Kudos to the ADL

My eyes studied the photograph with great curiosity.

“Why’s that photo different?””It just has two smiling, anti-Semitic bastards demonstrating in front of the main gate at Auschwitz.”

Yes, that wrought iron  main gate crowned with the words “Arbeit macht frei.”

Arguably, the most infamous gate in the world;

Arguably, the three blackest words in the German language;

Literally,  one of  Earth’s “Gateways to Hell.”

And I thought, “A more appropriate sign would read, ‘You’ve just passed through the gates of Hades. Only death shall set you free.'”
Yes, I was there.
And yes, I touched that cold, black metal gate:

A gate, I photographed over ten years ago;

A gate, I walked under and through as a tourist;

A gate, my parents marched through as slaves in the 1940’s.
And I wondered:

How many times did my mom or dad see that gate?
How many times had they read those words?

How many times did they walk under those three words praying for death?

Since my mom did not speak German, did she even know or ever learn the meaning of those three words?

“Work sets you free”

I don’t know.
Only G-d and my mom in heaven know the answer to my question.

I never asked her.

But I bet you, she knew those three words were a cruel, sadistic Nazi joke.

And again I thought, “Why are my eyes stuck on this picture of two neo-Nazi scumbags  holding up anti-Semitic posters at the main gate at Auschwitz.

I rubbed my unshaven chin and reexamined the photograph.
Voilà, I figured it out.
It’s the words on their signs:

SHOAH THE ADL;

GREENBLATT SUCK [sic] 6 Million Dicks.

Yes, these two casually dressed, grinning, American neo-Nazis dickheads were attacking the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its leader.

I had never seen neo-Nazis attacking a specific Jewish organization nor its CEO on signage before.

And then it hit me, the ADL had destroyed these two guys lives and they wanted revenge.

When the ADL exposed these neo-Nazis, had it caused these bozos to lose their jobs or some of their friends or some of their family members?

Or had they been driven crazier or more paranoid thinking that  ADL agents were conducting surveillance on them?

Well done Anti-Defamation League.
Kudos to you, your employees, your volunteers and your donors.
Making these anti-Semites look over their shoulders and making them wonder if they’re going to lose their jobs or families or friends is a first step on keeping them out of our lives.
ADL, you’re a real deterrent to bigotry and your organization deserves lots of donations.

For if you were like me and wondered, “By sending a check to the ADL, am I making a wise investment in combating Jew hatred?”

You now know the answer.

Thanks again ADL for being on the frontline of this war.
Thank you CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, for making a difference.
Keep up the good work.
It sets all of us free.