name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League … oh the irony!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023
Previously, the fresh platform owner accused the ADL of having fought “very hard” for Twitter/X to suspend anti-woke accounts such as Libs of TikTok, even though the demands had nothing to do with allegations of antisemitism.
I’m old enough to remember when the ADL smeared Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik, an Orthodox Jewish woman, as anti-LGBTQ@libsoftiktok @ChayaRaichik10 pic.twitter.com/hCA7WGqHHd
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) September 4, 2023
The ADL, currently run by former Obama staffer Greenblatt, is one the leading organizations pushing for censorship of online speech. It has long standing relationships with social media platforms and their advertisers, using the latter as a cudgel against the former when required.
The ZOA has called out the ADL for not living up to its supposed values on multiple occasions. Last year, the pro-Israel group called for a full “overhaul” of the ADL, along with the firing of Greenblatt, over the promotion of “woke leftism.”
In 2020, it demanded the ADL speak out against Joe Biden for comparing President Donald Trump to a Nazi leader, after days of silence.
The longstanding, pro-Israel advocacy group also called out Greenblatt for falsely accusing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) of antisemitism.
Previously, ZOA officials criticized Greenblatt for accepting an “apology” by Omar for past antisemitic rhetoric, when the Minnesota Democrat did not, in fact, apologize.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
