ADL's Election Night Criticism of Congressman-Elect Daniel Biss Draws Sharp Rebuke

A regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League issued a forceful critique of progressive Jewish congressman-elect Daniel Biss as soon as his race was called on Election Night, drawing an angry response from the incoming lawmaker and criticism from other Jewish groups.

Biss, who won comfortably in Illinois' 9th District in suburban Chicago, responded in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Wednesday. 'It saddens me to watch the ADL, once a preeminent civil rights organization, devolve into an entity that traffics in fear, intimidation and extremism,' he said. 'This kind of rhetoric does nothing to keep the Jewish people safe; in fact, it undermines that very cause.'

Biss, the grandson of Holocaust survivors who held Israeli citizenship when he was younger, was reacting to a statement ADL Midwest released late Tuesday saying the organization 'has serious concerns' about his 'approach to antisemitism.'

The group pointed to positions Biss had taken in his previous role as mayor of Evanston. Among them were his decision not to involve local police in breaking up a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northwestern University, his objection to a state law barring pension funds from being invested in certain companies that boycott Israel, and his campaign's opposition to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which had spent heavily on a different Democratic primary candidate.

'We expect him to recognize when rhetoric about Israel or AIPAC crosses into antisemitic tropes, collective blame or hostility toward Jewish Americans,' said the statement from Rebecca Weininger, ADL Midwest's senior regional director. 'We expect him to engage respectfully with Jewish constituents, including those whose views and beliefs differ from his own.'

Biss is one of several progressively minded Jewish legislators headed to Washington, a group that includes New York congressman-elect Brad Lander. The ADL's criticism of incoming progressive lawmakers was not limited to Illinois: a regional office in Philadelphia released its own statement on Election Night denouncing Chris Rabb, who also won his race for Congress.

Other Jewish organizations pushed back against the targeting of Biss. The Nexus Project, a rival antisemitism monitor, said the ADL was 'wrong. Period,' adding: 'This apparent strategy of creating adversarial relationships with progressive members, often by distorting reality and politicians' records, is self-defeating and damaging.' J Street, the liberal Zionist lobby, wrote: 'Tonight of all nights, for the ADL not to welcome his election and congratulate him but instead to lead with serious concerns about his approach to antisemitism is, to put it in Jewish communal terms, a Shanda.'

Following the backlash, the ADL's Midwest office put out a second statement on Wednesday morning saying, 'We look forward to working with elected officials across our region to help protect the Jewish community.' That message congratulated other winning Illinois politicians, including Gov. JB Pritzker, who is Jewish, but Biss's name was not included.

In his own statement, Biss said that 'Jewish safety has always been intertwined with the safety of every marginalized community,' and argued that President Donald Trump 'has made Jews less safe at home and abroad.'

The ADL's national office weighed in with its own statement on the election results late Wednesday. Without naming any candidates, it said the campaign season 'underscored the dangers of portraying Jews as dangerous, disloyal or responsible for society's problems, as well as the blatant fixation on and demonization of Israel.' The group added that it 'stands ready to work with leaders of both parties at every level of government.'