Las Vegas Anti-Defamation League director has long been advocating peace

Jolie Brislin vividly remembers a time when she experienced hatred because of her religious beliefs.

Brislin, a Henderson resident, was 18 at the time, driving herself home from a summer camp for Jewish youths when she saw a white supremacists’ rally. She remembers the group holding signs and chanting messages that said, “Jews killed Jesus”; “Cut off their horns”; and “Jews deserve to die.”

Brislin said the sight made her deeply upset. She had just left the summer camp feeling proud of her Jewish identity, and there stood a group of people attacking her faith. Even though she was alone, she got out of her car and responded to the crowd.

But instead of retaliating with messages of hate, she chanted messages of love and acceptance.

“That moment was so defining to me,” Brislin said. “I never wanted to be someone who wants be on the sidelines. I never wanted to be quiet.”

Brislin, now 37, fights to stop the defamation of the Jewish community as the regional director for the Anti-Defamation League Nevada chapter.

The Anti-Defamation League, 8965 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 375, is partly a national civil rights organization that formed in 1913 to fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the United States and across the world. The ADL wants to create a world without hate not only for the Jewish community, but for people of all religions and backgrounds.

“We really believe that to stop the defamation of one group of people, we need to be able to protect everyone,” Brislin said.

To accomplish its mission, the ADL provides a variety of programs and activities such as anti-bullying campaigns at schools and law enforcement trainings on terrorism, extremism and hate crimes.

In Southern Nevada, the ADL goes to Clark County schools and community centers to teach students and parents about bullying and how to prevent it. Brislin said what is troubling in today’s world is that because of technology, students who are victims of bullying at school can no longer escape their aggressors at home. Instead, the aggression follows them in the form of texts, emails and social media pages.

ADL gives parents the information and tools necessary to recognize signs of bullying and urges them to be informed about their child’s habits online. With students, ADL focuses not only on the victims of bullying but also on the bystanders. Brislin said ADL wants students to be empowered and become allies when they see someone being bullied.

“If we could make a lasting impression within the schools and give that power to the students to be able to take with them for the rest of their lives, that would be my ultimate goal,” she said.

The ADL is also an advocate for the LGBT community. ADL has partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada to host events aimed at transforming hatred into respect. Last year the organization brought Megan Phelps-Roper, a granddaughter of the late Westboro Baptist Church minister Fred Phelps, to give a talk titled “God Hates Nobody.”

More recently, the ADL extended its support to The Center, 401 S. Maryland Parkway, during the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting and quickly dropped its projects to help organize a vigil at The Center.

“I find in Jolie this can-do spirit, because you know when you take the forces of hatred and some of the forces of darkness, it can be burdensome and taxing,” said Michael Dimengo, CEO of The Center. “Jolie does that with grace and enthusiasm.”

Brislin said that when she is discouraged, she reminds herself why she does her work: for kids and the future of her community. Both are her big sources of inspiration.

“I think we live in a wonderful community that is progressive and loving, and when hate does rear its ugly head in our community, we stand together to fight that,” she said.

Visit lasvegas.adl.org or call 702-862-8600.

To reach View reporter intern Rocio Hernandez, email rhernandez@reviewjournal.com or call 702-387-5233. Find her on Twitter: @rociohdz19.