New York, NY, March 1, 2002 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called the anti-Semitic views the Rev. Billy Graham shared with President Richard Nixon "chilling and frightening even today, 30 years after the statements were made." ADL was shocked to learn from the just released tapes that the spiritual advisor to American Presidents believed and espoused age-old classical anti-Semitic canards.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We were shocked to learn that a man of the cloth and stature of the Rev. Billy Graham held anti-Semitic views and freely shared them with President Richard Nixon, as revealed on the just released Nixon tapes. Rev. Graham's assertion that Jews had a "stranglehold" on the country and that a second Nixon Administration "might be able to do something," is chilling and frightening, even today, 30 years after the statements were made.

It is shameful that one of America's most respected religious leaders and a spiritual advisor to Presidents believed and espoused age-old classical anti-Semitic canards.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.