“Defamation” and Antisemitism

Jewish documentary filmmaker Yoav Shamir in his 2009 film “Defamation,” set out to discover if antisemitism represents a serious threat to Jews today. As the narrator of the film Shamir explains that growing up in Israel he never experienced antisemitism but heard endlessly about it in the Israeli media. So, he wanted to discover for himself if antisemtism still represented a real force in the world.

Shamir is helped in his search by the New York based Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL). With a budget of over $70 million a year the ADL is the world’s biggest and most influential Jewish lobby group, tracking the slightest hint of antisemitism wherever it may appear. In Shamir’s film the ADL does not appear to be able to come up with many credible examples of antisemitism. But ADL members are shown doing a lot of wining and dining with rich and powerful leaders around the world.