ADL lay leaders are central to helping the League accomplish its mission of “stopping the defamation of the Jewish people and securing justice and fair treatment to all” in the region. Every month, Profiles in Leadership highlights a different leader and their invaluable contributions to ADL and the eastern PA/southern NJ/DE community.
Name: Judith P. Meyer, Esq.
Occupation: Attorney Mediator, Arbitrator, Judge Pro Tem, and Referee
Hometown: Haverford, PA
ADL Role: ADL Regional Board Vice-Chair, Co-Chair Development Committee, Executive Committee Member, National ADL Commissioner
Why did you get involved in ADL?
I am a Jew and a woman. I was the first woman hired by my Los Angeles law firm and was keenly aware that I had to close a knowledge and culture gap to make my male colleagues comfortable with me. Although my gender has been more salient than my religion in my profession, my family has had anti-Semitic graffiti painted on our driveway. Understanding how to educate others and refute stereotypes is central to my being and my profession as a mediator. Mutual respect and mutual tolerance is critical to human success. We should and must disagree with others, but we must listen to all points of review and then create the opportunity to be heard. You cannot change a point of view until someone will listen.
What is your favorite ADL memory?
There are four: traveling to Israel on a Womens’ Mission in May 2014 to meet with Israeli and Arab leaders, analyzing the Boycott Divest and Sanction Movement to understand its point of view on the Israel-Palestinian divide, attending ADL’s Youth Conference at Penn where high school students talked about diversity, bullying and internet intimidation because they were perceived as “different” by their peers, and listening to experts in international relations speak at ADL’s National Executive Committee meetings last February. ADL provides illuminating information on very complex human events.
As a leader in the community, what advice can you give to people who want to help combat hate in the region?
You do not need to agree with everyone’s point of view, in fact, it is impossible to do so. But it is critical to listen respectfully to everyone’s point of view and then ask to be listened to in return with the same respect. Tolerance is taught by example. Mutual respect is critical. That is what the ADL is all about.
The Anti-Defamation League is one of the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agencies fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defending democratic ideals and protecting civil rights for all. Click to learn how to Get Involved.