The Anti-Defamation League, a US Jewish group has fired its New England regional director after he said he wants the organization to recognize the World War I killing of Armenians as genocide, according to a published report Saturday.

Primarily known for fighting anti-Semitism, the ADL fired Andrew Tarsy on Friday, the Boston Globe reported. Tarsy told the newspaper that the organization's stance is ''morally indefensible.'' His firing has prompted a backlash among local Jewish leaders against the ADL's leadership and its national director, Abraham Foxman, the newspaper reported. (AP)