Louis Farrakhan Files $4.8B Lawsuit Against the ADL; Claims He Was Falsely Labeled as an Anti-Semite

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, 90, has long been known for his controversial and incendiary remarks, particularly those targeting the Jewish community.  However, in a surprising turn of events, Farrakhan has filed a massive lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), alleging that the organization has wrongfully labeled him an anti-Semite, thereby infringing upon his First Amendment rights, as was reported by the New York Post.

The $4.8 billion lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Federal Court, asserts that the ADL has been instrumental in perpetuating a “false narrative” surrounding Farrakhan’s alleged anti-Semitic views. As was indicated in the Post report, the suit aims to permanently prevent the ADL from using terms like “anti-Semite” and “anti-Semitic” to allegedly defame Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

Farrakhan, in his defense, vehemently denied the accusations leveled against him, claiming that he has never advocated for any harm to be inflicted upon Jewish individuals. The Post report said that he even cited examples of his positive interactions with members of the Jewish community, including his admiration for the renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz and his Jewish violin teachers.

Before becoming a Nation of Islam leader, Farrakhan was a calypso performer known as :”Calypso Louie” during his days in Boston.

“This lawsuit is to ensure that the abuse, misuse, and false use of the terms ‘anti-Semite,’ ‘anti-Semitic,’ and ‘anti-Semitism,’ as falsely charged by the [ADL] is permanently barred from being a tool to defame [Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam] and stifle the exercise of constitutional rights,”‘ Farrakhan contended in court papers, as was indicated in the Post report.

He also said in his lawsuit that the Anti-Defamation League is “an unAmerican organization and has woven itself into the fabric of both the United States government, in general, and into local governments within America, in particular, to advance interests that are unAmerican to the extent that it tramples and trammels upon the Constitutional rights of Minister Farrakhan and American citizens,”  as was reported by the Post.

The lawsuit, deemed by Farrakhan as a “battle of Biblical proportions,” is supported by extensive documentation totaling 787 pages. According to the Post report, it outlines various instances in which Farrakhan’s statements about Jews and Judaism have drawn significant criticism, including his reference to Jews as “termites,” his derogatory comments about Judaism in which he referred to it as a “gutter religion” and his accusations about Jewish influence in Hollywood. Farrakhan also said that “the powerful Jews are my enemy” and referred to Jews in government and in Hollywood as “Satanic.” Moreover, he praised Adolf Hitler as a “great man.”

During a 1998 speech, Farrakhan once again blasted Jews. The Post reported that he said at the time that, “The Jews have been so bad at politics they lost half their population in the Holocaust.”

In 2018, Farrakhan was still bashing Jews when he said, “Jews are responsible for all this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out: turning men into women, and women into men.”

Farrakhan’s legal action traces its origins back to 1984, during his defense of then-presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, who was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks, the Post report. During that presidential campaign, Jackson referred to Jews as “Hymies” and New York City as “Hymietown.” He was also pictured in a warm embrace with the late PLO leader Yassir Arafat, whom Jackson lavished praise on.   The Post report said that Farrakhan claims that it was his unwavering support for Jackson that led the ADL to target him with the “anti-Semite” label, thus initiating their decades-long feud.

While the ADL declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, its director Jonathan Greenblatt reiterated their stance on Farrakhan, branding him unequivocally as an anti-Semite based on his own statements and speeches, the Post reported. Greenblatt responded to the lawsuit by saying, “Louis Farrakhan is an anti-Semite. One need look no further than his own words and statements to come away with the same conclusion.”