Was the ADL ever classically liberal? I don't mean that snarkily. I just don't recall much of a shift in their values in the way that's clearly visible for the ACLU and others.
Probably not fully classically liberal like the ACLU once was but certainly far more classically liberal than they are today (which is pretty much not at all).
I don't think I follow your point. Are you suggesting that the ACLU was also never classically liberal because the one of the dozen+ members of the founding committee was a socialist?