NEW YORK (JTA)- The Anti-Defamation League criticized a New York Times advertisement in which evangelicals defend their efforts to convert Jews. Abraham Foxman, the ADL's national director, called the ad "offensive and insulting."

The ad, which appeared in the Mar. 28 issue, was sponsored by the World Evangelical Alliance, a 162-year-old global network that claims to represent 420 million evangelicals. In the ad, the alliance acknowledges that "church history has been marred" by antisemitism and that "the church did far less than it should have" to protect Jews at moments of peril. But it also defends conversion efforts, saying "it is out of our profound respect for Jewish people that we seek to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them."

In a separate statement, the group's CEO and international director, Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, said the advertisement was intended as a gesture of friendship. .