Final_Judgment

[262] Final Judgment 323
"Some of these bodies have served as fronts for intelligence-gathering
and there are few of the important congressional committees which do not
possess one member or staff-assistant who does not feed the Israeli network
relevant material." 709
THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
It is significant that Deacon has made specific reference to the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith. Perhaps above any other
organization, it is the ADL which has consistently had a major impact on
the America media. And in the case of the media's coverage of the JFK
assassination, the Warren Commission investigation, and the subsequent
critiques of the commission, the ADL's fine hand is, as we shall see, quite
visible.
That the ADL, as a voice for Israel, would have an interest in stifling
any suggestion that Israel—and for that matter, Israel's allies at the CIA—
had a hand in the JFK assassination cannot be disputed.
After all, the ADL has adopted as its mission the defense of Israel and
the defamation of its critics—both real and perceived.
THE ADL AND THE LANSKY SYNDICATE
What's more, the ADL has—to this day—very close ties to the
remnants of the Meyer Lansky Organized Crime Syndicate and has
throughout its history. Many top Lansky associates were longtime high-level
financial backers of the ADL.
According to a 1968 study by Father Dan Lyons, a Jesuit priest, at that
time fully $5,500,000 of the ADL's total budget of $6,183,000 came from
contributions from the liquor industry. The liquor industry was a virtual
fiefdom of powerful Jewish families known for their devotion to Israel,
most notably the family of ex-bootlegger Samuel Bronfman. 710
(As we saw in Chapters 7 and 15, the Bronfman family—along with
liquor baron Sam Rothberg, head of the U.S. Israel Bonds campaign, were
key backers of Israel and tied closely with the Lansky Organized Crime
Syndicate.)
In fact, as we noted in Chapter 10, the ADL is so close to the Lansky
Syndicate that in 1983 Lansky's longtime associate, Morris Dalitz, was
honored by the ADL with its prestigious annual "Torch of Liberty Award."
(Dalitz's service to the cause of Israel was apparently deemed more
significant than his activities in the underworld.)
All of this is, of course, significant when we consider the ADL's
activities in the context of the media's assault on those who ponder the
possibility of a conspiracy behind the JFK assassination.
However, the ADL has—as we shall see—connections above and
beyond the organized crime interests that stood to benefit from the JFK
assassination. The ADL has long-standing ties to American intelligence.