An unnamed reporter from the Anti Defamation League (ADL) claimed to be present at the JAM Islamic conference for Peace in suburban Baltimore on August 16th where I was one of the speakers.  My topic, Christian Zionism, may sound unusual for an Islamic conference, but not to the event sponsor, Dr. Kaukab Siddique, whose conference theme was unity for peace. *1)

The ADL took exception to a number of speakers, including former Attorney General, Ramsey Clark.  “Peace” seems to be a threat to the ADL.  In its official publication the ADL carried no less than three stories about the conference and had this to say about your writer:

Charles (“Chuck”) E. Carlson is a co-founder and director of We Hold These Truths, an Arizona-based Christian anti-Semitic group. We Hold These Truths has held demonstrations around the county outside churches it views as supporting Zionism.  *2)

The ADL frequently arranges for interference with meetings where it does not want the subject matter aired. This writer has twice previously been among the scheduled speakers at meetings where the host hotel was intimidated to cancel the banquet room accommodations on the day of the event.  I was told there was pressure from unnamed, but presumed powerful local businessmen thought to be associated with the ADL. In each case the hotel management caved under pressure, and at no small legal risk to their companies, they put the scheduled meeting in the street. In both cases the meeting, one in Sacramento CA and the other in Orange County CA were able to reconvene hastily elsewhere.

A more damaging case revealing how the ADL attempts to silence those exposing Christian Zionism.  Duke University was the scheduled site of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement’s two-day conference on October 15, 2004. That time the Anti-Defamation League publicly objected to several speakers it labeled as “anti-Semites.” It also claimed one student speaker was prone to petty violence.

Christian Zionism was the subject of my lecture and workshop, the only ones on this subject, and was unfamiliar to the student leaders. They had been assured that my presentation was valuable to the conference. In the end, I, and only I, was banned from speaking. The ADL and several related individuals wrote to the Duke University President and published condemnations of speakers on the Internet, alleging in my case “notorious anti-Semitism.” Not one word was written about or quoted from my program, to which the ADL had full access. This is normal for the ADL. *3

Student leaders of the modestly aggressive Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) compromised with the ADL when they learned that all it really wanted was to remove Carlson and Carlson’s workshop on Christian Zionism from the program. The PSM outvoted other students who did not know they were removing a most vital issue that they needed to understand in their movement to save Palestine. The Roots of Christian Zionism is the one issue for which Israel has no answer, and which Christian Zionists cannot explain.

It appears the ADL did not care how much speakers argue for “divesture,” which was the underlying theme of the PSM, so long as the vital link between Jewish Zionism and the 70 million Christian Zionists who are its prime supporters was not exposed!

This conference was large enough and far-reaching enough to change the face of the Palestinian freedom movement among students. The ADL knew what the students did not know; they did not want Christian Zionism exposed. It is still notably absent from student programs.

The ADL continued to attack Carlson by name after the mugging at Duke.  Unofficial ADL operatives performed damaging and slanderous acts against speakers. I discovered a Wall Street Journal story about myself printed on Jan 5, 2005, The Intifada Comes to Duke, by Eric Adler and Jack Langer *4)

Adler was then a PHD candidate and is now on the Duke faculty. Adler/Langer wrote:

‘One scheduled speaker, Charles Carlson, had openly called for lethal attacks against Israeli youth, declaring, “every young Israeli is military–they are all proper war targets,” and that “each wedding, Passover celebration, or bar mitzvah [in Israel] is a potential military target.”’

The problem with Adler’s incendiary quote is that it is concoction. He lifted the quotes out of context, a common ADL trick that is hard to litigate, and much worse, he added two words and changed two others inside the quotation attributed to me, thereby changing my historic observation to a call for blood.

Adler’s quote is lifted from my story, Smart Bombs vs. Intelligent Bombs, May 4, 2002, which I wrote following a field trip to Israel and Gaza, discussed how and why 57 known young Philistine suicide bombers chose their targets. Most targets were buses with soldiers on board. A very few were social affairs where a large number of off-duty military would normally be congregated. These would seem to be normal military targets. This is the actual quote from my original story on our website: 

“But all human bombs are certain to be intended for Israeli Military targets. Every bus, restaurant, bar, or theater is a military target. Each wedding, Passover celebration, Bar mitzvah is probably a military target with active military present.” *5

By reconstructing my paragraph Adler made me out to be an agitator or terrorist attempting to get Israeli children killed. This kind of defamation, more commonly known legally as slander or libel, could cause this author problems.

ADL’S volunteers perform most slanderous acts, as with Adler.  Volunteer businessmen lean on hotel management, threatening them with undesirable press coverage and loss of business if they deal with “anti-Semites.” The ADL uses the power of the local Jewish purse in the area where the event is scheduled.  I know about this intimidation first hand from one Jim Friedman, a local ADL volunteer who attempted to intimidate me many years ago to stop writing. I wrote How the Anti Defamation League Controls its Opposition after I was mugged at Duke. *7

“Defamation” is an actionable tort in most states, but to litigate it, you must show you were damaged, show that the act was intentional, and prove the defaming statement was not true. The ADL and Adler could only have meant to defame me, since the Duke Conference was already over and done with.

The ADL is in the business of defaming people without exposing itself to these laws. It rarely sues anyone for libel or slander because to do so would require him or her to give proof of slander or libel. One would think the ADL would sue people for defaming Jews, but instead, the ADL defames others, calls names, and applies labels including its favorite, “anti-Semite.” The ADL has itself been successfully sued for libel and slander more than once. Here is what the ADL said about me at the recent Baltimore conference:

“The scheduled speakers promote varying degrees of hostility toward Israel. They include Charles E. Carlson, co-founder of We Hold These Truths, a notorious Arizona-based extremist group that focuses on propagating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”

The press release is damning but safe. Calling someone a “notorious anti-Semite” is a cheap shot, but an opinion that is hard to prove or disprove and pretty much protected by free speech. The ADL takes scores of cheap shots at anyone it does not like. Many, including the Palestine Solidarity Movement allow themselves to be compromised by the ADL venom, but it has lost its credibility.

Most informed people today regard the ADL as a professional liar. Its goal is not to protect Jews from defamation but to defame others with whom Jews disagree, or those who do not like the state of Israel and say so.

Earlier Zionists managed to get the famous Judeo-Christian Scofield Refercene bible to include “the sin of anti-Semitism” as a footnote on its page 19, stating, “for a nation to commit the sin of anti-Semitism will bring inevitable judgment.” Millions of Judeo-Christians fear offending Israel as if it was God.  A small number of powerful ADL leaders fear losing Christian Zionist’s support for their agenda. *6) Roots of Christian Zionism

Conclusion

The ADL protects Zionism and its nurse cow, Christian Zionism, by denouncing and defaming perceived enemies. Zionism is pathetically weak in numbers; it is reasonable to guess there are 50 to 70 Christian Zionists for every American Jewish Zionist.

Christian Zionists are taught that anti-Semitism is a sin punishable by God, that the State of Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophesies, and that war in our time are a necessary part of these prophesies…these being hallmarks beliefs that identify Judeo-Christianity. There are thought to be 70 million Americans influenced by this sect, which took root in the middle 18th century and has become commonly identified today as Christian Zionism, and includes Mormons and most other 18th century American evangelicals.

The power of the ADL is given wings through the Christian Right; without them no one would need to fear the ADL. A permanent solution to the problems surrounding Zionism will be realized when “Judeo-Christians” return to following Christ, and not before, which begins with seeking peace. 

ENDNOTES

*1) Far-Right and Muslim Extremists Gather in Baltimore  Speaker Backgrounds
http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Israel/jamaat_baltimore_conference.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_3

*2) Jamaat Al-Muslimeen International Islamic Conference for Peace and Awareness http://jam4peace.org/default.aspx

*3 Duke University: Next Target of Anti-Israel Activists http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/4572-62.htm New York, NY, October 6, 2004

*4) The Intifada Comes to Duke, a university plays host to anti-Semites and terror advocates. By ERIC ADLER AND JACK LANGER http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110006102

* 5) Terrorism or Intelligent Bombs, by Charles E. Carlson 2002(https://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=2505)

*6) Roots of Christian Zionism (www.whtt.org/show).

*7) How the Anti Defamation League Controls its Opposition
Charles E. Carlson, Oct 22, 2004, (https://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=473)