Louis Farrakhan sued Jewish leaders for $4.8 billion. A judge tossed the case

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Jack Dolan April 8, 2024

Prominent Jewish leaders are free to continue calling Louis Farrakhan leader of the

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lack nationalist organization the Nation of Islam antisemitic, according to a New York court.

The Nation of Islam had sued the Anti-Defamation League and Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center for $4.8 billion dollars, claiming the Jewish organizations had violated the Nation of Islams 1st Amendment rights by calling Farrakhan’s frequent unflattering comments about Jews antisemitic.

In recent years, Farrakhan has publicly likened Jews to termites, accused the synagogue of Satan of wrapping its tentacles around the U.S. government, and argued that the pedophilia and sexual perversion in Hollywood could be traced to Jewish influence.

In dismissing the case, Manhattan federal court Judge Denise Cote held that the claims of antisemitism were based on direct quotes by Farrakhan and that there was no evidence that being called antisemitic had harmed the Nation of Islam.

We are grateful that the United States judicial system recognized and validated our First Amendment right to confront and speak out against anti-Semitism, said the Wiesenthal Centers Rabbi Abraham Cooper in a statement on Monday. He called the lawsuit a not-so-veiled attempt to silence Jewish voices.

In a video address posted on the Nation of Islams website last fall, Farrakhan argued that everything he had said about Jews is absolutely the truth and that the vile claims of antisemitism had cost him and other members of his organization jobs in the media and other business opportunities.

And with their influence over the media,” Farrakhan added, “these false charges have been spread throughout the Earth.